johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Sorry - it was a little past my bedtime - I did mean crotchet. What I was getting at is 2/2 has longer beats not beats with more notes in, so they way you phrased it seemed not quite right ( I didn't say exactly wrong!) At the end of the day, the top number is the number of beats per bar, and the bottom is how long they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I've never really got to grips with this. I understand "how many beats are in a bar", but I don't understand "how many beats make up a note". Care to enlighten me? The easy way - TOP number = how many beats in the bar.BOTTOM number = what type of note gets the beat. 6 eighth (8) notes is equivalent to 3 quarter (4) notes. The song could be written either way on sheet music. To give you an idea, the theme from the movie "Mission Impossible" is 5/4. 5 quarter note beats per bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 The duration of the beat is relative to the note, so perhaps it's just a round about way of saying it but if a beat is a quarter of a note then there are also four beats in a note... So the number on the bottom of a time signature incidentally also signifies the fraction of a note that a beat is. I suppose if you'd said "how many beats in a whole note" it wouldn't have sturck me as a little odd at first. "beats in a note" just seems to give the impression that beats are to be counted in multiples of notes when generally speaking beats are fractions of a note Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 6 eighth (8) notes is equivalent to 3 quarter (4) notes. The song could be written either way on sheet music. They're not equivalent, they have competely different feel and would be notated differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 "beats in a note" just seems to give the impression that beats are to be counted in multiples of notes when generally speaking beats are fractions of a note No it doesn't - that would be like saying 'orange segments in an orange' implies that orange segments are made up of a number of oranges. We're saying the same thing, more or less - but 'how long' a beat is is only relative to a note, without that you can't really define it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00ban Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I think Jonny is right, you said if a "beat is a quarter of a note" but that just sounds confusing as it's generally said a beat is a quarter note or one quarter of a measure no? Not that it matters, we're just nit picking over here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 We obviously just understand the same concept from a different angle so it's not worth bothering to argue about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 "beats in a note" just seems to give the impression that beats are to be counted in multiples of notes when generally speaking beats are fractions of a note No it doesn't - that would be like saying 'orange segments in an orange' implies that orange segments are made up of a number of oranges. You have completely misunderstood me there, suffice it to say because you don't pluralise fractions the phase "beats in a note" confused me at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I think Jonny is right, you said if a "beat is a quarter of a note" but that just sounds confusing as it's generally said a beat is a quarter note or one quarter of a measure no? Not that it matters, we're just nit picking over here no, notes and measures aren't the same thing at all, that's actually the main factor in how time signature implies rhythm! I absolutely can't understand why I'm not being understood here because I keep reading that one thing wouldn't make sense but the same statement with the tiniest semantic adjustment - one that doesn't change the connotation - would. No matter though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00ban Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I didn't say they were the same thing. But a quarter note is called that because it is a quarter of a measure. You're right this is complete bullshit and a waste of err bodies time. Dunno why I went all Kanye there but I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I didn't say they were the same thing. But a quarter note is called that because it is a quarter of a measure. You're right this is complete bullshit and a waste of err bodies time. Dunno why I went all Kanye there but I did. No, a quarter note is not a quarter of a measure. This is literally the crux of time signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00ban Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Ok I'm with you Chris, shit's hella confusing haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 It's a melon twister alright...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 We seem to be pretty much arguing over whether or not 4/4 and 4 * 1/4 are the same thing or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Well, I think there might have been some reading comprehension issues at play... just sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny 1 move Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Well if you will insist on using non-conventional explanations... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 captainkirkfacepalm.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 nice cuts symatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 6 eighth (8) notes is equivalent to 3 quarter (4) notes. The song could be written either way on sheet music. They're not equivalent, they have competely different feel and would be notated differently. Maybe I shouldn't have used the math example. What I'm saying that yes, they would be notated differently. But you can alter the time signature of a song and produce the same result. Someone could take "Queen - We are the Champions" which is 6/8, and write it in 4/4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Symatic Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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