The Beatles Bible - Topic: Odd time signatures

Funny Paper on Odd time signatures

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:28:09 +0000

McLerristarr said
All You Need Is Love has time signatures of 7/4, 4/4 and 6/4. Apparently it was the first (and one of only two) songs with a 7/4 time signature to reach the top 20 in the USA.

Though according to Wikipedia jazz legend Dave Brubeck's song Unsquare Dance only made #74 on the Billboard chart (I think in 1961), it remains the gold standard of 7/4 songs (not that there's much competition):

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/635918

Funny Paper on Odd time signatures

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:14:26 +0000

My apologies if someone mentioned this already (but I browsed through this topic and didn't see it):

The ending of "Mean Mr. Mustard" has a cool transition from 4/4 into 3/4 as it blends into "Polythene Pam".

LTJX on Odd time signatures

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:32:14 +0100

Joe said
I think George was certainly conscious of the changes, as he'd studied Indian music with Ravi Shankar. That's why Here Comes The Sun is so interesting in its rhythms. I'd imagine McCartney was also aware of the rules and how to break them, but Lennon less so.

I've read before that in writing a song Paul tended to come up with the main melody and most of the instrumental parts first. When the instrumental music was done, Paul would then go looking for words that fit into his new song (or lyrics that "scanned" well as the Beatles ...

meanmistermustard on Odd time signatures

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:13:28 +0100

This stuff goes way over my head, all the 3/4 and 7/8's. Have never understood the indepth musical note stuff and would never be able to identify an a# from a g.

Ben Ramon on Odd time signatures

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:32:24 +0100

Joe said
Yep, Pollack's articles are brilliant. I've thought about republishing them on this site - apparently it's OK to do so with a correct credit and back link (ie creative commons, though I don't think he used the term).

Isn't Oh! Darling in 6/8? What about the end of I Want You (SSH), Baby's In Black, Yes It Is, the final bit of MMT?

EDIT: Although George described it as a waltz, I always though I Me Mine was in 6/8. How about Long Long Long? I think that might actually be 3/4, on reflection. And I'm undecided about ...

Artie Fisk on Odd time signatures

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 05:13:47 +0100

Well, if you're playing it with a band, you need to know where the downbeats are. When the meter changes with every measure, it's hard to get it right unless you have sussed out the meter changes, and practiced it. Much easier to practice something like this if you can count it, or it is for me. I find that if I can memorize the counts to where I really have it "under my fingers," I can then turn off my brain, and don't need to count any more. Music theory exercise or not, you can't play someone else's song ...

Into the Sky with Diamonds on Odd time signatures

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 02:17:58 +0100

Very interesting....

Although I can see it as a good music theory exercise, I still wonder why in the 21st century this would matter.

I can see how in the days before recorded music a musician could only go by sheet music; the meter would indicate the cadence.

But today?

Any thoughts on this?

Artie Fisk on Odd time signatures

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:25:26 +0100

Oh, snap! Forgot about them. Yeah, I guess Baby's In Black has to be 6/8, doesn't it? Never thought about it before, but you're right. Very jazzy, that beat, amongst the folk-rocking, innit?

Now that I count it, yep, I Want You (She's So Heavy) ends in 6/8, too. Oh! Darling, too.

Damn, I've gotta ungunk my ears. Need to go back and really LISTEN for these things.

***

So, I ought to credit Pollack for his work properly:

Joe on Odd time signatures

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:12:23 +0100

Yep, Pollack's articles are brilliant. I've thought about republishing them on this site - apparently it's OK to do so with a correct credit and back link (ie creative commons, though I don't think he used the term).

Isn't Oh! Darling in 6/8? What about the end of I Want You (SSH), Baby's In Black, Yes It Is, the final bit of MMT?

EDIT: Although George described it as a waltz, I always though I Me Mine was in 6/8. How about Long Long Long? I think that might actually be 3/4, on reflection. And I'm undecided about Yer Blues - that ...

Artie Fisk on Odd time signatures

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:37:55 +0100

Just looked at Alan Pollack's take on the time signature of Good Morning, Good Morning, and he seems right. He scans it thusly:

Each verse starts with a measure of 3, a measure of 4, and then a measure of 3. So, while John is singing "Nothing to do to save his life, call his wife in," it's a total of 10 beats.

The second line ("Nothing to say but 'What a day, how's your boy been?" and the little horn lick) is a measure of 3, a measure of 5, and a measure of 4. 11 beats total.

The third line ("Nothing ...

Artie Fisk on Odd time signatures

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:20:38 +0100

Well, /4 indicates that a quarter note gets one beat, whereas /8 indicates that an eighth note gets one beat. Sometimes, it's kind of arbitrary.

For example, if you're counting in 3/4 time (3 beats to a measure, with a quarter note getting one beat), you would count it in three groups of two quavers with an accent on the first beat (ONE and two and three and) for each measure. There are three distinct pulses in each measure.

In 6/8 time (6 beats to the measure, an eighth note getting one beat), on the other hand, you'd be counting two sets ...

Ben Ramon on Odd time signatures

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:02:23 +0100

Well the "/4" sometimes changes; basically the second number denotes what the value is of the note you are counting. All of the ones I mentioned above have 4 because they are crotchets (or quarter notes). If it was 6/8, for instance, you'd be counting quavers or eighth notes.

Into the Sky with Diamonds on Odd time signatures

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:16:57 +0100

Ben Ramon, thanks.

I always got the "4" (as in 1 2 3 4) but I never understood the "/4" as in "3/4 time"

I guess it's just a notation and you can ignore the /4 part.

Thanks again.

I suppose I can now weigh in on the matter of the meter in "Happiness Is AWG"

(matter of the meter?)

Ben Ramon on Odd time signatures

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:33:02 +0100

You figure it out by counting along to it and seeing how many counts are in each bar- for instance, the most common time signature is 4/4. For instance when Paul goes "1 2 3 4!" at the beginning of I Saw Her Standing There, you can count 1234 at that same pace throughout the whole song, 4 beats for each bar. Conversely, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away is in 3/4, because you count 1 2 3 1 2 3 throughout it. Money by Pink Floyd is in 7/4, bit more unusual, you can count 7 throughout it.

As ...

Into the Sky with Diamonds on Odd time signatures

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 02:08:45 +0100

Good questions, but as an amateur guitarist, I could never figure out how people figure out whether a song is in this or that meter (and why it matters).