caddywumpus
Archnemesis of Larryace
Wow, a perfectly clean and polite meter thread !.
The thread's not over yet...
Wow, a perfectly clean and polite meter thread !.
You shouldn't see 6/8 as a "triplet thing", because the three eighth notes in each beat (in 6/8) are not triplets, they are just regular eighth-notes.So I mostly feel 6/8 (or 12/8 for that matter) as a triplet thing.
One way I like to think about it is the phrasing and feel within the measure.
3/4, most times you see the eight note in groups of two. (1&2&3&) What is usually the strong beat or count in 3/4? Count one. ONE two three. Definite three feeling.
6/8 is a duple meter. The strong beats are usually 1 & 4. ONE two three FOUR five six.
I agree, the feel and primary pulse of the piece of music dictate the time signature for me, it's either a quarter note pulse or an 8th note pulse
A waltz has a quarter note pulse, you can't really feel a pulse of 8th note, that's why it's written in 3/4, it's all about the context of the music
I know. I just often feel them this way. On second thought maybe that rather goes forYou shouldn't see 6/8 as a "triplet thing", because the three eighth notes in each beat (in 6/8) are not triplets, they are just regular eighth-notes.
This is important to understand, because eighth notes triplets do exist in 6/8, but there's three of them in a single bar.
Simply, 3/4 is a triple meter and 6/8 is a duple meter.
One way I like to think about it is the phrasing and feel within the measure.
3/4, most times you see the eight note in groups of two. (1&2&3&) What is usually the strong beat or count in 3/4? Count one. ONE two three. Definite three feeling.
6/8 is a duple meter. The strong beats are usually 1 & 4. ONE two three FOUR five six.
Of course this is all subject to endless debate. One could call 12/8 a 4/4 with triplets. One could call 2/2 a 4/4 with half notes. Its all the feel, tempo, and phrasing of the music. Whatever is said, there is a clear distinction between duple and triple meter. (6/8 and 3/4)
I like Bosman's response too. Just to check I'm okay with the theory:
I'm thinking Osibisa's The Dawn could be notated as a fast 3/4 or a 12/8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4xlfdL5LWQ
And a standard blues beat as in John Mayall's Out of Reach is 6/8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qFyJARcW4
Do I get a gold star or dunce cap?
I reckon The Dawn is 12/8 since there's a distinct quarter note pulse with triplets over the top, and in fact I think Out of Reach is also 12/8 since the phrases are four beats long. In fact, you can tell from the chord changes since it's a 12-bar blues progression, indicating that each bar is four beats long. Simple!