In time signatures the number above the line tells you how many beats (not actual notes) there are in a bar and the lower number tells you the time value of each beat. If you consider when listening to music in 4/4 you will generally be tapping your foot 4 times per bar irrespective of how many or few notes there are in each bar of the music.
4/4 does not mean that you can only have 4 notes in a bar or that a note can only be a 4th note. It does tell you that total number of notes and rests in bar will be equal to the same value as four 4th notes.
Yes if you make a pattern length of 14 steps, or exact multiples of 14 steps, then you can achieve a 7/8 time signature (14/16 is 7/8).
Notice I use the word achieve because setting a pattern to 14 steps is no guarantee that the time signature is actually 7/8. Three bars of 4/4 does not sound the same as four bars of 3/4 but they are the same length.
As said aove we spea about rhythm here not notes. Indeed a 7/8 is a rhythm where one bar is divided/can be counted in 7 beats of 8th until it comes back to the first beat of the next bar. The length of the bar is determined y the tempo (bpm).
Thanks alot! The reason i asked was because alot of people where complaining about the lack of time signatures on the Akai Force. And everytime i asked if looping tracks at different steps gave the same results as a 7/8 for example, nobody had an answer.
Yeah, i knew that you could have different notes than quarter notes in a 4/4. And that using triplets can give 3/4. (but not really, it just sounds the same?)
The tricky part to “get” when comming from 4/4 electronic music based sequencers is how tempo affects therminology.
But if i have a steady 4/4 beat. And have all the other tracks at differenth lenghts. That is polymetric? And polyrythmic would have all tracks loop at the same time, but the distance between the notes would change?
Sorry for derailing the thread. Just want to learn!
Unfortunately time signatures are not quite so straightforward.
For example a 6/8 time signature is felt as two beats to the bar not six. It is a compound time signature which means the each beat is divided into 3 equal parts. So in 6/8 the actual beat length is 3/8. This is why setting pattern lengths is only an aid to obtaining a required time signature.
Complex (or irregular) time signatures like 7/8 are like a combination of simple and compound beats.
Standard music terms and notation are way way older than the oldest step sequencer or groove box so don’t necessarily fit well.
Step sequencers, and in particular those that have a physical button per step, are always going to be problematic with things like triplets and non 4/4 time signatures. Devices like the Akai MPC One handle these thing better but have their own drawbacks.
If you don’t relate the time signature to a tempo, some rhythms can be hard to count. You need to know where is the 1 and need the bpm for that.
A same groove can be heard played in 12/8 or in 4/4 according the bpm it is played in.
If on 1 track you sequence the takamba rhythm from the video and you set a kick in 4/4 on another track it will be a total different feeling than with a 12/8.
I think you will find that every music theory text book will refer to 6/8 as a compound time signature.
In 6/8 music each bar is divided into two equal parts so that quavers are grouped in threes
If you write a bar of music which contains six 8th notes but is not divided into two equal parts then technically it is not a 6/8 time signature
Commonly used time signatures have a known and universally accepted feel to them otherwise it would be quite difficult to write music that other musicians can play just by reading the score.
I’m glad to see this thread evolved beyond my OP; good to know that music theory is still relevant for a lot of people.
My question was also answered and I guess the nature of modern step sequencing and it’s relatively recent history, particularly within the context of contemporary mass marketed drum machines and “grooveboxes”, is the real limiting factor here; they were designed for music written in 4/4.
One does not use a harpsichord to perform a piano concerto.
I do think it would not be that hard for Elektron to allow the Octatrack (for example) to have 4 pages of 12 steps, to make it easier to make 3/4 for example. (Please, Elektron, if you’re listening!).
Lately, I like to try 3/4 and I end up with 48 steps in 3 pages, even though I’m programming 4 bars. Not really a straightforward way to program them, right? Or am I thinking wrongly about this?
One awesome thing on the monomachine though: If you set 3/4 on the scale length, Arpeggiator will have 3 steps per beat, which makes it really convenient to program melodies in 3/4!
If anyone has tricks on how to achieve 3/4 differently/conveniently please let me know! Also, tricks on other time signatures are welcome!
Yeah this would be nice. One thing I like about my TR8-S, if you choose a step length shorter than 16, and have multiple pages, all pages have the same length. Makes things very quick and easy.
