Still No Time Signature Changes!!!!

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
deutero
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Post by deutero » Wed May 23, 2007 1:49 pm

thelocalhost wrote:
Tone Deft wrote:Nice post localhost, I needed the refresher. The bassline to Money is a great example.
1 2 and 3
4 5 6 7
If I remember right.
exactly. It's like a 3+4 type of thing.

It's good to break 'longer' meters (11, 7, 5, 13, etc..) into piece that help capture the musical phrasing.

Another nice odd time song is 'the becoming' by NIN. it's alternating bars of 7 and 6.

Schism by tool is a nice piece song that is 7 + 5. Or 1+2+d 1+2+3+d.

There's tons of the other songs in odd time.

Name your favorite!
There's always the excellent "Time Out" album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet--all odd-meter jazz, and all fantastic. That album rocks my world, and is so interesting rhythmically, but I don't see how one could do anything like its rhythmic adventures in Live, at least not without some mind-numbing workarounds. This is from the Wikipedia article about it:
Wikipedia wrote:Although the theme (and the title) of Time Out is non-common-time signatures, things are not quite so simple. "Blue Rondo à la Turk" starts in 9/8 (the rhythm of the Turkish zeybek, equivalent of the Greek zeibekiko), but alternates with 4/4, while "Strange Meadow Lark" is too flexible to be pinned down to a particular time signature, though there are hints of waltz time. "Take Five" ("supposed to be a Joe Morello drum solo", according to Desmond) is in 5/4 throughout. "Three to Get Ready" begins in waltz-time, after which it begins to alternate between two measures of 3/4 (the waltz-time), and two of 4/4. "Kathy's Waltz" (misspelt after Brubeck's daughter, Cathy) starts in 4/4, and only later switches to double-waltz time, before merging the two. "Everybody's Jumpin' " is mainly in a very flexible 6/4, while "Pick Up Sticks" firms that up into a clear and steady 6/4.

Aside from all this, Desmond has a habit of smoothing the time into something nearer 4/4 as he plays. Partly because of this, but mainly because of the skill and jazz sensibilities of the musicians, the complex and non-jazz rhythms don't stop the music from swinging.
More in the pop world, there are always Beatles songs such as "Good Morning Good Morning," "We Can Work It Out," "She Said She Said," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "All You Need is Love," "Don't Let Me Down," "Two of Us," "Across the Universe," and "Here Comes the Sun" which employ multiple meters.

Use of multiple meters is relevant to mainstream music--it's not just reserved for the "out there" experimental set. And, as such, it's perfectly reasonable that so many of us are bewildered by the lack of ability to properly employ meter changes in Live at this point of its development. I'm not trying to be arty and clever when I write a meter change--sometimes it's just what needs to happen.
Live 8 w/ EIC, XP Pro SP3, 1.8GHz Core Duo, 3GB RAM, PreSonus Firebox, Evolution MK-425c, Korg nanoKONTROL, Akai LPK25, Akai LPD8, bigger than average brain (large hats)

udp
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Post by udp » Wed May 23, 2007 4:09 pm

deutero wrote:
thelocalhost wrote:
Tone Deft wrote:Nice post localhost, I needed the refresher. The bassline to Money is a great example.
1 2 and 3
4 5 6 7
If I remember right.
exactly. It's like a 3+4 type of thing.

It's good to break 'longer' meters (11, 7, 5, 13, etc..) into piece that help capture the musical phrasing.

Another nice odd time song is 'the becoming' by NIN. it's alternating bars of 7 and 6.

Schism by tool is a nice piece song that is 7 + 5. Or 1+2+d 1+2+3+d.

There's tons of the other songs in odd time.

Name your favorite!
There's always the excellent "Time Out" album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet--all odd-meter jazz, and all fantastic. That album rocks my world, and is so interesting rhythmically, but I don't see how one could do anything like its rhythmic adventures in Live, at least not without some mind-numbing workarounds. This is from the Wikipedia article about it:
Wikipedia wrote:Although the theme (and the title) of Time Out is non-common-time signatures, things are not quite so simple. "Blue Rondo à la Turk" starts in 9/8 (the rhythm of the Turkish zeybek, equivalent of the Greek zeibekiko), but alternates with 4/4, while "Strange Meadow Lark" is too flexible to be pinned down to a particular time signature, though there are hints of waltz time. "Take Five" ("supposed to be a Joe Morello drum solo", according to Desmond) is in 5/4 throughout. "Three to Get Ready" begins in waltz-time, after which it begins to alternate between two measures of 3/4 (the waltz-time), and two of 4/4. "Kathy's Waltz" (misspelt after Brubeck's daughter, Cathy) starts in 4/4, and only later switches to double-waltz time, before merging the two. "Everybody's Jumpin' " is mainly in a very flexible 6/4, while "Pick Up Sticks" firms that up into a clear and steady 6/4.

Aside from all this, Desmond has a habit of smoothing the time into something nearer 4/4 as he plays. Partly because of this, but mainly because of the skill and jazz sensibilities of the musicians, the complex and non-jazz rhythms don't stop the music from swinging.
More in the pop world, there are always Beatles songs such as "Good Morning Good Morning," "We Can Work It Out," "She Said She Said," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "All You Need is Love," "Don't Let Me Down," "Two of Us," "Across the Universe," and "Here Comes the Sun" which employ multiple meters.

Use of multiple meters is relevant to mainstream music--it's not just reserved for the "out there" experimental set. And, as such, it's perfectly reasonable that so many of us are bewildered by the lack of ability to properly employ meter changes in Live at this point of its development. I'm not trying to be arty and clever when I write a meter change--sometimes it's just what needs to happen.
+1!
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http://www.udpmusic.com

totalvo
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 10:36 pm

I agree

Post by totalvo » Wed May 23, 2007 4:44 pm

I would like to be able to change time, i often do in my composition. It limits this program to certain genres of music.

thelocalhost
Posts: 194
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:40 pm

Post by thelocalhost » Wed May 23, 2007 7:43 pm

deutero wrote:There's always the excellent "Time Out" album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet--all odd-meter jazz, and all fantastic. That album rocks my world, and is so interesting rhythmically, but I don't see how one could do anything like its rhythmic adventures in Live, at least not without some mind-numbing workarounds. This is from the Wikipedia article about it:
I remember seeing a Brubeck documentary and I got the feeling that he thought he was inspiring a complete change in jazz, a huge evolutionary step. He was utilizing many exotic times and rhythms within a jazz setting. But in reality, it just went back to the 'standard' jazz meters and no one really furthered the route that brubeck was traveling on. I always wondered why this didn't resonant more in western music; take 5 is a very popular song.

itook4lefts
Posts: 434
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:55 pm
Location: exeter, uk

Post by itook4lefts » Wed May 23, 2007 10:19 pm

udp wrote:Just as useful, but more difficult is throwing in a 7/8 bar amonst 4/4. All this talk about 2/2 vs. 4/4 is fine, but the problem is in the numerator not the denominator. there is always an easy "translator" for the denominator ( 2*1/8=1/4_) but even switching from 4/4 to 3/4 is confusing at best. Its the flexibility there that is needed.
absolutely.

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