Question about time signatures...

penguindf12 wrote: I always think of 7/8 as One two One t/ One two One t/, like in UK's "In the Dead of Night" and Chris Squire's "Lucky Seven". It's like 4/4 but with a half beat at the end. Either that or One two three four one two three. Really very simple, but I found it hard at first to comprehend how you tell where a measure "sits" in the piece of music. It just "comes" to you.

If you count like that and it really fits, it might be a 7/4, seen as 4/4 + 3/4. Check where the bass and snare drum are ... that also helps to make that determination. Below are two examples:

7/8:

b   s   b   s 
1 + 2 + 3 + 4

7/4:

b   s   b   s   b   s   b
1   2   3   4   1   2   3

Certif1ed wrote: I think it'd be better to imagine 7/8 as 6/8 + 1/3 beat... Basically there are 2 types of time signature: Simple Compound Simple time (simplified ) is anything over 4, because that's the number of beats you count in a bar. With time signatures greater than 4/4, it's a matter of breaking it down into 2s, 3s and 4s, so 11/4 could be 4+4+3/4, 3+3+3+2/4 and so on.   Compound time is best considered in terms of anything over 8 - but obviously there's more to it. Consider 6/8 time. It has 2 dotted crotchet beats to the bar, with quaver movement akin to triplets, but not playing "against the grain" - thus achieving a smoother sound, widely considered to be "Pastoral" in feel. This is what is compound about it - you can count both the number of quavers and the number of dotted crotchet beats that underly the rhythm. Hence 7/8 time should be 2 dotted crotchets + 1 quaver. If there's more of a 4+3 feel to the underlying beat, then chances are it's actually in 7/4. I hope that clarifies it

That clears it right up.  I thought I understood time signatures until I read that. 

God only knows how a novice would feel.

Certif1ed wrote: I think it'd be better to imagine 7/8 as 6/8 + 1/3 beat...

For most situations it is more appropriate to see it as 8/8 - 1/8, wouldn't you think?

I think it'd be better to imagine 7/8 as 6/8 + 1/3 beat...

Basically there are 2 types of time signature:

1. Simple
2. Compound

Simple time (simplified ) is anything over 4, because that's the number of beats you count in a bar.

With time signatures greater than 4/4, it's a matter of breaking it down into 2s, 3s and 4s, so 11/4 could be 4+4+3/4, 3+3+3+2/4 and so on.

Compound time is best considered in terms of anything over 8 - but obviously there's more to it.

Consider 6/8 time. It has 2 dotted crotchet beats to the bar, with quaver movement akin to triplets, but not playing "against the grain" - thus achieving a smoother sound, widely considered to be "Pastoral" in feel.

This is what is compound about it - you can count both the number of quavers and the number of dotted crotchet beats that underly the rhythm.

Hence 7/8 time should be 2 dotted crotchets + 1 quaver. If there's more of a 4+3 feel to the underlying beat, then chances are it's actually in 7/4.

I hope that clarifies it

There's no simple way to explain time signatures. It's actually not complicated at all, it's just trying to understand it (because it's tricky to explain) that's the hard part. Once you understand what the numbers mean - how they relate to the note values and the beat, you're laughing because it's so easy from there.

The trickiest part is getting your head around it in the beginning. The vocalist for my band knows nothing about music theory and just trying to teach him the basics i've written up 7 pages worth of material, and i'm not yet done. I'm sure there are web pages out there that can help you out. Good luck!