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MUSIC THEORY - Lesson 6 - Time signatures and tempo

Andrew Milner

Campfire Attention Holder
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    So like, does time have a digital signature and uses a certain tempo to sign stuff?

    1. Topics of discussion
    2. Time signatures explained
    3. Counting a measure
    4. Understanding
    1. Topics of discussion

    In this tutorial, we are going to discuss time signatures, how to count a measure and learn all about what tempo is. So, let's have some fun.

    2. Time signatures explained

    A time signature is used to define how many beats there are in a bar/measure of a song. Let's take a look at an example from a previous tutorial:

    sheet.png


    As you can see, we have a 4/4 time signature in this one. The first number (the one on the top of the music sheet) represents the number of beats in one measure while the second one represents the note duration which constitutes a single beat in that measure.

    In our case, the song is written in a time signature which consists of the equivalent of 4 quarter notes per bar and each measure has 4 beats. And as you can see, it's up to us to decide how we are going to fill those 4 beats. In our case, we have various examples, such as rests, whole notes, sixteenth notes and so on. Hence why I said equivalent.

    Time signatures can either be read by using only the numbers (e.g. four-four) or by also specifying the note duration that constitutes a beat (e.g. four quarter notes). More often than not you'll hear musicians use the first variant though.

    Other than 4/4, other common time signatures are 2/2, 3/4, 6/8, etc.

    3. Counting a measure

    Some of you with a keen eye for math might say something like: "wait a minute, 3/4 and 6/8 seem to be exactly the same thing, beat wise...what gives?". And while mathematically you are correct (3/4 is equal to 6/8), music-wise they are very different. The difference lies in how many beats one must count when a song is written in 3/4 versus when a song is written in 6/8.

    As we've learned before, the first number represents the number of beats in a measure which also means that that number is how many beats you are supposed to count. When a song is written in 3/4, you have to count a total of 3 beats (from 1 to 3). When a song is written in 6/8, you have to count to 6. And so on.

    Counting a measure is the process in which a musician uses a certain counting technique in order to make sure that he is playing the notes on the beat they are meant to be played, not before or after. And based on the notes in a measure, there are several ways in which you can count a measure, which we will be looking at in a few moments.

    Worth noting is that until one gets accustomed to the specifics of a song, counting out loud is actually very useful. Afterward, musicians will develop the ability to keep a mental count. What I am saying is that there is no shame in counting out loud at first until you are comfortable.

    So, let's take a look at the different ways in which you can count a measure:

    counting.png


    Here's how this sounds. Try and count along as the example plays in order to get accustomed to counting.

    As you can see, as the duration gets shorter, we have to add some extra words in order to make sure we respect the beats per measure. For 32nd notes, since it may be difficult to grasp from the image, the counting goes something like 1 e and a and e and a 2 e and a and e and a 3 e and a and e and a 4 e and a and e and a. For 16th notes, it's 1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e and a.

    Also worth noting is that for each measure we count to 4 and every time we say a number it's the beginning of a beat. And if you're wondering about rests, whenever you have a rest anywhere in your bar, the rules are the same for notes, so you'll be using the same counting way as if it was a note there.


    4. Understanding tempo

    In music, the tempo is used to define the speed at which a piece of music is meant to be played. You have two ways of notating tempo:
    • using classical tempo marking - there are quite a few Italian words that are used to describe tempo
    • using a note duration (indicated by the time signature, more precisely the note duration considered when counting the beats in a bar) and associating a number of beats per minute to it
    More often than not you'll encounter the second notation, which usually bases the tempo on the duration of a quarter note.

    So what about these beats per minute? Well, as the name suggests, when you define a tempo in beats per minute, then you have to adapt your speed of playing so as to make sure that, in a minute, you have played as many beats as the tempo tells you to.

    The simplest example is for songs written in 60 BPM. If we consider our time signature to be 4/4, then a quarter note will last a beat. And if the tempo states that we have to have 60 beats in a minute, then for such a song, 1 beat will last 1 second. In other words, a quarter note in such a song lasts 1 second, a whole note lasts 4 seconds, a half note lasts 2 seconds, an eighth note lasts half a second and so on.

    You don't have to worry about computing these numbers in your head. You can use a metronome, be it online or physical, and it will provide you an audio aid that should allow you to play in time. And once you become a seasoned musician, these values will become embedded in your brain and you'll be able to feel the tempo without the need of a metronome.

    Let's now listen to the C major scale played at different tempos, so you can get a better feel about this whole concept. Here's what we will be listening to:

    tempo_example.png


    We're going to play this at 60 BPM, 80 BPM, 90 BPM, 110 BPM, 120 BPM, 140 BPM, and 170 BPM in order for you to be able to get a good feel of a wide tempo range. You can also count these measures with the techniques presented in the previous section:

    As for the Italian (or classical, if you will) notation, a comprehensive list of all the possible tempo markings can be found here along with the corresponding BPM range.

    And that about covers it for this tutorial. Next time we're going to take a look at tones and semitones. Keep up the good work and see you then. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.
     
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