Time Signatures Explained for Beginners - my formula to figure out any time signature!
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- čas přidán 2. 05. 2024
- In this video i'll explain how time signatures work for beginners or those looking for a quick refresher on how to approach any time signature you might encounter in a piece of music.
I'm Ruairi, and I'm a London based percussionist and composer and make tutorials and documentaries about music.
Timestamps:
00:00 : Intro
0:40 : The top number
1:08 : What is a bar in music?
1:33 : The bottom number
1:58 : The most common examples
3:35 : My formula for identifying time signatures
3:45 : Irregular time signatures
5:00 : Common time and cut-common time
6:24 : Time signatures with 32 on the bottom
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🎥 Learn about my documentary series here - www.HiddenDrummers.com
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©Ruairi Glasheen 2020
Thanks for checking out my video on time signatures in music! Don't hesitate to ask me any questions in the comments and let me know what you think of my tutorial!
Thank you for your explanation, good video. Fwiw, though, giving actual musical examples would've been far more effective.
Where is your video on the pulse of music? I’m so confused about 2/2 being faster than 4/4 because I would think music where half notes get one beat would be slower. I heard some music earlier tonight I thought would be 4/2 because it was slow (what sounded like two beats for one beat to me) and four beats in a bar. Thank you! If you can point me in the direction of your pulse of music video I will watch it.
Yes, I think demonstrating the beats on the piano would have made the explanations much more helpful, though the explanations were great.@@George_D777
Please I would like you to do a video showing the difference of the time signatures let me know how it sounds like..
Even though am just seeing this video for the first time after 2years that you've posted it 😂
So what would be an orchestra conductor equivalent shredding on a musical instrument? In other words, what would be the most complicated conducting and what would look like?
Can you do a video giving musical examples of some time signatures? Would love to actually HEAR the differences. Thank you!
I agree, please give examples so we can hear
Exactly, I still didn't understand almost anything
@@GaryShayneif my high school music theory serves me, and it’s been nearly 40 years, it goes back to how music notation evolved in England, back in the monastic period when it was mainly monks recording the music on paper. Heavy Latin roots given the period, which makes sense, and inevitably connected to religion. Then the Protestant reformation happened (hello Germany), many left for the new world (the US) and took newer nomenclature with them. You’ll interestingly find similar naming differences in hand tools, the English names & words go back to Roman words, via medieval ones, whereas many in the US root in German.
If you’ve ever had a music theory teacher that studied in the UK, or even in parts of Europe, they’ll often “accidentally” fall back on those terms, mine did.
I sometimes revert to things like quaver when speaking about modes, I mean, we do have the English & European monks to thank for them. Nearly all modern music theory can be traced back to them. Religion & beer, the things that shaped how much of society…
Yeah I would like that please..
Even though am just seeing this video after 2years 😂
Good informative video mate! Would like to see a video in which one can indetify those time signatures in a song. Give examples of odd time songs, and count them out to identity the time signature.
Brilliantly explained, this has suddenly become clear. Thank you
Your amazing man THIS is how music should be taught in theory classes. Earned yourself a sub 😎
Awesome - thanks Gabriel!
this video helped way more than my real life music teacher, thank you so much
So glad it helped!
thank you so much for this video!! you were the only one who got me to understand what the bottom number means 😅🙏
Very well explained - thank you
Thank you so much for this! It makes so much more sense now!
Eloy Casagrande's english has improved a lot.
I don't understand why none of these videos explaining time signatures give any examples of what the different signatures sound like. It would be so helpful. Otherwise, great video & thank you for the lesson!
Cobb the drummer does if you haven’t found him already
Thank u so much im starting to slightly understand now and this will help me when i play the piano😊❤
Thanks for the easy to understand explanation!!!
This is the best video ever! I have never felt this reassured
More great content, thank you Ruairi! I'll need to look up some video examples of some of these to fully understand them, I think.
Thanks for the kind words! Glad you found it a good starting point! R
The best explanation that I have ever seen. No one would/could ever explain this to me. I am very grateful, thank you
Glad it was helpful!
@@bodhran first time it ever made sense
this is a good explanation, would be great to hear an example beat with each time signature to see (hear) the difference
Great quick lesson!
Very helpful!
Thank you Ruairi. This video was very informative :)
This is great - thank you for detailing this!
You're very welcome!
Amazing..
Thanks
thank you for enlighten me for what i am confused !
Thanks for your video. I remember some things from beginning band but you helped me understand.
I have been practicing the bass guitar and the mandolin.
Lately been watching drumming videos and trying to understand the timing used in drums.
Awesome Todd!
Great video. Very informative and helpful. Thankyou. Would love to hear more of your music theory videos. You are the best I have heard.👍❤
Thanks for the kind words. More to come!
this was a brilliant video. Probably the best one for explanations. Thank you for making the video
Great explanation thanks!
You have the clearest explanation. Thank you Sir!
You are welcome Ronaldo!
Just subscribed to your channel. You can recognize the mark of a really good teacher! One who can explain something that sounds difficult and make it easy..Thank you!
👏😍
Wow, thank you, thats really kind of you to say Theresa! 🙏
Very well explained! Thanks so much for another awesome video! :)
Thanks Jeni!
Helpful tutorial. Thanks much.
I finally understood time signatures because of this video thank you so much,dude now I can ace my test
Thank you so much finnaly understand !
An impressive lesson,❤kindly,explain how you can get to know the tempo of a song using time signature.
Tempo and time signature are different. Tempo is speed, time signature is number of beats.
It was just a thought on my wit that time signatures are to some extend related to time signature.Thankd for your response.Your good work has made me like your videos,
If you can do a video on all types of Tempo and detail their explanation as you've done with this video,it will be helpful sir
Thank you ❤❤
Thanks
Amazing lesson !
What an amazing video! Thank you.
Glad you found it helpful!
Clear, concise and cogent ! Great video & thank you from New Zealand
Awesome - thanks Neville!
I don't still get the bottom ones but I still appreciate this video
The best explanation ever, before watching this viduo i was so confused about the down no., it was more clear when u gave couple of examples, thanku
Very glad it helped! Thanks for the kind words
Well done good explanation
Wow, this was really helpful Ruairi, thank you so much. Struggling with the 5/8🤷🏼♂️😂
I'm learning music in french but watch lessons in english as well and thank you for including images of what 8th notes quarter notes etc are because in french we just call them by color so it was so confusing to me
Thank you sir, you really helped me alot with studying for exam
Glad to hear that! Hope it goes well!
Seven quavers, seven quasars... Oh! Thanks for giving the signature idea for my future song~! Seven Quasars!
Final I get it thanks 👍
Very helpful thanx😊
Wow well explained
this helped so much! thank you
Glad it helped Elan!
Omg thank you so much... i just started with piano again after 10 years break to give it another try and i didn't understand what the bottom number means... thats why i stopped it 10 years ago. i got so confused. You just needed some seconds to explain it. No other video helped me so much ❤
You are very welcome! Wishing you the best with your next musical chapter :)
Hey can you make a video with the beats playing as well as we talk about them
Wow I have got a better understanding of time signature, now I need examples
good info... good class
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much!
You're welcome!
im a grade 5 with a grade 6 book this video made me understand this more! thanks
Oooooooooohhhhhh..... THANK YOU!!!!
You are welcome!
Can you give a video how about the nature or the sound of a time signature in piano
This is the best video on this that I've seen
So glad to hear its been helpful - more on the way!
thank u sir 😘😘😘
Excellent thank-you
You are welcome!
subscribed Sir! The simplicity of your explanation!!! How I wish to have you as my teacher!!
Thank you Daniele, and welcome! 🌟
Thank you very much Sir, I'm teaching Music in Elementary and your video is of great help for me.
Glad to hear that!
@@bodhran watching from Philippines !
Love from India❤..thank you for lesson
Great! You should include waltz time, 3/4, which is common and can be difficult to understand.
Tks🎉🎉🎉🎉 I learned a lot my music teacher is scary and I can't understand anything he teach😢😢😢 but I understand now🎉🎉🎉🎉
It would be good to hear the sound of the different time signatures to really begin to understand. Can you play a 4/36 slowly in theory or is the beat always faster with shorter notes in the bar? Ok if I seem dense, not proud!
Great question! Technically you could play 4/36, or any /36 time sig slowly though I the implication is that its fast as its counted in semiquavers so smaller subdivisions. Not dense at all - its interesting!
I love this helped me so much with my music homework UR THE GOAT OF MUSIC MATE
(Btw goat means greatest of all time)
🐐🤣
I loved this tutorial - thank you. Is there any way in the world you would consent to helping me identify a beat i'm working on and can't figure out?I am a bass player thats been tasked with programing drums and I'm in way over my head
Thanks well explained sir. It would be nice if u help us understand by either tapping or using an instrument so it made better sense. Thanks ❤
clear as mud
Thanks! I'm rehearsing for Les Miserables (actor) and I can't read music, so this helps me a lot. I noticed that generally in my Lebretto, I see 6:3 in the notes, but I also see 72 Moderator above the notes. This confuses me. Would you be able to explain?
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Please make a video on what to know before a person can be able to compose songs
Minums, crochets, quavers, semi-quavers .. I have never heard these designations before! Learn something everyday .. I guess from the folks that gave us yards, feet, inches, pounds, tons! I wonder are there metric music time notations?
Thank you for a great explanation! :)
But I still have a question: if we have 4|4, then 4*1/4 = 1 whole note. Does this mean that each bar's 100% is the whole 1 note in duration?
And then, in 4|2 we have 4 half notes, but it is more that 1 whole in total for a bar, basically 4*1/2 = 2 whole note durations in a single bar
On 5|4 etc
How do you "fit" more notes/durations in a bar with these signatures? Where first number is bigger than second :)
Thank you in advance for an answer!
Was wondering the exact same thing…🧐
I guess he is wrong in this case.was thinking d same.
The theory is the Very good to understand but it will best if shows with practicals.
Thank u very much.
I can write and have ever written church music in solfa notation but i can't read nor type in staff notation. I don't understand it.
These terms of staff music; crochet,quaver,minim...confuse me
Hi. Great video. This is confusing. Is there such a thing as 8/8? I think the song I'm writing is in this time signature.
Make a video about value of time signature
With a pulse of 60 bpm, for example, I have two different time signatures, 4/2 and 4/4. Will a half-note have the same duration (i.e., value) as a quarter-note? Sorry if that was confusing.
My next question is does the time signature change the length of time for which someone plays a bar. Is that denoted by the speed written on the sheet e.g. one crotchet = 96 ?
I’m trying to write a song right now but I’m kind of a beginner to it all, and the problem I’m having is finding the time signature that the song I’m writing is. How would I do that by ear?
When the lower number is 2 which indicates Minim beates. Dose the Value of Minim Changes to 1 beat ?
For Example if their is 3/2 time signature we will have 3 Minims but then the total count of beats would be 8. So Dose the Value of note decreases would u pls explain 🙏🙏
0:57 I was waiting for the 27 dots!
Hahahaha! I considered it 🤓😂
LOVE IT! THANK YOU!
❤😂🎉great
I have been writing music on guitar for a long time and never really gave time signature a thought. Now that I am writing things out, I realized I don't have a clue.
Do the notes have to sum up to the bottom number?
Great video, but wouldn't a cut time piece be slow? Not fast like you said @5:46. Isn't it counting a slow 1...2...1...2...
So i dont quite understand i dont think so 4:4 would be 1,2 3,4 and 4:8 would be 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Is that right?
😊
Türkçe altyazı alabilir miyiz 😁
Damn it I wish I could grasp this.
great info in this video! One thing that has been burning a hole in my brain though- why is a quarter note called a quarter note in 3/4 time- wouldn't it be a third note!?
probably why many call them crotchets!
Feels like there are some missing “why” questions. Why is there the concept of a measure, for instance? If I knew why I need a measure, then it might make more sense why I specify the number of beats and the notation for the beat. Which leads to the question of why is the notation specifier (the bottom number) mixed up with how beats should be partitioned (the measure). I’m going to guess that the purpose of all this stuff is to make music easy to read - and probably nothing else. I can write a “measure” of 6 32nd notes or equivalently a measure of 6 1/4 notes. The latter has a lot less fluff. I am also guessing that when there is a mixed time signature like 4:4 going to 3:4 that the actual time duration of the bottom number beat type doesn’t change. Again it is easier to read if you can now re-chunk the number of beats. There’s a lot more that can be said such as the time signature specifying (mysteriously) how beats are accented. I’m going back to my original hypothesis that it’s all about making sight reading as easy as possible. Regarding accents, they could be specified note for note, but if you specify it as 3:4 time and you know it’s a waltz, you can fill in all the accents yourself. Or, in the first measure show that the first beat is to be accented in all the measures.
What about 7/8 vs 7/16?
What’s the difference between a 1/4 not and a 1/2 note etc.
im confused, you say that 4/2 is equivalent to 4 minims per bar, but, the minims last (if im not bad) 2 times or pulse, so how can 4/2 be 4 minims per bar if each of them last two times, I'm a beginner at this btw, So if I'm wrong I would love an explanation from you and a correction from you, really.
sir i dont understanding pleas say with music