I'm struggling to think of one, now I just skip the track straight away when one comes on as they are invariably dirges.
I challenge you to name one.
Hickory Dickory Dock?
We are the Champions (not sure)
Norwegian Wood
I'll have a think see if i can come with any more
as they are invariably dirges.
A non-dirge, earlier...
Ooh yes, that is good song challenge game there nickc. Although, is Norwegian Wood in 3/4?
@idleJon I said good, not popular, and as I'm sure we all know the terms are not equivalent 🙂
For the musically challenged amongst us, what does that mean and how does one know what 'time' a song is in?
@idleJon I said good, not popular, and as I’m sure we all know the terms are not equivalent 🙂
Oh you're so picky! 😀
Although, is Norwegian Wood in 3/4?
Nope, 6/8
@tlr it refers to beats to a measure.
6/8 or 3/4 is waltz timing, so on the beat; "1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4", whereas straight 4 /4 is just "1 and 2 and 3 and 4" so 6/8 gives you a sort of swing to the song like a waltz..
Was going to suggest Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls but my guitar tab app tells me it's 12/8.
SOAD being very un-dirgey..
Riverboat Song?
Ha, I'll go 50% better - Apocalypse in 9/8 by Genesis.
How about that Tom Robinson Band song?
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Seal - Kiss from a rose.
Two bangers right there!
(assuming my google search is throwing up correct results)
this big tune is also part played in 6/8 i believe..
I know it's not strictly the same, but my mate did an album on 3/4 time songs...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Four-Jon-Boydon/dp/B006BZ6YCG
For the musically challenged amongst us, what does that mean and how does one know what ‘time’ a song is in?
If you're tapping along to the beat, you'll notice that some beats have a bit more emphasis on them. In simple terms, those bigger beats are the first count of the time signature, and the number of beats between these form the pattern.
So if you're counting 1-2-3, 1-2-3, that gives you the first number in your time signature - 3 . The second number is a guide to the 'length' of note in each beat - so you could end up with 3/4, which is three beats of a note called a crotchet.
6/8 is quite similar sounding, except that the emphasis falls on every sixth beat. the 8 stands for a note half as long as a crotchet, called a quaver.
Trying to spot how songwriters/composers mess around with time signatures can be fun and games.
For example, what time signature is 'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers?
Then you get stuff like On The Luna by Foals, which is a polymeter song, in that for parts of it the instruments are playing different time signatures to each other..
This always confuses me.
Is this in 6/8 …?
Listening to it again, it’s straight 3/4, yes?
3/4 maybe. There doesn't seem to be any difference between the 1st and 4th beats to make it more 6/8-like.
Try this one:
I play Golden Brown and it's a mix of time sIgnatures, three bars of three followed by a bar of four. One two three, One two three, One two three, One two three four.
Here comes the sun changes tiem signature in different parts of the song. You don't realise till you try to play it.
Seal – Kiss from a rose.
The orchestral arrangement I've played of this is in fast 3/4 - and that's supported by the phrasing of the vocals, they don't tend to stretch across two bars as you'd expect in 6/8.
Isn't 'Call Me' by Blondie in 6/8 time?
Feels more like 4/4 to me, unless there's some trickery in the arrangement I'm not noticing.
It's a running joke in our house - almost every time MrsDoris mentions that she really likes the feel of a track, I point out that it's in 6/8.
6/8 tunes often have a bit of a 'sway' going on which suits a kind of chilled, dreamy vibe. Like this:
ditch_jockey
Isn’t ‘Call Me’ by Blondie in 6/8 time?
Fast swing/shuffled 4/4 - I suppose you could argue for a fast 12/8, but it isn't really.
Isn’t ‘Call Me’ by Blondie in 6/8 time?
Hmm, well the main beat is clearly 4/4 but there are those triplets so.. 12/12? According to the internet what I am thinking of is defined as 12/8 and clearly fits the song:
https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/time-signatures-explained-part-3-writing-songs-in-12-8.html
Yeah that's 4/4
Hmm, well the main beat is clearly 4/4 but there are those triplets so.. 12/12?
Nope, 4/4 with triplets...
I just don't know why it's 12 8th notes instead of 12 12th notes or even 12 quarter notes, maybe something to do with the nominal tempo.
a kind of chilled, dreamy vibe
Also known as a dirge, they are usually self indulgent too.
Hmm, well the main beat is clearly 4/4 but there are those triplets so.. 12/12? According to the internet what I am thinking of is defined as 12/8 and clearly fits the song:
The time signature is trying to make sense of the main beat of the song, although in 'Call Me' you have a section of triplets in the drum intro, and elsewhere, the vocal/guitar is obviously hitting 4/4 and sticking with it all the way. In the same way the drum intro to 'I Fought the Law' by The Clash doesn't dictate the overall signature.
Here comes the sun changes tiem signature in different parts of the song.
Paranoid Android does as well. From 4/4 for most of the song with a couple of bars at 7/8
I just don’t know why it’s 12 8th notes instead of 12 12th notes or even 12 quarter notes, maybe something to do with the nominal tempo.
It's to do with the subdivisions of the beats in the bar. 4/4 means four quarter notes in a bar.
The triplets are played over one quarter note (if 8th note triplets), so it is till 4/4.
If it is 12/8 then the feel is '123,123,123,123' not '1234,'1234,1234'.
12/12 I think would mean each 'beat' would be a single instance of a 8th note triplet.
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters - not just a 'good' song but flippin' epic!
What’s that in BPM?
Isn’t ‘Call Me’ by Blondie in 6/8 time?
No. Plus (for extra nerd points) It's not "by" Blondie, the lyrics are credited to Debbie Harry and I think Blondie may get playing credits, but the song is by Georgio Moroder
Paranoid Android does as well. From 4/4 for most of the song with a couple of bars at 7/8
Quite a few Jethro Tull songs as well, although I can't think of one off the top of my head. They often did awkward key changes in songs as well. Can't imagine why they got labelled as prog. (Living in the Past was 5/4, iirc?)
They often did awkward key changes in songs as well
All Around the World by Oasis has 3 key changes in the outro, and Noel once said (I'm not kidding) "Imagine how much better Hey Jude would have been had there been key changes in it". Which if nothing else is a warning to us all about the dangers of doing too much coke.
A key change is a very different thing to a change in time signature.
Edit. Rereading the above i guess you knew that 🙂
What’s that in BPM?
If you watch guitarist's foot at 1:57 you'll see he's tapping roughly 140bpm.
6/8 or 3/4 is waltz timing
No. 3/4 is waltz time. 6/8 is a jig (or gigue is you're in classical mode).
That Blondie up there - 12/8, only an idiot would notate it in 4/4 with triplets.
I just don’t know why it’s 12 8th notes instead of 12 12th notes or even 12 quarter notes, maybe something to do with the nominal tempo.
Count the notes, there are 12 in the bar. They are 8th notes (quavers in proper English speak). So the time signature is 12/8.
Also this sort of time sig. is called compound time because the are basically 2,3,4 whatever beats in the bar with several(e.g. 3) notes on each beat. 6/8 2 beats, 9/8 3 beats, 12/8 4 beats, etc.
EDIT. Ah, actually no, Call Me is 4/4. In the extract shown above by molgrips the first and third bars are all triplets, the second and 4th bars should be triplet, 2 quavers, triplet, 2 quavers. The vocals are in 4/4 but off the beat.
