Symbols and Terminology: Compound Time Signature

COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURES

in simple time signature ( e.g. 3/4, 4/4, etc. ) the top number gives you the beats per measure while the bottom number lets you know which type of note gets a beat. sa compound time signatures, it doesn't work this way... mas complicated ng konti. hala!!!!


the top number represents the number of subdivisions in a measure. for instance itong 6/8, if the subdivision ( the bottom number ) is an eighth note and the top number is six ( 6 ), there would be six ( 6 ) eighth notes in a measure. don't confuse this with the beat. the top number in a compound time signature must be divided by three in order to get the number of beats per measure. so, dividing the "6" in 6/8 by three ( 3 ) you get two ( 2 ) which means, there are two ( 2 ) beats in each measure of 6/8. in tagalog yung nasa ibabaw na number in a compound signature, to determine  how many beats are there in a measure, ide-divide mo ito by 3. so sa 6/8 merong 2 beats. o teka basahin ang kasunod....


the bottom number represents the note value that subdivides each beat. this number can be used to determine the type of note that gets the beat by adding three notes of this value together. example the bottom number in 6/8 is "8" which represents an eighth note. adding three notes together you get a dotted quarter note and that dotted quarter note gets a beat in a measure of 6/8.

figure xi.a.
compound time signature

mathematically speaking pwede siyang 3/4 pero depende sa hinihingi ng kanta  or how the music is organized kung alin sa dalawa ang pipiliin mong gamitin na time signature. a 6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth notes while a 3/4 is grouped into 3 groups of 2 quarter notes.

how to count...

don't worry you won't need a calculator to do this... for starters gamitin mong basihan ang relo/watch... yung second hand ng relo yun ang gawin mong basis ng counting... so, for instance...


4/4 = 4 counts or 4 taps or 4 beats sa isang measure, basta magbilang ka ng apat na beses bago ulit magsimula ang counting sa next measure... 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 yan para kang si the count pero pirated version hehehe ^_^v


how about 6/8?
what i usually do sa 6/8 is i divide the counting into two parts: 1-2-3 | 4-5-6 | 1-2-3 | 4-5-6 | 1-2-3 | 4-5-6. if i use my hand to beat this type of time signature: 1 beat = 1-2-3 count ,then another beat = 4-5-6.


gusto nyong marinig ang pagkakaiba-iba ng mga time signatures na ito... sige pagbibigyan ko kayo!

2/4
3/4 4/4 5/4 6/4 6/8 9/8 12/8 for the compound time signatures i used bass notes and try to feel the beat habang pinakikinggan mo. how to tell if a time signature is simple or compound? ipatawas mo! hahaha kidding aside, madali lang naman malaman kung simple and compound ang time signatures.a time signature is compound if the top number is greater than three and can be divided by three. any time signature where the top number is equal to three or another number that is not divisible by three is simple. ang nakakadagdag pa ng kalituhan dito eh 'pag umeksena na si rhythm at si tempo... pero hindi naman kasi dapat malito ng husto... tandaan lang na on a given measure ( or measures ) composed of different types of notes/rests, the rhythm will be determined based on the time signature ( defining how to count the rhythm ). tempo on the other hand is beats-per-minute ( or BPM ) indicating how fast a song is played. whew... kaya pa ba?! nagkakaintindihan na ba tayo... may naintindihan ba kayo?! hehehe next... next next next... Symbols and Terminology: RHYTHM

if you liked this post feel free to share... c'mon don't be shy :)