I have a working knowledge of how chords are made up and notes in scales but have no idea of what 3/4 or 4/4 time actually means. I have no knowledge of how long a bar lasts in music. I have read up on this but somehow I fail to understand what has been written.
I can play waltz time, 3/4, without thinking but what does the 3 part mean and ditto the 4. I presume that 4/4 time means playing a max total of 4 notes or rests or a combination per bar. It all gets back to how long a bar lasts.
Trying to plug gaps in my lack of music theory. A major problem is not knowing exactly what I am looking for and what question(s) to ask.
Any help or or guidance will be very appreciated. Thanks.
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3/4 means 3 crotchets in a bar, so a typical song in 3/4 would be counted in as "1 2 3 ", and that is a bar in 3/4 time
"I presume that 4/4 time means playing a max total of 4 notes or rests or a combination per bar. It all gets back to how long a bar lasts."
Exactly
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Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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If you try playing a riff or just strumming chords in 4/4 (without a drummer), what you should notice is that you naturally emphasise beat 1. Most people do this without even notice, because bars and this emphasis of beats is a natural part of musicality in western music.
Similarly in 3/4, beat 1 is emphasised.
For folks like the OP, who don’t think they understand bars and beats, it’s useful to practice counting along with a few recorded songs. Take a song you are familiar with, imagine the count-in, then put the recording on and try to count through a verse and a chorus.
Obviously 3/4 is typically described as waltz time, which implies an oom-pah-pah feel. A good example of a 6/8 tune which is noticeably not 3/4 is the Archers theme tune. This really has the feel of a shuffle. This common to lots of folky tunes.
The problem I find is there are plenty of examples in the middle ground where it’s difficult to distinguish 3/4 from 6/8.
Thanks for your suggestion @Fretmeister but I have 'enough' music theory books to last a lifetime, it is this small element that I can't get my head around. I can read music very very slowly but unless I hear it played properly, I have no idea how it should sound.
Can anyone point me to a website that give examples of 4/4 and 3/4 time?
Thanks.
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loads on there.
The notes can be identical. Same order, same length, same pitch. But it's the pulse of the music that makes it sound different. In other words - where is the "1"?
Imagine it almost as the difference between a shout and just talking
ONE two three four ONE two three four
ONE two three ONE two three
In the Simple time signatures it's all about the "1" - land on it properly and it will give you right pulse.
There are examples on youtube with the same song played in different time signatures too - worth a listen so you can feel the different pulse.
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