| Understanding Meter and its Application Part 2 |
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UNDERSTANDING METER AND ITS APPLICATION Zack Uidl This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it zackuidl.com SAME NUMBER OF NOTES, BUT A DIFFERENT METER? With certain meters, it is simply more appropriate to labela time signature a certain way. The most common and obvious example of this would be a 6/8 meter vs. a3/4 meter. Both have the samenumber of eighth notes, however, these two meters have very different soundsand a very different feel. Listento the following example. Theexact same thing will be performed, however, it will change from a 6/8 feel toa 3/4 feel.
Notice how the 6/8 meter has its eighth notes grouped asgroups of 3 while the 3/4 has its eighth notes grouped as groups of 2.
Naming particular meter comes down to three things. One, how many notes are in each measureand two, the feel of the meter and three, what will make it easiest for theperformer to understand, interpret, and visualize on paper. POLYRHYTHM AND POLYMETER
A polyrhythm is when two or more performers are playing thesame time signature, but are playing different groupings/rhythms within thattime signature. For example ifplaying all eighth notes in 4/4 time, one guitarist could be playing 2+2+2+2while the other could be playing 3+3+2. This example is in 3/4 and has the rhythm parts performing2+2+2 while the guitars are playing 3+3. (Note that the 3/4 meter is simple notated to show the accented beats ofall instruments other than guitar and not notated to show pitch.)
A polymeter is when two or more performers are playingdifferent time signatures. Forexample, one guitarist could be playing in 4/4 while the drummer could beplaying in 9/8. This is a greatway to build massive amounts of tension in your song writing. This example has the guitars, bass and lower body of thedrummer performing in a 3/8 meter while the synth and upper body of the drummeris performing in a 4/4 meter. (Note that the 4/4 meter is simple notated toshow the accented beats of all instruments other than guitar and not notated toshow pitch.)
There is no “right way” to apply meter. However, since each meter has adifferent and distinct sound for the most part, certain meters will lendthemselves better to a particular section of a composition. 6/8 will most often have a relaxing andswaying sound while 11/8 will most often be used to create a lot of tension inthe song. Experiment with the differentpossibilities for your own compositions and see which meter will help youportray the emotion you are trying to best. Now, when it comes to applying multiple types of meter, themeters could fall under two broad categories. One is simply using meter to create a dramatic effect whilethe other is used to create a greater amount of tension. When using meter to create a dramatic effect, often timesthere will be a focus meter that is being used for the majority of the section,and then every once in a while a different meter is introduced for just a briefmoment. For this example there arethree measures of a 4/4 meter and on the fourth measure, it switches to7/8. Listen how the tension isbuilt just at the end of each progression.
When changing meters every measure, a good amount of tensionwill occur. For this example,there are four measures and each is a new time signature. The tension is built because it doesnot have a steady groove or rhythm to it. For this example, we will use 4/4, 3/4, 7/8, and 6/8 for our meters.
Zack Uidl This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it zackuidl.com © Zack Uidl 2009. All Rights Reserved. Usedwith Permission.
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