anybody here know their shyt on time signatures/measures, etc that can help me out?

[you're NOT "n!ggas"]

whats good tunnel? i posted a few beats over in the old place if i remember right, but i need some help on somethin thats been a major issue with me for quite a while now. maybe someone here can help me understand it



so here's the thing... i been makin beats on and off for about 6 years. i still have no clue wtf i'm doin when i do it, cuz i don't know much of any theory or whatever else it might be but i'd still like to think of myself as a creative nikka. the thing is though... some of my best ideas, the shyts that seem like they'd be wind up not bein a full 4/4 when i try to make em. they always wind up like a tick or so short, if i try to make em at the full measure its too different/off from what i'm hearin in my head. it ruins the vibe. i've tried testin out other time signatures but i never been able to match it, so traditionally i always trashed the idea when i ran into that problem. but now i'm feelin like fukk it and just gon do it anyways. but is that acceptable??? makin shyt thats not at a full signature? cuz right now what i'm makin is actually 3 and 15/16ths/4 (i think) instead of 4/4, but i swear it makes all the difference musically. or am i thinkin in a signature i just dont understand??? i tried googlin this shyt before, somebody help me

 

[Aje]

So, I'm just finishing up my first full year of music theory. We started at the basics – like what notes go where on the treble clef and what a quarter note looks like etc. – and now we're on secondary dominant and leading-tone chords. Anyways, I can't stress enough how much it's helped me with my music. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of going back to school to learn about this theory (after all, it's, in the end, just theory...all the classical western music theory we learn seems like it gets thrown out the window once jazz comes along. however, one must know the rules so they know how/why they're breaking them when they do).

ANYWAY (sorry for the tangent), that said, if the sh*t sounds right go with it. There are, essentially, two types of meters in western music: simple and compound meters. Simple meters are you standard 2/2 or 4/4;they are the meters that have beats that divide into twos. Those in compound meters, conversely, have beats that divide into threes. The numerator (top number of the time signature) denotes how many beats there are in a measure; the denominator (bottom number) tells you which type of note (eighth note [8], quarter note [4], half note [2]) gets the beat.

The above can be confusing–Lord knows I'm a terrible teacher–but if you try and read up on it, watch some YouTube vids on the subject you'll eventually get it. My music theory teacher always says that everyone has different avenues/routes they learn a subject. So, try them all.

Lastly, I think that if you think it sounds good don't even sweat what meter the beat is in. It really doesn't matter if it sounds hot.

Note: Generally, in hip-hop and pop music, the two most common time signatures are 4/4 and 3/4.

 

[you're NOT "n!ggas"]

So, I'm just finishing up my first full year of music theory. We started at the basics – like what notes go where on the treble clef and what a quarter note looks like etc. – and now we're on secondary dominant and leading-tone chords. Anyways, I can't stress enough how much it's helped me with my music. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of going back to school to learn about this theory (after all, it's, in the end, just theory...all the classical western music theory we learn seems like it gets thrown out the window once jazz comes along. however, one must know the rules so they know how/why they're breaking them when they do).

ANYWAY (sorry for the tangent), that said, if the sh*t sounds right go with it. There are, essentially, two types of meters in western music: simple and compound meters. Simple meters are you standard 2/2 or 4/4;they are the meters that have beats that divide into twos. Those in compound meters, conversely, have beats that divide into threes. The numerator (top number of the time signature) denotes how many beats there are in a measure; the denominator (bottom number) tells you which type of note (eighth note [8], quarter note [4], half note [2]) gets the beat.

The above can be confusing–Lord knows I'm a terrible teacher–but if you try and read up on it, watch some YouTube vids on the subject you'll eventually get it. My music theory teacher always says that everyone has different avenues/routes they learn a subject. So, try them all.

Lastly, I think that if you think it sounds good don't even sweat what meter the beat is in. It really doesn't matter if it sounds hot.

Note: Generally, in hip-hop and pop music, the two most common time signatures are 4/4 and 3/4.

yeah i feel you on how learnin opens up a new world. back when i first started my beats were all over the place then my homeboy showed me how to quantize my sophomore yr i took a piano class and failed (cuz i wasnt takin the grade seriously) but just learnin how basic chords are built.... damn. my beat game went up a whole nother level. and thats the only music education i ever had i always felt like if i really knew what the fukk i was doin i'd be a damn problem, but it is what it is i guess. i knew most beats are 4/4 but yeah, imma juststop givin a fukk and do me as i hear it. i appreciate the input though *daps and pos reps* dependin on how productive i am i might be around here more often