Do any of you guys write in compound time?

[Chainsaw Calligraphy]

I've always wandered why there are very few rock and metal songs written outside of 4/4. My personal preference is 6/8 as it has a very driving and energetic feel to it at high tempos. 3/4 and 9/8 seem to be even less common. Is the whole world stuck in 4/4 or am I just missing all the bands that aren't?

 

[FIXXXER]

katatonia? tool?

 

[Harry Hughes]

Classical is where it's at for a high percentage of music written outside 4/4 time.
That said, there's plenty of rock and metal bands and songs that don't use 4/4.

As for me, 5/4, 7/4 and 6/8 always seem to the the time signatures outside of 4/4 I can write riffs in that come fairly naturally to me.

 

[kramer1309]

13/16 .. but only once...

 

[Old_Gregg]

I've found that some of what I would call my most 'epic' songs end up being in 3/4 (or 6/8, dont really understand the difference tbh) but generally I dont try to write in a certain time signature, I just write what sounds good. 4/4 is most common for me but every now and then I realise I've written something in 7/4, 5/4 or 3/4

EDIT: Nice avatar btw

 

[Plankis]

6/8 = Nothing Else Matters
3/4 = Your typical Waltz
The difference is where the accent is. 6/8 every third eighth, 3/4 every quarter.

I've tried most of the ones already written. Done a song that was mainly in 5/4, that was a tough cookie to get the feel of. Was so used to 4/4 that I always began tracking a beat before.

 

[AeternusEternus]

man, i love fun time signatures. im whoring my tracks.. the first bit of april and some other parts of it are in 10/4


the first part of 22 is all in 6/4


this one's all over the place, i reuploaded it for this thread even. mike bovier and i wrote it in 2005. i was just a pup, this was one of my very first recordings. no vocals


also finally an older demo that goes in and out of some complex and regular stuff.. old recording also

 

[CubanDude]

In 3/4 you got only one big emphasis on the 1, in 6/8 you have a big emphasis on the 1 and a lighter emphasis on the 4. 3/4 = Walzer feeling, if you stretch the 1 a bit you have the Vienna Walzer (dunno if thats the correct english expression )

 

[Skinny Viking]

Ever hear Pink Floyd "Money"?

 

[Chaos_Moon]

I think the reason why the majority of music is written in 4/4 is because it sounds the most natural to most people. It's easy to find the beat and bob your head to. That being said, some of my favorite songs are written in odd time signatures. I'm working on one that switches every measure from 7/8-5/8-38 for a while before finally settling in at 7/8.

 

[ahjteam]

 

[Firaxis]

i find 6/8 instantly makes your riff viking metal-esque like amon amarth or ensiferum.

Lamb of God use 6/8 a lot as well, it's my favourite sig

 

[Donovan S.]

Wrote an instrumental in 9/8. Really cool when you get the feel of it and I love what it does to the song.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't quite understand how someone can have a favorite time signature.

As for why most metal is written in 4/4.........K.I.S.S!

 

[DanLights]

I do it all the time, I've even been writing some goregrind/slamming songs using a few 5/4 and similar stuff, the way I work I can't really "force" it to a specific time sig cause it just sounds odd, but I often have some riff ideas in my head with weird timing and it works well most of the time

 

[ahjteam]

I don't quite understand how someone can have a favorite time signature.

As for why most metal is written in 4/4.........K.I.S.S!

Anyone else see the irony here?

 

[TheWinterSnow]

The difference between 6/8 and 3/4 is that 6/8 the beat is divisible by 3 and in 3/4 the beat is divisible by 2. The beat in 6/8 is a dotted quarter note while the beat in 3/4 is a quarter note. Sorry, Nothing Else matters is a relatively fast 3/4, not a slow 6/8.

I write weird time signatures by accident. I wrote a song that goes as follows: 4/4 verse into two bars 3/4 one bar 2/4 for a post chorus. After that the prechorus runs in 3/4 until it ends with a 7/4 transition that ends back in 4/4 for the chorus. I never noticed that it was odd until we went to play it with our drummer and every time he was off by the same exact amount of time, it was when I counted it I realized shit was weird.

In order to write odd time signatures naturally, you have to know what they sound like and what type of riffs would fit. Guitarists that listen to progressive bands are more likely to pick up those patterns but you still have to study the theory behind it and know how each time signature sounds before you can use it without it sounding "forced". Since guitarists typically have little to no theory skills, their ability to write in anything other than 4/4 is non-existent which is why most guitar driven modern music is almost always in 4/4. Pop music is in 4/4 because it is easy and natural to dance to as opposed to 6/8 or 3/4 which would require a more waltz like approach. 7/8 just confuses people.

 

[locus_coeruleus]

I write weird time signatures by accident. I wrote a song that goes as follows: 4/4 verse into two bars 3/4 one bar 2/4 for a post chorus. After that the prechorus runs in 3/4 until it ends with a 7/4 transition that ends back in 4/4 for the chorus. I never noticed that it was odd until we went to play it with our drummer and every time he was off by the same exact amount of time, it was when I counted it I realized shit was weird.

That's actually the best way to write music in compound time signatures. Forcing it sounds... well, forced, and it sucks (some bands fail by doing this)

 

[CubanDude]

The difference between 6/8 and 3/4 is that 6/8 the beat is divisible by 3 and in 3/4 the beat is divisible by 2. The beat in 6/8 is a dotted quarter note while the beat in 3/4 is a quarter note. Sorry, Nothing Else matters is a relatively fast 3/4, not a slow 6/8.

Nothing else Matters is a 6/8 to me, feels quite weird to count it in 3/4. And please elaborate on the "divisible by 2" in case of the 3/4. never heard that before? How you wanna divide a 3/4 by 2?

 

[Donovan S.]

Nothing else Matters is a 6/8 to me, feels quite weird to count it in 3/4. And please elaborate on the "divisible by 2" in case of the 3/4. never heard that before? How you wanna divide a 3/4 by 2?

3 quarter notes as opposed in a 6/8 it would be 2 dotted quarters with the accent on the count 4 of the measure. So counted as 8ths it would be:

6/8
1 2 3 4 5 6.....

3/4
1 2 3 4 5 6