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Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: krazykrista on October 04, 2004, 01:30 PM In school band we're doing a piece that is largely 6/8 time, with a bunch of 9/8 thrown in there. Another piece is basically all 12/8. This is my first experience with these time frames and I was just wondering if anyone could offer some advice for me to better count these time frames. This is how I understand is the way to count them:
6/8 = 1-2-3-4-5-6 9/8 = 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 12/8 = 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Isn't there an easier way to count this than that? Does 9/8 convert into basically 3/4? and 12/8 into 4/4? I don't understand this at all... if 9/8 does convert into 3/4 then do I have to play practically double the tempo that the conduncter's conducting? Any help? Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: Bart Elliott on October 04, 2004, 01:40 PM Check out these threads:
http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=7146;start=msg77326#msg77326 (http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=7146;start=msg77326#msg77326) http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=3678;start=msg37332#msg37332 (http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=3678;start=msg37332#msg37332) http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=1126;start=msg9972#msg9972 (http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=1126;start=msg9972#msg9972) 6/8 is typically felt in 2. 9/8 is typically felt in 3. 12/8 is typically felt in 4. These are all called Compound meters in that they are divisible by 3. They originated to allow the composet to notation the triplet divisions without actually having to write out triplets. Use the links above; this should help you understand better. Title: Re:6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: Dave Heim on October 04, 2004, 08:24 PM Since these meters are all 'something over eight', the pulse stays the same throughout. I always found it helpful to count aloud while sorting things out. The first link in Bart's post above uses bold-face to highlight the numbers that make the pulse, when you count aloud, accent those numbers a bit with your voice.
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 You'll feel it. Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: marker on October 07, 2004, 12:14 AM I find it helps to count in threes, like a waltz. 123, 123, 123, etc.
Like Bart said, two of these rhythms can be felt in "even" meters as well. It's important, I think, to understand the "three" feel of the meter as well as the "two" and "four". As for 9/8, that will feel weird until you get used to it. It will not convert to 3/4. If you think of 9/8 and 3/4 as fractions, you'll understand why that won't work. It will only become "even" when you play 18 beats. The only reason people have trouble playing in nine, or any "odd" meter, is simply because they're not used to it. So, it's one of those practice, practice, practice things. Once you get the hang of it, it'll be easy. Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: Bart Elliott on October 07, 2004, 08:26 AM 9/8 is a compound triple meter. You can think of it in 3/4 if each group of three eighths are thought of as triplets. Notation wise it's very different, but you could write something in 3/4 and 9/8 and it would sound exactly the same. This is how compound meters where created. Their sole purpose, in the beginning, was to give the composer a way to notate without having to write triplets.
Look ... (http://community.drummercafe.com/attachments/compound_triple.gif) The quarter note gets the beat or pulse in 3/4. With 9/8, even though the eighth-note get's the beat ... we'll allow the pulse to be the dotted-quarter. Doing this, you could play each measure back to back and they would sound exactly the same. The only thing that has to happen is you go from the quarter-note being the pulse to the dotted-quarter-note being the pulse.6/8 is compound duple meter. It's normally felt in two, despite the fact that the eighth-note gets the beat. You could write two groups of eighth-note triplets in 2/4, and it would sound like 6/8 ... as long as you do what we did earlier ... change from the quarter-note pulse to dotted-quarter-note pulse. However, look at this next notation: (http://community.drummercafe.com/attachments/compound_duple.gif) Here you can see how even 3/4 can sound like 6/8. In this case, you don't not need to change the pulse; both have the quarter-note as their pulse. Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: Jon E on October 07, 2004, 08:33 AM Nice work. Bart.
A picture is worth a thousand words! Title: 6/8, 9/8 & 12/8 time Post by: DanMarg83 on October 07, 2004, 03:53 PM Wow, Bart that actually helped me out even though I didn't think I needed it. :o Thanks for that little lesson there, I'm definitely going to look more into the theory behind these time signatures. ;D
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