9/8 time signature

    
9/8 time signature    17:14 on Monday, August 7, 2006          

Penny
(218 points)
Posted by Penny

I've rescently started getting into music written 9/8. But it's confusing. How do you
count
  that time signature and is the second measure supposed to start in the middle of a beat instead of on the beat? Thats what i've been getting.

In 4/4 I
count
  eighth notes- 1+2+3+4+
but...
In 6/8 i
count
  eighth notes- 123456

is that right?


Re: 9/8 time signature    17:17 on Monday, August 7, 2006          

Flutist06
(1545 points)
Posted by Flutist06

Think of it as a 6/8 bar with another triplet added in. It will have 3 beats, each consisting of one triplet (1+uh 2+uh 3+uh). It could also be
count
 ed as 9 separate beats (123456789).


Re: 9/8 time signature    17:33 on Monday, August 7, 2006          

Flutist06
(1545 points)
Posted by Flutist06

And no, the second measure will not start in the middle of the beat. 9/8 uses the eighth note or the dotted quarter as the basic unit, rather than the quarter, so unless you see half of an eighth note (a 16th, or perhaps a dotted eighth) in there somewhere (making it 8.5/8), it will not start on the "and" of the beat.


Re: 9/8 time signature    18:19 on Monday, August 7, 2006          

Pickled
(123 points)
Posted by Pickled

>>It will have 3 beats, each consisting of one triplet (1+uh 2+uh 3+uh). It could also be
count
 ed as 9 separate beats (123456789)<<

That's how I do it--generaly the 3 beats (2 beats for 6/8 time), thinking "1-and-uh" in my brain the first couple times I play a piece, or slow it down and do the full
count
  if it's a tricky rhythm or music that uses a lot of ink.

For the first poster: 3/8, 6/8, and 9/8 time are a totally different
count
 ing structure from 2/4, 3/4, 4/4. While the note values still relate to each other the same way (i.e. an eighth note = 2 sixteenth notes, etc), you change your method of
count
 ing so that an eighth note is worth a full beat, rather than a quarter note. You need to divorce your brain from what you're used to, and try not to relate the two the way you're doing. I recommend you try a full
count
  at first, when you're learning the piece (1&-2&-3&...9&). Use the quasi-triplet
count
 ing method once you speed up the piece, if necessary, since it cuts down on the number of times you're having to tap your toe up and down (which, if you're a full-foot tapper, can become almost jig-like in a fast piece in x/8 time).

-Judy


Re: 9/8 time signature    21:42 on Monday, August 7, 2006          

Sweet_16_Notes
(40 points)
Posted by Sweet_16_Notes

9/8 means 9 8th notes in a bar, right. so i put the 8th notes in groups of 3s - triplets. thre are three groups of 3s in this time signature, right. i would
count
  each beat as 'l&a', 2&a' and 3&a' or 123 456 789. But that depends on the tempo



Re: 9/8 time signature    09:51 on Tuesday, August 8, 2006          

Penny
(218 points)
Posted by Penny

I understand that part, but when Im playing in 9/8 the second measure starts with my foot up instead of down and it's confusing.


Re: 9/8 time signature    10:26 on Tuesday, August 8, 2006          

Pickled
(123 points)
Posted by Pickled

>>I understand that part, but when Im playing in 9/8 the second measure starts with my foot up instead of down and it's confusing.
<<

Can you explain exactly how you're
count
 ing a measure? If you're
count
 ing 9 *full beats per measure, then you wouldn't be cutting a beat in half. And, if you're
count
 ing it in triplets, as described, then 3 triplets = 9 beats (3 x 3 = 9), and you're still ending evenly on the upbeat, with a new beat (foot going down) starting at the beginning of the next measure.

The only way I can think of that you'd be "splitting a beat" as you described would be if you were still trying to
count
  as you do in 4/4 time, with a half beat = eighth note. That's simply not the case with x/8 music. 9/8 doesn't equal "4-1/2 beats per measure." Or, are you
count
 ing the triplets, with one triplet beat equaling one foot movement (i.e. 1&a = down-up-down)? If so, then you basically need to mentally divide the foot movement into thirds--one down-up foot movement equals 3 beats. If you're having trouble doing that right now, then
count
 ing 9 full beats (down-up = 1&, with 9 beats to the measure) would be the best way to start.

--Judy


Re: 9/8 time signature    00:21 on Wednesday, August 9, 2006          

Patrick
(1743 points)
Posted by Patrick

think in 3, or 1


Re: 9/8 time signature    07:58 on Wednesday, August 9, 2006          

Patrick
(1743 points)
Posted by Patrick

depends on the speed of the piece, she is probably confused
count
 ing up to nine each time, same problem some have with 12/8 time


Re: 9/8 time signature    18:24 on Wednesday, August 9, 2006          

Summers
(54 points)
Posted by Summers

that is a tuff time sig. i feel your pain. i also agree with patrick, i like to think in 3, or 1.


Re: 9/8 time signature    11:35 on Thursday, August 10, 2006          

Penny
(218 points)
Posted by Penny

Yeah, I realized what I was doing wrong. When I saw "one eighth note gets a beat" I thought it was saying that half a beat in x/4
count
 s as a full beat in x/8 time. It worked for 6/8 but when I got to 9/8 it didn't work because it was an odd number. but it's fixed now. THanks for the help.


   




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