On Mar 18, 2005, at 5:22 PM, David W. Fenton wrote:
On 18 Mar 2005 at 14:08, Christopher Smith wrote:
For that matter, in the example I cited above (BEFORE the revision) I had a pickup measure with 7 eighths in it. I didn't bother making it a 7/8 bar, as that seemed needlessly fussy and would most likely interfere with reading, rather than helping it. . . .
Well, it would also be played differently from a partial 4/4 measure by any musician who has any sensitivity whatsoever to meter.
I'm surprised a composer would even consider the two options equivalent.
I'm sure you understood me correctly; why are you giving me such a hard time about my nomenclature? Of course I have to tell Finale that it is a 7/8 bar, displayed as an incomplete 4/4 bar. Finale doesn't space it correctly if I don't do it that way. But I chose NOT to use an incomplete 4/4 bar (happy now?) for a pickup of 7 eighth notes, for reasons of clarity.
. . . So since that pickup measure is notated as a FULL measure of 4/4 (starting with an eighth rest), should it have a number? I didn't think so at the time, and saw no reason to change my mind in the revised version just because I had two extra eighths added onto the seven already there. The gesture was not different enough for me to see the difference.
Well, if it's got a downbeat, even if that downbeat is a rest, it should be numbered measure 1, in my opinion.
And in the opinions of others as well. I think I am in a minority on this one, along with Chuck and Hiro (although it's pretty good company to be in!)
I think notating 7 8th notes as an incomplete bar would be *very* confusing, though, as it's too easy to mistake it for a full measure (though beaming in groups of 4 rather helps with that).
On the other hand, notating it as a full measure with a rest would tend to obscure the "upbeatness" of the entire measure.
That was also part of my dilemma about notating this pickup.
I'm not entirely convinced that an upbeat *can* be that long, in any perceptible sense, except in very fast tempos, but that's an esthetic argument that gets into personal tastes.
On the contrary, I think it can be very clear, even in slow tempos. Compare the 7 eighth-note beginnings to "In a Sentimental Mood" by Ellington, or "Daahoud" by Clifford Brown (clearly a pickup) to "Someone to Watch Over Me" by Gershwin or "My One And Only Love" by Wood and Melllin (clearly the first measure of an eight-bar phrase.) I can send you PDF's if you don't have copies nearby. No question in any of those cases. That's why I am so touchy about notating them in a way that the appearance on paper will jibe with the sound.
Christopher
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