At 9:12 AM -0400 4/15/12, David H. Bailey wrote:
>On 4/15/2012 8:01 AM, Christopher Smith wrote:
>> No, no difference at all. The only thing I do
>>in my own writing with regards to abbreviations
>>is to use slashed C for 2/2 and NOT to use C
>>for 4/4, so that the difference between them is
>>immediately apparent to a sight-reading eye in
>>low light conditions. But as to interpretation,
>>no difference.
>>
>> Christopher
>>
>
>I agree with Christopher on this -- C is simply an abbreviation that
>means exactly the same as 4/4.
Just to cover all bases, there MAY have been a
distinction in the mind of the composer, but if
so it is not one that communicates effectively to
the player. That's a choice that goes through my
mind every time i start a new chart, although
it's a pretty quick decision in most cases. But
that does suggest that deep down I do feel that
it conveys different information to the player.
And just to be historical about it, both the C
and the slashed C (the way we think of them) date
back to the late 13th or early 14th century, and
were an early indication of "tempus imperfectum"
and "tempus imperfectum diminutum" (imperfect
time and faster imperfect time). They were
"Mensuration Signs," introduced at a time when
for most of a century ALL European music was
based on triple subdivisions ("perfect" time or
tempus perfectum), and the whole concept of duple
subdivisions ("imperfect" time or tempus
imperfectum) was considered somehow totally
improper by conservative musicians, since perfect
time represented the Holy Trinity. (I know it
sounds like Monty Python, but I am NOT making
this up!!!)
So the signs themselves are centuries older than
the use of our fractional time signatures, which
evolved in the 17th century out of the previously
used proportion signs.
And a lot of baroque music is marked Andante
(meaning "walking"), but the word applies to a
"walking" bass line in 8th notes and not to the
indicated quarter note speed.
To return (at least somewhat) to reality, quite a
lot of the popular tunes of the '30s and '40s
were notated in cut time, even though the actual
tempo and beat was in 4. And that still confuses
a lot of classically-trained musicians when they
run into it in pop charts, and wonder why the cut
time signature is NOT observed. Just goes to
show that the whole thing is arbitrary in the
first place, and depends on mutual understanding
and agreement.
John
--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
School of Performing Arts & Cinema
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
290 College Ave., Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[email protected])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
"Machen Sie es, wie Sie wollen, machen Sie es nur schön."
(Do it as you like, just make it beautiful!) --Johannes Brahms
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