Hi Cortez,

My reasons are perfectly logical, as I explained, and are the best solution for 
the musicians I work with.

In a contemporary context, people employ odd subdivisions of meters *all the 
time* without changing time signatures. 

4/4 is very often subdivided 3+3+2.

3/4 is very often subdivided 3+3 without renotating the time signature as 6/8.

5/4 can go back and forth between 6+4, 4+6, and 5+5, and other subdivisions...

3/2 can be subdivided as if it were 12/8 (3+3+3+3). I have a piece that is 
written in 3/2 and goes back and forth between 4+4+4 and 3+3+3+3 every other 
measure. Writing a time signature change every measure would be needless 
clutter.

Of course, subdivisions can also go over the barline... There's another 
contemporary composer who regularly subdivides two measures of 3/4 (in 
sixteenths) as 7+7+7+3. It's kind of his rhythmic signature.

This kind of thing happens all the time in contemporary music.

Cheers,

- DJA
-----
WEB: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

On Dec 17, 2012, at 6:35 PM, Jón Kristinn Cortez <[email protected]> wrote:

> There is no logical reason to have 6/4 doing double duty; being both a duple 
> and triple meter is confusing. In the example you state I would have written 
> 4 bars 4/4 and one 2/4. By your way I would always have to check where the 
> beat is in 6/4. What about 3/4 and 6/8?
> 
> Cortez
> 
> 
> 
> On 17.12.2012, at 23:18, Darcy James Argue wrote:
> 
>> That is the traditional view. My own view is that 6/4 with the half note 
>> getting the beat is perfectly acceptable and logical in a modern context, 
>> especially if you're dealing with a mix of, e.g., 4/4 and 6/4. 
>> 
>> I have a piece where the time signature pattern is always 3 bars of 4/4 
>> followed by a bar of 6/4 (subdivided in 3). It would be confusing to write 
>> those measures as 3/2 instead of 6/4 -- it would suggest that the underlying 
>> unit of pulse changes, when it does not.
>> 
>> I have other pieces where the subdivision changes constantly from 2+2+2 to 
>> 3+3 and back, and it would be ridiculously cluttered to change time 
>> signatures every time that happens. There's no logical reason why 6/4 can't 
>> be made to do double duty. 
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> - DJA
>> -----
>> N.B. Please note my new email address: [email protected]
>> Kindly update your Address Book, thanks!
>> 
>> WEB: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Dec 17, 2012, at 5:47 PM, Jón Kristinn Cortez <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Three beats with a half note for the beat is 3/2, can never be 6/4
>>> 
>>> Cortez
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 17.12.2012, at 22:39, Darcy James Argue wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi William,
>>>> 
>>>> It's not a bug. Traditionally, 6/4 is a compound meter -- two beats per 
>>>> measure, dotted half note has the beat. That's why Finale shows only two 
>>>> slashes (and will add dots if you have "add dots to slashes in compound 
>>>> meter checked).
>>>> 
>>>> If you want your 6/4 to be three beats per measure with the half note 
>>>> getting the beat, you can set up those options in the Time Signature 
>>>> dialogue box.
>>>> 
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> 
>>>> - DJA
>>>> -----
>>>> WEB: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org
>>>> 
>>>> On Dec 17, 2012, at 5:30 PM, William Sinclair <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have not seen this before. Have any of you?
>>>>> 
>>>>> When I have a measure of 6/4, and I use SLASH notation,
>>>>> it puts only 2 slashes for a 6/4 measure.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Is there a way around this problem? I want to avoid a HAND edit.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Finale mailing list
>>>>> [email protected]
>>>>> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Finale mailing list
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>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> - DJA
>> -----
>> WEB: http://www.secretsocietymusic.org
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Finale mailing list
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>> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
> 
> 
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