# Time Signature Help **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869 "2012-11-04T18:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/1 "2012-11-04T18:27:32Z")
Hi, folks. I’m trying to transcribe a piece of music for piano, but the time signature is completely eluding me. [Here’s the song.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTzEp4CeWT8&feature=BFa&list=WLCC968A92BF8CC372) What I’ve got so far (I think), is that the chorus- heard for four bars in the beginning and again at :43- is in 4/4. The part that begins at 1:59 (“la, la la laaa”) is in 7/4 time. What I can’t seem to figure out is the verses: first example :18-:43. I don’t know if there is a funky time signature there, or if it is changing within the verse or what. Halp! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/2 "2012-11-04T18:34:09Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/3 "2012-11-04T18:53:03Z")
The verses are the same as the ‘la la las’. 3/4 followed by 4/4, or 7/4 if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/4 "2012-11-04T19:09:54Z")
> [@mack](#): > > The verses are the same as the ‘la la las’. 3/4 followed by 4/4, or 7/4 if you like. This sounds right. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/5 "2012-11-04T19:28:20Z")
So the basic 7/4 beat would go like this (each dot is a 16th note): Snare | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | X . . . | Kick . | X . . . | . . . X | . X . . | X . . . | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | …if that makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/6 "2012-11-04T19:46:40Z")
> [@mack](#): > > So the basic 7/4 beat would go like this (each dot is a 16th note): > > Snare | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | X . . . | > > Kick . | X . . . | . . . X | . X . . | X . . . | . . . . | X . . . | . . . . | > > …if that makes any sense. Dammit, man, I’m a pianist, not a drummer! So I transcribed the verses using 7/4 time and it sounds pretty good when plugged into my composing program. I don’t know, for some reason when I listen to the song itself I have a really hard time counting the beat. Thanks, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/7 "2012-11-04T20:53:24Z")
Where is Musicat? He knows this shit. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/8 "2012-11-04T21:00:07Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Dammit, man, I’m a pianist, not a drummer! Well, I figured if I laid out the basic beat it would clear up some of the mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/9 "2012-11-04T21:37:46Z")
It’s a bunch of odd time signatures thrown together. Pretty creative of them: 4, 4, 4, 6 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4… I think I got that right. I only listened through once, so I might have spaced out on one of those 4/4 measures. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/10 "2012-11-04T21:43:08Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Dammit, man, I’m a pianist, not a drummer! > > So I transcribed the verses using 7/4 time and it sounds pretty good when plugged into my composing program. I don’t know, for some reason when I listen to the song itself I have a really hard time counting the beat. Thanks, guys. It’s not just 7/4. Sinisternik has it about right. Whether you want to group each 3/4 4/4 pair as a single 7/4 bar would be up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/11 "2012-11-04T21:45:22Z")
Let me add: Thanks for this song. I hadn’t heard it before, but I think I might use this as a homework assignment for some of my students. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/12 "2012-11-05T05:27:15Z")
> [@Sinisterniik](#): > > It’s a bunch of odd time signatures thrown together. Pretty creative of them: Great job, seems right to me. In this case I would not interpret those as 7/4 because the first beats of the consecutive 3/4 and 4/4 measures are just so heavily accented. Also it keeps switching around. Contrast to “Money” by Pink Floyd, which is in 7/4 all the way (except where it lapses to 4/4 for the guitar solo). The accent on beat 4 is very subtle. This song has a BANG-2-3-BANG-2-3-4 feel that you just don’t get in tunes that are in odd meter (usually jazz tunes). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-signature-help/639869/13 "2012-11-06T14:39:53Z")
I don’t really hear those 6s as such; they sound more 4-2. And I agree that it’s not really 7/4 because the 4/4 parts are just a typical 4/4 beat. And the 3/4 sounds so much like it’s a 4/4 missing it’s last leg. 7/4 just usually feels a bit off, without knowing exactly where.