The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Mozart, Bach and time signatures

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-08-30 22:18

Arnoldstang wrote:

> I’m pretty sure that Mozart and
> Bach knew the difference between 4/4, 2/4, 2/2 etc.
>

But were they the same differences that we assign? In particular, did the bottom number of the signature have the same implicit meaning in the early 18th century as it does now?

In even more recent times, why are waltzes played one beat to a measure even though the time signature says 3/4. Why not 1/ dotted half? Why 6/8 instead of 2/dotted quarter? There are many other signatures in modern use for which the main pulse doesn't correspond to the bottom number of the signature. In many cases the top number, rather than saying how many beats there in a measure, suggests the way the actual pulse should be subdivided (6/8 and 3/4 are different ways of organizing the same number of 8th notes).

Karl

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics