shirling & neueweise wrote:
christopher, in all the cases i have seen using what are now commonly given the unfortunate name of "irrational" time signatures (*), the "whole" value implied is the whole note. 1/6 is indeed one-sixth of a whole note (quarter note triplet, as you wrote).
re metric modulation: is it really easier to calculate a metric modulation on the fly (or does it take less time in rehearsal to calculate), than playing x number of triplet values following straight quarters (for example)? it seems to me that any professional musician working today (it is assumed that is who will be reading the part) should be able to "feel" and play triplet or quintuplet values without any calculation, as easily as s/he can play a change from straight quarters to straight eighths, or to swing. it is not really such a radical change of perspective (neither tactile nor intellectual) as is often implied.
/2 = half note /3 = third note (half note triplets)
/4 = quarter note /5 = fifth note (quarter note quintuplets) /6 = sixth note (quarter note triplets)
/8 = eighth note /10 = tenth note (eighth note quintuplets) /12 = twelfth note (eighth note triplets)
/16 = sixteenth note /20 = twentieth note (sixteenth note quintuplets) /24 = twenty-fourth note (sixteenth note triplets)
cowell, new music resources and a few of his compositions; cage, music of changes; boulez, "2-2/3 quarter" time sig near end of pli selon pli (the exact details might be wrong, i don't have the score in front of me); most ferneyhough since late 1970's; and innumerable european composers (as well as a handful of north american composers) in the past 20 years have used these time signatures. examples and performers of these notational delicacies abound.
jef
(*) indian musicians would never complain about having to perform such "irrational" values, would not even consider them irrational, having been trained in a variety of rhythmic contexts right from their earliest lessons and musical experiences, while the western-trained musician is taught only binary values or possibilities in virtually all musical realms. up until the early 1950's, the western european music tradition (of which the north american is descendant and still linked) was one of the most rhythmically-impoverished musical traditions in the world.
I certainly agree that it is a reasonable expectation for performers to be able to understand these time signatures - they're not a new innovation by any measure. (Pun not intended!) And when dealing with a change of metre every single bar, they're far far easier to deal with, easier to *feel* relationships with, than other indications that could be used (and it's not possible to indicate a 2/10 bar between two 3/8 bars with tuplets, for example, anyway).
I wouldn't agree that wester music has always been so restricted - the music of Ciconia, fl c1400, deserves a listen.
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
