On drums...

... who is profoundly challenged by time and its subdivisions? Counting out a riff in 6/8, but because there are quick 16th note passages, I end up on some other counting formula. Even with the metronome going, I can't figure out where I am. PHooie! I should have worked harder at this when I was younger.

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Gregory

are you feeling the dotted quarter Greg?

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http://percusski.co.uk/

I'm feeling idiotic, mostly. I realize that I don't really know time signatures, although I thought they were obvious. I'm not having a dotted problem, Nick; rather, I'm having a problem of understanding where I am in a measure, trying to count it and losing track, then trying to analyze it by writing it down, and finding myself in the middle of a puzzle. A bit of basic knowledge of signatures would help a lot right now, so back to square one before I can return to the current issues.

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Gregory

Depending on the tempo, feel etc. it is usually easier to count (or internalize the feel) of 6/8 in either "2" or "3". ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three, ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three, etc. Like a fast waltz.

Am I missing the boat your on?

- D.

My problem is making sure that all beats have the same duration, that 1 or 3 is not elongated in my head just because one or the other has more notes dividing it. The problem shows up acutely with syncopation, where my mind starts to play tricks . Add to that the problem that, as a young man, I never internalized the ability to move from straight to triplet feel, or for that matter to know which I was in, and you can to see where my troubles start to grow as the tempo increases, the subdivisions get smaller, and the feel no longer falls on the beat.

However, I'm having a secondary issue. Cliff (because he is well acquainted with my struggles) posited that if I was indeed playing in 6/8, it is probably 32nd notes that were giving me trouble. So with that bit of correct information, I'm having to revisit time signatures to understand how they are packaged, so that I can work my problems out on paper without creating more confusion by asking questions no one can answer.

I am reading this this in an attempt to solidify my foundations. Yup, grade 5.

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Gregory

Maths has always been my weak point......I just plod on and try my best

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Ron

That is actually quite a good site for explaining some of this stuff. Until they get into all the wacky nomenclature that you will never hear another musician use in a million years...
"minim becomes a crotchet and a dotted minim becomes a dotted crotchet.
12/8: 1 dotted crotchet = 3 quavers (1 quaver = a third of a crotchet)
4/4: 1 crotchet=2 quavers (1 quaver = half of a crotchet)"

Ummm.... WHAT? I have never heard those terms used before. What happened to the terms everybody uses, like quarter note, eighth note, dotted quarter, dotted eighth, etc. Do we really need new terms to muck it up?

- D.

Oddly enough, those are ancient terms. I learned hemidemisemiquavers in high school music theory, probably studying Gregorian chant or later forms. I remember being intrigued by the notion of a quaver, since it so describes the motion of a string in motion, but the overall construct seems to lack something in streamlining, much like Roman numerals. I don't, however, remember crochets, probably because the word is so very unmemorable a term except in its proximity to grumpiness, and I was a sensitive child. In French, it would have a more lovely sound, and if I had thought of it I would have realized that the notes resembled crocheting hooks, but I was not interested in crocheting then, or now.

I'm not at all sure why they were used on the site. Perhaps folks in the UK still use those terms. Nick? Ron?

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Gregory

Perhaps folks in the UK still use those terms. Nick? Ron?

We sure do. Funnily enough in my experience not towards drums but when I was learning sax it was all worded that way.

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Ron

Yeah they're part of the English classical tradition, it's worth learning both terms (crotchet or 1/4 note etc) in the UK because some people look at you like you're mad if you say dotted 8th lol

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http://percusski.co.uk/