How To Count Cut Time | 2 2 Time Signature | Understanding Cut Time
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- Опубліковано 1 гру 2020
- Talking about our Time Signatures... We have learned Common Time (4/4), 3/4, and 2/4. Now what happens when the bottom value is changed to 2? Today, we are going to learn how to count and understand Cut Time (2/2). Cut time means the value of the notes will be cut in half. Take a look and listen in today's lesson about Cut Time!
Let's compare 4/4 & cut time (2/2) with Jingle Bells. You can see how to count & why a composer would chose cut time:
• 4/4 vs 2/2 Explanation...
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If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Cut Time, please let me know in the comments!
![What Is A Time Signature? [EXPLAINED]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hBh6DRYnCd0/mqdefault.jpg)
There are some people that can articulate their knowledge in a way that's understandable and others can't. You are one of the one's that can. You earned yourself a subscription.
Thank you!!!
So if you're listening by ear, how are you supposed to know whether something is in 2/2 or 2/4. I don't see how it makes any difference other than the way it's written
That is an excellent question! Unfortunately, I can't answer this. You have to just listen & mark which makes most sense to you. Sometimes when I'm looking a sheet music, sometimes a composition will be written in 4/4 but someone else composed it in 2/4 or 2/2! & yet, it can sound the same....
You’ll need a metronome
It's all about your perception or how you feel the rhythm. There isn't any "correct" way to feel or count music, just right how you feel the groove :D
to your ear there is no difference. but on paper when you’re playing it, it implies where the pulses should be. traditionally, more upbeat music like marches are in 2/2, while most other stuff prefers 2/4. for example, a punk song i’d think of in 2/2 with “strong/semi strong” beats. a mid tempo polka waltz i might think of as 2/4 with a less aggressive “strong/weak” pattern. but really it’s whatever the composer wants.
Its where the accent falls, clap both time signature and you’ll get it
Thanks! Im studying a music theory book but actually explaining with examples that you can read and listen really helps out!
Glad I could help!
woah this helped me soooo much. I UNDERSTAND CUT TIME NOW!!!!!!! I LOVE CUT TIME
So glad I was able to help!
Thank you for taking the time to thoroughly explain Cut Time. Sincerely appreciate the lesson.
So glad I was able to help!
Thanks this helped so much!
Thank you very much for the lesson
Thank you so much!!! That was so helpful!! I was having trouble looking for a video like this for so long :)
So glad I could help!
Great explanation and clarity, well done. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you! Glad I could help!
You have great energy. Thank you !!!!
Thank you! & you are welcome!
This helped a lot! The examples were especially helpful!
Glad I could help!
Got it, well explained, keep up the good work 😊
Hi! Great quick short and very helpful explanation.
Thank you! Glad I could help!
I subscribed so hard 😂 these are the lessons I have been searching for 👌🏾 quick concise and informative. Now to start from the beginning☝🏾.
Yes!!!! Welcome aboard!!!! What instrument(s) do you play?
Wonderfully explained....thanx!
You're Welcome! Glad I could help!
Thank you teacher👏
Thank you, very helpful.
You're welcome! Glad I could help!
Thank you
Great video and vibe thanks!
Thank you! 😁
Thanks you so much 💗 I watched so video I couldn't understand about the 2/2 time signature. I I understood. Thx again
Wonderful! So glad I could help!
Thank you for your word
Great explanation .. thank u
You're welcome! 🙂
Thank you so much 👍
You are welcome!
The best best best bestesssst explanation mam.... Please bring more videos.... I want to gain in depth knowledge for these things❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! & You got it! 😁 More videos coming up!
So glad to learn this. I'm trying to play a hymn, 'I Need Jesus,' but it is in 2/2. Thank you!
You're welcome! Glad I could help! If you have any other questions, just let me know! :)
🙏🙏🙏
Thanks you dear ❤❤
You are welcome!
Helpful .... It help me a lot
Glad I could help!
thank you sooo much.
You're Welcome! :)
Ok so I am understanding what you are saying here, very well explained, however what I would really like to see is a side by side comparison of the same piece of music written in Common time and Cut time. I think it would help to see it that way.
I agree--I think I understand that the motivation to represent a piece of music in cut time is that your measures go by twice as fast and you get twice as much "resolution" from your 16th notes--you'd have to count those as 32nd notes if the same piece of music was written in 4/4, which would be a real pain. (Or, otherwise, it effectively allows you to count your 16th notes as "and"s rather than "e"s and "a"s...because "1 e + a" is annoying in itself. But maybe what I'm wanting is 4/2 because counting to four is fine.
Great.
I’m trying to teach the bass drums in the drumline I’m in how to play cut time for our show. This is a really good explanation and I’m about to send it to them
Thank you! Glad I could help! & Hopefully it can help your students as well!
@@MusiciansAddition ❤️
So I watched a different video that showed 2/2 gives the music a "plodding along" sound heard in country/folk music. That also made it easier to understand. What if you have a piece of music go from 4/4 to 2/2, does the cut time now sound like the music sped up?
Great explanation!
The songs Honey I'm Good by Andy Grammer is an example of a song in 2/2 cut time.
I see it arranged in both! BUT! That can help with comparing the two. Thank you! I'm going to try to make a comparison video with that example.
@@MusiciansAddition
That sounds great 😀👍
Would be good to see a 2/4 & 2/2 comparison video.
You teach me about cut time I never know about it . I ham a up coming musicshion on your my teacher . Hi make sure I subscribe to your channel. Blessed up 🙏
Thank you! I appreciate that!
Thank you for this lesson! I'm attempting to teach myself to write music notation. My goal is to catalogue my songs before I perish from the planet and to also be able to simply write what I hear in my head. I can read the language but I can't write it. I'm going to subscribe to your channel and see what other hints you offer. I figure I must have missed something along the way and you explained 2/2 so well I want to see what else you have to say. Thanks again!
Thank you! & yes! Write out that music! If there's anything you are curious about and I didn't cover, please feel free to ask. :)
Ty
I was hoping for doted notes to be covered as that is my current struggle at band. If you can cover more complex note groupings in 2/2 time I would be grateful. Thanks
I think I will. There's a big request for that. Just remember to break it down. So if you have a dotted half note in 2/2 - think of what the half note is in this time signature. It's worth 1 beat. The dot still has the same rule, so half of the note value. So half a beat. That means the dotted half note is worth 1 & 1/2 beats in 2/2.
You're amazing
Thank you!
love your shirt
Thank you!
Bossa Nova music should be notated in 2/2 (e.g. One Note Samba) for the right time feel. But so often it's notated wrongly (in 4/4).
Thanks for the explanation.
Now please can you show us how to count triplet quavers in a cut common/2/2? That’s really hard! 😱😱 I can never keep up playing that part of that Snowman Medley I play for South Tyneside Orchestra! :(
The best explanation
Thank you! I'm glad I could help!
Great
Glad I could help!
What about the quater dotted and half dotted notes?
Super
Thank you!
Thanks, I appreciate you giving audio example. If I were to clap the beat with my hands for 4 measures of a 22 time signature, I would be clapping the same number of overall beats as 2 measures of a 44 time signature?
Think of it more this way - If the time signature is 2/2 & the beats per minute is 60, it would be the same as if you were playing 4/4 with 120 beats per minute.
1:43
I want to play a game... (first three notes)
Good awesome teaching understood well you too looks pretty.
Thank you! :)
thanks! -music theory class, GKHS
What is the purpose of cut time signature? we can write the actual note value eg 2 eighth note instead of 2 quarter note, what is the use of cut time? please make lesson for this question..
is it possible if you could show 2/2 time against 4/4 time and show how it doubles the tempo? I’m having quite a hard time trying to imagine it
Sure! Let me make a video that shows more in comparison.
@@weasel6535 I tried explaining with the example of Jingle Bells for our comparison. Cut Time allows you to play faster without having to count faster. I hope this video helps to clarify any confusion! ua-cam.com/video/npAIgDZQPGc/v-deo.html
@@MusiciansAddition u should totally add that linked vid to this vid! : )
@@pfkmsandiego ok. Will do!
Hi, thanks for the video. What's the value of quarter note and eight note in 2/2 time signature. Thanks :)
Quarter note will be half a beat (think of it as an eighth note), & the Eighth note would be like a 16th note.
@@MusiciansAddition thank you so much :)
how do you conduct it for a chorus?
Conducting for cut time is still conducted in 2s. 1 is down, up is 2.
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Thank you! I bought the shirt so long ago, I can't remember off the top of my head. We did just start our own shop though of you want to check it out : musiciansaddition.myspreadshop.com
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Here's where I bought this exact shirt: www.etsy.com/listing/644169748/music-shirt-quarter-rest-fermata-shirt
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Hi, i couldnt understand,
So whats difference of cut time with 4/4?
Everything is cut in half. You are going to count for 2 beats in every measure. & your note values are half, so in 4/4, a half note is worth 2 beats - in 2/2, a half note is worth 1 beat.
So does that mean you would count the quarter notes as both numbers and AND's? For example, in a measure with all quarter notes (in cut time) you would count the quarters as 1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND? Cheers.
Yes! The quarter notes now include ands. So a full measure of quarter notes would be 1 AND 2 AND. Remember, in cut time, there are only 2 beats in each measure as well, so there is no 3 & 4.
@@MusiciansAddition Yes, I wrote that in error or more out of habit. Thank you for your reply.
@@rob26b perfect! I just wanted to make sure. 😁
How would you count sixteenth notes in cut time
What program were you using for the examples?
Musescore. It's free!
@@MusiciansAddition thanks
As though;
both 2/2 and 4/4 in terms with the same BPM contents were arrived the time with the same volume of time consumes but only the 2/2 for only counts as 2 as what be 2/4 have and then 2/2 have the same content volume in 4/4 as yet as for fast players with 2/4 in counting whilst volumes most beats than the 2/4 I can directly suggest the 2/2 to double the BPM counts in order to take the 2/4 counting whilst they already comprise more beats allocated than limited 2/4 affordability👍😎
Does this mean that in 2/2, if a quarter=100bpm, it would equal to 200 in 4/4?
That's correct
How do I count 1 e + a in cut time?
They are counted like 32nd notes, which is 1 d e d a d & d a d ... (the d is pronounced like duh) & this one REALLY takes some practice.
can someone explain what her t-shirt mean?
The little squiggle line looking thing is a rest. The curved symbol with the dot is a fermatta & it means to hold out. So the musical notation is to hold out the rest - so "Silence please"
How do you count a dotted quarter in 2 2 time?
Excellent question. Let's break this down. So the quarter note in cut time is worth half a beat. With the dot added, it would be half of an eighth note, which would be a 16th. So you would hold it out for half + 16 (1E&). What note is after the dotted quarter?
What about moonlight sonata 1st movement?
Hi, why can't 1/4 notes be used instead of changing the value, what's the reason for changing?
It's more of a tempo thing. If we were to make it into 2/4 instead of 2/2, you would have to double your tempo to create the same feel. Doesn't sound so bad, but the piece may be too fast for your conductor to conduct well at 2/4, but they can conduct better at 2/2.
@@MusiciansAddition Hi, many thanks.
3:30
So how do you count sixteenth notes
if there are 2 cut time symbols, what do that mean? thanks.
Are the symbols right next to each other?
@@MusiciansAddition yes. Two cut time symbols next to each other.
What do mean by cut time... why cut time? What's the difference of conducting 2/2 & 2/4?
Conducting will look the same. Many composers will write the music in 2/2 because of tempo. So say they want the piece to feel quicker, they can compose it at, let's say 100BPM in 2/2, OR they can compose it in 200BPM in either 4/4 or 4/4. Both will sound the same, but writing it in 2/2 is easier on the conductor & the band. It won't feel like a train wreck trying to keep up.
and 4/4
on counting the beats for example in 4/4 1, 2, 3, 4 (quarter notes); 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, 4 & (eighth notes). In cut time could you still count the same way? half note = 1 ; two quarter notes = 1 &
That is correct. :)
Great video, but I don't understand, why the minimum becomes 1 because a minimum (half note) last for two beats so shouldn't one minimum be enough for a bar...
Oh alright, I think it's because there are two beats in a bar, ....but if the time signature was 1/2, would one minimum be enough for a bar instead of cutting the time length into two?.
music 🎼
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How do you count triplets in cut time? 😅
Great video. It's weird though, because I can't really hear any difference between 4/4 and 2/2 when it comes to music. I feel like any 2/2 song could be counted in 4/4 and vice versa. It just seems like an academic thing, rather than a music thing. But I'm a beginner, so what do I know?
When I first was learning, I would still count as if it were 4/4, but I would just speed up my foot tapping. When just listening, it is hard to determine if it's common time or cut time. But If you were to play a solo piece with a pianist and you still played in 4/4, you would drastically be behind. So it is more of a technical/sheet music reading kind of thing.
@@MusiciansAddition Yeah. I guess I just don't really see the point. You could write out the same song in 4/4 with double the tempo and it would be exactly the same.
@@zublits AFAIU historically composers seldomly wrote a tempo indication, so time signature (as well as not density) was used to convey that information, and it is tied to how you phrase & articulate things (basically, "feel"). So outside of performing music in the 18th century European classical tradition, the concept of 2/2 (or even 2/4) seems mostly useless? I'm confused by it myself.
so 2/2 and the cut time are the same thing?
They are.
It's just like how 4/4 & common time are also the same thing.
How to count dotted notes in cut time.
Let's break it down. Everything is in half now. So the half note is generally worth 2 beats. In cut time, it's now worth 1 beat. The dot still has the same rule, so if attached to the half note, it's now worth 1/2 a beat. So the dotted half note now equals 1 1/2 beats.
@@MusiciansAddition thank you very much .
tell me songs with 2/2 , please
It's difficult to tell which songs are in 4/4 & which are in cut time just off of listening. I do know that the original version of Jingle Bells by James Pierpoint was written in 2/2. Most the time, I only know it's in cut time because my sheet music is marked that way. I'll make a video showing songs in cut time. They just may not be well known.
i want how to conduct the singer when sing
Ok. Sure. I'll make a video of that. But for time being, to conduct in 2/2 or 2/4, your right hand simply goes up & down. When your hand is up, that is beat 1. When your hand is down, that is beat 2.
To conduct 3/4 time, you'll make kinda like a 'J' shape. Statt with your hand up (even with your neck). Straight down is beat one. Then beat 2 is straight over to the left. Beat 3 is the swoop back up.
To conduct in 4/4 time, beat 1 is down. Beat 2 is to the left, beat 3 is to the right, & beat 4 is small swoop up.
Hopefully that's not too confusing. I'll try to get a video make by the end of January. If you need it sooner, feel free to message me on Facebook & I'll send you a demonstration.
Instead of making it complicated- why cant we put it as 2/4...even this has 2 beats in a bar and easy to understand..kindly explain
Great question! It has to do with time & ease of reading. I made my examples easy just so we can easily understand it.
First, cut time was created to help reduce the use of the eighth & sixteenth notes - it's supposed to reduce "printing" clutter.
Cut time has the feel of playing faster, so in cut time, a 150bpm would be 300bpm in 2/4 time. That is WAY too fast for your conductor to be able to conduct the band.
@@MusiciansAddition Thank you so much for your explanation!
@@isaacisrael8407 Of course! Let me know if you have any other questions!
@Musician's Addition there is also a different feel of strong beats for example in 4 /4 time the 1st beat is strongest then the third beat. 2 and 4 are weaker but in cut time its just a strong beat on 1 and a weak beat on 2.
It seems okay to play but how to count them or I don't?
To be honest, when I'm playing with a group, I don't really count. I watch the conductor & follow along. But it is important to at least know how it's counted. Just know that everything is in half. Only 2 beats in the measure. Half note=1. Quarter note is half a beat. Quarter note would now be like a 16th note...
@@MusiciansAddition I think that you meant to write here in your reply that an "eighth" note would be now be like a 16th note, not a quarter note. I am a drumming instructor, and please know that you did a really superb job with your video. Excellent explanation, wonderfully explained and presented by you. Bravo!!!
@@joecaroselli5858 Oops. I did mean to write that. & Thank you!
@@MusiciansAddition Yep,I knew that it was just a little misspeak... that's all. Just know that you're doing a really tremendous job!
Dont understand y only 400 subs should have been 407k subs
Thank you! My channel is still pretty new (not even a year old), but my channel is growing every day! Thank you for the support!
Wait a minute Dora?? In real life.. Anyways Never mind.. Back to the lesson.. Great lesson thank you..
🤣🤣🤣 you are not the first to call me that. Lol. Glad you enjoyed the lesson!
@@MusiciansAddition thank you your awsome 💫
I know how to count time. I wanted to know how 2/2 felt different from 4/4. You didn't make that clear at all. You compared different note values all in 2/2. What about the same thing in 4/4. How does it feel different?
The main thing is just that 2/2 makes it feel faster. So if you have a piece written in 4/4 at a tempo marked 200bpm, the composer might feel it's easier for the conductor and the band to play 2/2 at 100bpm. In terms of rhythm, it'll still going to sound similar, as a half note is still longer than a quarter note, for example.
@@MusiciansAddition 2/2 is not necessarily faster. That's a common mistake and doesn't make the difference clear. Very simply, if you can't tell there is clearly 2 beats, BAH ba BAH ba, then it's simply 4/4. It has nothing to do with speed.
I wish I could write a comment but because of cut ti
Now we are free brought me here 😂
Can you just tell me how a triplet would sound like in 2/2 ?
how to conduct
I just posted a video on how to conduct in 4/4 time. This is the first thing in conducting & I think it will really help you out. :)
When we already have notes for all these beats .. why are they using cut down technique to make whole note to say 2 beats .. why couldn't they simply use the half note and say the same thing.. I am wondering what is the real purpose of cut down ..
it’s about the feel and emphasis. some melodies just feel better when you count 2, and they might feel confusing in 4 because of where the emphasis lies.
@@polkaputo3226as if the songs had more bars? more segments?
@@mjaa1307 kinda. when we count four we expect the strongest beat to be on the 1, but sometimes it doesn't always feel that way. for example, a lot of old country songs have a strong/weak/strong/weak plodding feel to it, which wouldn't be as good if you counted 4 with a strong/and/weak/and feel.
@@polkaputo3226 hello!
My school’s fight song is in cut time :((
Most fight songs are. If you are struggling to play the fight song, take time to practice it in 4/4 and then just keep speeding it up. The good news is, a half note will always be longer than a quarter note, for example.
@@MusiciansAddition Thank you!
mine is in 7/8 💀
@@mangoe_404 💀💀💀
@@mangoe_404 Our 6/8 time video will be a little more helpful. You'll just count 7 beats instead of 6.
ua-cam.com/video/UKAydK2SxUg/v-deo.html
Sucks to count this for largo
Really does. It helps when you have a conductor.
@@MusiciansAddition Well im learning Chopin's prelude in E minor so its just a solo piece. I honestly don't understand why its not in common time
@@asloii_1749 Yeah... It's kind of a challenge when a piece is largo & in cut time. My best guess is it's written in cut time for phrasing. Going for the feeling of 2 opposed to 4. Now why it couldn't be written in 2/4 if that was what he was going for... I don't know. That's a composers choice & I think we would have to ask him. lol.
i hate cut time...i have to just turn the page over right down the letter and listen to the ppl next to me....
I don't care for cut time either. It is so much easier to do when you are playing with a full band and conductor.
Can I tell myself that it's all been halved?
You can!
Weird
Stop the yapping with the question
Cut time is a failure of notation. It's unnecessary.
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You're welcome!
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You are welcome! 😁
Thank you
You're welcome! Glad I could help!