Hi Michael, I stumbled upon your lessons tonight. I've learned more in the last few hours than in 5 years of lessons many years ago in my teens!! Thank you so much for taking the time to do these vids! In my 50s now and loving my piano again after a 25 year break. Shame you and UA-cam weren't around in my youth!! Your lessons are the best I've seen yet. X
Hey, Michael, what would be REALLY cool, is a video of you teaching time signatures, AND playing examples of what each signature sounds like. That would really be helpful. That might also be fun for you and your students, since we don't really hear you play in your teaching videos. Thank you!!!
I wish this video existed back in the late 90s when I started writing stuff on a sound tracker. The usual tracker pattern is 64 rows, being 16 rows per a whole note. One row being a 16th note. Four rows is a quarter note. You earned a like for your effort in explaining things.
omg, thank you so much. i’ve been playing music for 4 years and i’ve never understood what the bottom number meant. google never helped and this is the first video that actually breaks it down
By far best explanation. Thanks for clarifying the types of notes that can be played in a time signature. All other tutorials on youtube give the impression that you have to play only 1/4 notes in a x/4 signature. You explained this concept clearly. Thans again!
Sorry I left you for so long. Life gets a little overwhelming for me sometimes and unfortunately sometimes non-rent paying things like UA-cam end up getting cut out. Glad you found Lypur though. I don't particularly like his teaching style but he has an incredible amount of content and is obviously a really awesome guy to put all that out there. I don't want to make any promises, but I am really going to try to do better with regular updates. Life permitting.
You know the biggest thing keeping me from doing guitar lessons is actually the camera setup; I haven't figured out a good, clear way to record myself playing a guitar along with a whiteboard. If you (or anyone else) has seen anyone doing it right, please let me know.
You know I'm going to try really hard to get back to those. I hit a bit of a creative roadblock there and haven't quite gotten past it. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a bunch of abstract ideas and concepts to solidify into a concrete, enjoyable and interesting music lesson. I'll do my best though.
I know I know. My life is very "project oriented", so I get crazy busy and focused on certain things for long stretches at a time. Anyway, I'll try to do better, I promise. And you're right; key changing/circle of fifths is long overdue.
i’ve been looking into time signatures for like 3 weeks now and couldn’t really understand them and then BOOM watched this video and it just clicked, thanks homie 🙏🙏
you have helped me understand more about music theory in under an hour than I have been able to figure out in years listening to others or reading about. Thank you.
Hi Micheal. I have learnt western music in my younger days. I took piano lessons for 6 years and I was in chorus through elementary school, junior high school, high school and college. I was also in the county level junior and senior honors choruses and Masterworks chorus a professional adult chorus while I was in high school. My slight weakness is sight reading. I know that a whole note gets four beats, a half note gets two beats, a quarter note gets 1 beat, an eighth note gets 1/8 beat, a sixteenth note gets 1/16 beat, a thirty secondth note gets 1/32 beats, a sixty fourth note gets 1/64 beats , a dotted quarter note gets 1 1/2 beat, a dotted half note gets 3 beats, a full rest gets 4 beats, a half rest gets 2 beats, a quarter rest gets 1 beat, a dotted quarter rest gets 1 1/2 beats, a dotted half rest gets 3 beats. I also know some things about time signatures. The top number most of the time states the number of beats in a measure, but not always. If the bottom number is a 4, then the quarter note gets the beat. If the bottom number is an 8, then the eighth note gets the beat. 2 eighth notes give one quarter note. C (4/4) means common time and C with a slash through it means cut time. 2/2 is cut time. This much i know, but you have helped me to expand my knowledge on time signatures.
You have no idea how much your videos helped me, I had a LOT of information but you just cleared it all out. Thank you so much. Hope you can go with the videos :). Greetings from Mexico.
I would like to thank you very much for all effort you've done and time you spend with these videos. Most understandable music theory lessons all around. You are awesome internet teacher and I believe in real life you would be one too.
Since you left us for half a year I went to Andrew Furmanczyks Channel called Lypur, which taught me a lot. But I still prefer your style and content and some things I definitely learned better from your videos. So even a basic thing like this video, which I actually remembered from school, holds some detail I never knew. Or rather the next one apparently will, so looking forward to that one :)
I feel you've left us hanging on creating our own compositions. I made my own song for my high school's talent show but I feel like I'm missing a lot of valuable information. Something along the lines of changing keys in the middle of a song, chromaticism and changing chord progression smoothly.
I appreciate what you are doing, the best music teacher I have across. please continue your work. you are making life so much easier for so many of us.
4:30 to 5:00 - ROFL!!! Excellent point. A rule that is true half the time is hardly a 'rule'. I had to pause the video at that point and finish laughing. Excellent analogy!
so glad I found this video! I need to learn and understand time signatures for a dance exam (the handbook with the musical terms looks like gibberish to me, as I foolishly gave up on piano lessons as a child) but this video helped so much! At least I had my handbook on hand as US and UK terms are different, but got there in the end :) thank you!
Thanks. I have a huge book of sheet music, and I have been avoiding the songs that are not 4/4. Now I get it! The last example (2/2 vs. 4/4) in your video helped put it all together for me. Great job - btw your vid on the circle of fifths closed that topic for me also, now I can read music in flat and minor keys.
This was VERY helpful. As someone who has been teaching themselves music, time signatures can definitely be a pain. I never quite understood the difference between e.g 4/4 and 2/2 until now. Thanks!
MIchael - thank you so much! I've struggled to understand how something in 3/4 time could only have 3 parts of 4 in it! I always wondered: where did the 4th beat go? It never made sense to me despite having several people attempt to explain it. But you cleared it up! I've struggled with this for 30+ years! Thank you so much. You have a talent for teaching.
Hi I thought your time signature classes were fabuloso. I have Asperger's (moderate to severe) and write complex compound music as I now understand... Would you look at my scores and correct my time signatures if they are wrong. I can pay you. Lots of Love, Jacque
Dear Michael It has been a great pleasure listening to your lectures which have great clarity. Still I have a question about the term quarter note .I thought of putting clarity in the question by doing a little calculation. Please bear with me. Let us say BPM = 120 .So Beat time is 0.5 s. So in 4/4 signature the quarter note lasts for 0.5 s. Now measure time is 0.5x4 = 2 seconds. And the quarter note really occupies a quarter of measure time. But suppose we have 3/4 signature. Again,say, BPM is same so beat time is 0.5 s. So this is the duration of the quarter note. But now the measure time is 3x0.5 = 1.5 s. So quarter note does not really last for a quarter of measure time. Still it is called a quarter note? Or is it simply understood that a quarter note is a true quarter note only in relation to 4/4 signature?
Ashok Ranade You are exactly right. The names "quarter note", "half note", etc. seem to make more sense in a 4/4 measure, and not so much in 3/4. But really you should think of them as being 1/4th of a whole note, not 1/4th of a 4/4 measure. In other words, think of a 4/4 measure as being 4 quarter notes, not a quarter note being 1/4 of a 4/4 measure.
So does that mean that a whole note in 3/4 time is worth 3 quarter notes? Does a whole note last a measure, or does it always last 4 quarter notes and therefore a whole note in 3/4 time takes up a measure and a third?
I think (after your writing music lessons) you should teach about how to improvise and explain modes cuz I've gone to dozens of different sources and all are very confusing, but you explain things very well. All I have is the blues scale, and I wanna learn to really improvise!! Thanks!
Thank you! It's so much easier now to understand and keep learning. When I felt that I couldn't get the basics I panicked a bit. But now I don't feel anxious anymore. 😊🙌
You know what would help the lesson go a long, long way? Audio examples of what you are talking about.. Imagine a lesson on various paint brush techniques, but never an example. Just words about it.
Thanks, this video is really helpful, I had a hard time understanding what the bottom number of a time signature meant and how they worked together, now thanks to this, I understand it perfectly
And just like that I understand time signatures finally! You're videos are superb man, you pretty just saved my butt from my theory exam this afternoon haha.
I finally understand... at last.. I drum and play guitar... Been having trouble in the rhythm section of the instrument because of the beat time signature, I normally memorise beats and strumming pattern for each Time signature but now I know once I hear the music and I get the time signature, I can play a beat to fit in
I have watched so many videos on time signatures....and still don't get it. All I see is someone just counting faster or slower. Is there some prerequisite I need to understand first?
Hey Michael, I really enjoy your videos a lot, you are one of the best teachers out there and learning something from you is nothing but pleasure. This topic is actually a hard one for me as I never really came to understand it, no matter how often I tried. There is always something left that confuses me. So here I am, sitting with my chicken coconut soup and the video paused at 00:00 . Really curious now if I may finally get it and I will let you know in a few minutes :)
okay , 1 hour later ... I actually watched all of the 5 videos about rythm and I now understand EVERY.LITTLE.THING you say. dude this is awesome I cannot thank you enough !
I got into looking up time signatures as I know the band Tool and the genre of Math Rock, deal a lot with changing tie signatures. Is there any way you could make a video breaking down specific examples of how Tool and/or Math Rock bands(I only know of one Math Rock band at the moment; Slint (specifically, their album Spiderland)) utilize unconventional or altering time signatures. Just some food for thought for a future video.
You wanna hear something crazy but also unsurprising? I just commented something similar on this video. I’m prob the most recent comment in like 5 years, and it was also in reference to Tool 😯. Only Tool fans dude lol. We’re such fuxking dorks.
This helped so much with some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings that I had. Particularly with wrongly thinking that the top number = beat structure and not realising how it relates to accented notes. (hopefully I've taken that in correctly because I'm not sure I've put that very well...)
Thank you so much! I was so confused because I was always taught that there was always __ beats in a bar. When I didn’t get it my teacher said I was bad at math when really I got the math award at school, but he thought I was dumb. Now I understand, thanks!
Hi Michael, Thanks for posting such a concise and yet informative video. I just really really wished you had included played examples of what the various time signatures actually 'sounded' like... its now so much easier to read the basic signatures that you've explained,.. but how do they "sound" different?!?!... you were hinting at that very point at 08:45 but only depicted a 4/4 example. Could you please post an update video with practical audio examples.... play the same piece of music in varying time signatures... that would make things so much clearer! Thanks a lot. Jim
+Jimbo Kraut I agree, and I wish I had done more of that. I did give an example or two in the video after this one on 6/8, but I should have done more of that.
Hey, you know I'm really sorry I haven't gone farther with that yet. I honestly got a little stuck and couldn't get a decent lesson to coalesce. I'm going to do one or two more on this topic of rhythm, and then I promise I will summon every ounce of teacher skill I have to try and get that ball rolling again.
Thank you so much, for years I've never known the difference between 2-2 and 4-4 or why a composer would bother with different time signatures! It sounds kind of rediculous but I never asked the simple questions when I was younger, so here I am in my 2nd year of a varsity choir with very limited musical knowledge 😆
I don’t know tbh at comments is where you write anything more than a thanks and no place for qs but: the whole heavier lighter concept is what I was wondering about when in a 6/8 time when you should count 1+u which gives heavy and light - eight /8 being a dotted quarter (thanks for that) But you count 123 because of further break down into 8th and 16th (likewise). Which would mean 6 counts of all heavy notes. Struggling with that still. Thanks for the videos. Way, way terrific. Ace. Merci. 🙏🏼
Actually, the term "odd time" doesn't have much of a technical meaning. It just means an unusual time signature. So 5/4 would be "odd time" just because it's not a normal time signature.
Michael, your videos are great! I started as a music major in 2000 but never finished and dropped out a year later. I'm back to school this year but wont be taking any music classes until next fall. Your videos are really helping me remember and re-learn music. Thanks again for your work. As a side note, do you have any recommendations on any helpful music theory books that might be good to check out? Thanks!
Thanks Michael New. Now I finally get it. Your lessons are great. Actually playing the time signature would help. Otherwise best you tube video lessons I have found on the subject..
my lord how I wish I could understand this. I took music in school from 5th to high school, but watching your video, which apparently goes over well with other viewers, completely goes over my head. ok, I play music by war and have created many beautiful songs on piano and guitar and would love to know what time signiture they're in. I wouldn't know if the tapping of my foot 4 times makes the measure, or tapping it twice as fast makes an equal measure just as accurate in half the space. I'm certain your lesson is spot on, but it left me just as hopeless as when I started. thanks tho
You are the first person who broke that down simply. And thanks for not killing people with background music.
He is the first person in 4 years to explain this properly to me.
Krystal B's Muzik all my music teachers are assholes and they’ll yell at me for asking a question
Korauh felt
@@pooooopppyyyyfarttt Our teacher didn't even taught us time signature. She'd yell at us when we ask one question.
Hi Michael, I stumbled upon your lessons tonight. I've learned more in the last few hours than in 5 years of lessons many years ago in my teens!! Thank you so much for taking the time to do these vids! In my 50s now and loving my piano again after a 25 year break. Shame you and UA-cam weren't around in my youth!! Your lessons are the best I've seen yet. X
Hey, Michael, what would be REALLY cool, is a video of you teaching time signatures, AND playing examples of what each signature sounds like. That would really be helpful. That might also be fun for you and your students, since we don't really hear you play in your teaching videos. Thank you!!!
I am learning music in my 60's! So thank you....your videos really help me go over and consolidate what I am learning. Thanks so much.
Did you continue with your learning?
That's awesome! Never too late to try to learn something new. :)
Wooow. You are the best music teacher that I've ever had. The way you teach them in a simple and interesting way is awesome.
I wish this video existed back in the late 90s when I started writing stuff on a sound tracker. The usual tracker pattern is 64 rows, being 16 rows per a whole note. One row being a 16th note. Four rows is a quarter note.
You earned a like for your effort in explaining things.
omg, thank you so much. i’ve been playing music for 4 years and i’ve never understood what the bottom number meant. google never helped and this is the first video that actually breaks it down
It is the third video I've watched about time signature and the only one I could understand its meaning. thanks ♡
Same here!
You been making music since then?
OMFG. The first 2:00 is what I needed. Now I finally understand. Some people are meant to teach. I LOVE YOU.
By far best explanation. Thanks for clarifying the types of notes that can be played in a time signature. All other tutorials on youtube give the impression that you have to play only 1/4 notes in a x/4 signature. You explained this concept clearly. Thans again!
Seems like modes is everybody's #1 request. I'll bump that up my list of vidoes-to-make.
One of the best explanations I have come across on Y.
YOU ARE A SAVER IT TOOK ME 5 MINUTES TO LEARN YOU ARE THE BEST THANK YOU NOW I CAN DO MY HOMEWORK BEFORE ITS DUE
Sorry I left you for so long. Life gets a little overwhelming for me sometimes and unfortunately sometimes non-rent paying things like UA-cam end up getting cut out. Glad you found Lypur though. I don't particularly like his teaching style but he has an incredible amount of content and is obviously a really awesome guy to put all that out there. I don't want to make any promises, but I am really going to try to do better with regular updates. Life permitting.
I don't even know what I would do if you hadn't made this video. You saved my so much time and headache.
Will do. I've got one more lesson on rhythm and then it's back to melody, harmony and composing.
You know the biggest thing keeping me from doing guitar lessons is actually the camera setup; I haven't figured out a good, clear way to record myself playing a guitar along with a whiteboard. If you (or anyone else) has seen anyone doing it right, please let me know.
I can learn from this channel thanks from the Philippines.
You know I'm going to try really hard to get back to those. I hit a bit of a creative roadblock there and haven't quite gotten past it. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a bunch of abstract ideas and concepts to solidify into a concrete, enjoyable and interesting music lesson. I'll do my best though.
I know I know. My life is very "project oriented", so I get crazy busy and focused on certain things for long stretches at a time. Anyway, I'll try to do better, I promise. And you're right; key changing/circle of fifths is long overdue.
i’ve been looking into time signatures for like 3 weeks now and couldn’t really understand them and then BOOM watched this video and it just clicked, thanks homie 🙏🙏
you have helped me understand more about music theory in under an hour than I have been able to figure out in years listening to others or reading about. Thank you.
Finally, I understood the time signatures! Thank you! Well explained and straight to the point.
you are very easy to listen to when you teach very refreshing and easy to understand. Thank You....
God Bless
I'm glad your back man. I learned a lot from you.
Hi Micheal. I have learnt western music in my younger days. I took piano lessons for 6 years and I was in chorus through elementary school, junior high school, high school and college. I was also in the county level junior and senior honors choruses and Masterworks chorus a professional adult chorus while I was in high school. My slight weakness is sight reading. I know that a whole note gets four beats, a half note gets two beats, a quarter note gets 1 beat, an eighth note gets 1/8 beat, a sixteenth note gets 1/16 beat, a thirty secondth note gets 1/32 beats, a sixty fourth note gets 1/64 beats , a dotted quarter note gets 1 1/2 beat, a dotted half note gets 3 beats, a full rest gets 4 beats, a half rest gets 2 beats, a quarter rest gets 1 beat, a dotted quarter rest gets 1 1/2 beats, a dotted half rest gets 3 beats.
I also know some things about time signatures. The top number most of the time states the number of beats in a measure, but not always. If the bottom number is a 4, then the quarter note gets the beat. If the bottom number is an 8, then the eighth note gets the beat. 2 eighth notes give one quarter note. C (4/4) means common time and C with a slash through it means cut time. 2/2 is cut time. This much i know, but you have helped me to expand my knowledge on time signatures.
You are doing a wonderful thing for everyone. More importantly, you are doing a wonderful thing for music. Thank you so much.
You are such a great person. You make it easy for people like me who can't afford a teacher to learn music. I appreciate this a lot.
You have no idea how much your videos helped me, I had a LOT of information but you just cleared it all out. Thank you so much. Hope you can go with the videos :). Greetings from Mexico.
I would like to thank you very much for all effort you've done and time you spend with these videos. Most understandable music theory lessons all around. You are awesome internet teacher and I believe in real life you would be one too.
appreciation and much love from Ethiopia!
Not just prog but also Jazz. 5 4 time is Brubeck's "Take Five". Brubeck was famous for messing around with time signatures
I know next to nothing about music theory, but I love that Brubeck song.
Best and most comprehensible explanation on this subject.
Since you left us for half a year I went to Andrew Furmanczyks Channel called Lypur, which taught me a lot. But I still prefer your style and content and some things I definitely learned better from your videos. So even a basic thing like this video, which I actually remembered from school, holds some detail I never knew. Or rather the next one apparently will, so looking forward to that one :)
I feel you've left us hanging on creating our own compositions. I made my own song for my high school's talent show but I feel like I'm missing a lot of valuable information. Something along the lines of changing keys in the middle of a song, chromaticism and changing chord progression smoothly.
Even after making music for a long time i felt like i learn something valuable watching this video.
Thanks for such great videos.
Brilliant. Thank you. Every time a new question popped into my head you answered it in your next sentence. Very well done.
I appreciate what you are doing, the best music teacher I have across. please continue your work. you are making life so much easier for so many of us.
You're back! I ALMOST unsubscribed, but this gives me hope again. Thanks!
I been so confused about time signatures. I'll get it one day!!
Thank you for this beautiful lesson
4:30 to 5:00 - ROFL!!! Excellent point. A rule that is true half the time is hardly a 'rule'. I had to pause the video at that point and finish laughing. Excellent analogy!
Thanks for breaking down this information, It finally makes sense! Also, you look like the dude from "Back To The Future".
so glad I found this video! I need to learn and understand time signatures for a dance exam (the handbook with the musical terms looks like gibberish to me, as I foolishly gave up on piano lessons as a child) but this video helped so much! At least I had my handbook on hand as US and UK terms are different, but got there in the end :) thank you!
Michael its because of you that i am getting to learn a lot.. Big thanx to you bro... you rock..
Thanks. I have a huge book of sheet music, and I have been avoiding the songs that are not 4/4. Now I get it! The last example (2/2 vs. 4/4) in your video helped put it all together for me. Great job - btw your vid on the circle of fifths closed that topic for me also, now I can read music in flat and minor keys.
Woah I watched so many videos on time signature and I FINALLY understood the concept from watching yours. Thank you so much!!
This was VERY helpful. As someone who has been teaching themselves music, time signatures can definitely be a pain. I never quite understood the difference between e.g 4/4 and 2/2 until now. Thanks!
MIchael - thank you so much! I've struggled to understand how something in 3/4 time could only have 3 parts of 4 in it! I always wondered: where did the 4th beat go? It never made sense to me despite having several people attempt to explain it. But you cleared it up! I've struggled with this for 30+ years! Thank you so much. You have a talent for teaching.
Hi I thought your time signature classes were fabuloso. I have Asperger's (moderate to severe) and write complex compound music as I now understand... Would you look at my scores and correct my time signatures if they are wrong. I can pay you. Lots of Love, Jacque
I like that you 'r back. Thanks for uploading these great tutorials. I would like to see more about harmony in the future.
Great video, you can explain the concepts in such a simple way! Keep it up :)
Thank you, will do :)
Great video you're a better teacher than most.
Thank you for taking the time to make this videos, really!
Agreed.
Dear Michael
It has been a great pleasure listening to your lectures which have great clarity. Still I have a question about the term quarter note .I thought of putting clarity in the question by doing a little calculation. Please bear with me.
Let us say BPM = 120 .So Beat time is 0.5 s. So in 4/4 signature the quarter note lasts for 0.5 s. Now measure time is 0.5x4 = 2 seconds. And the quarter note really occupies a quarter of measure time.
But suppose we have 3/4 signature. Again,say, BPM is same so beat time is 0.5 s. So this is the duration of the quarter note. But now the measure time is 3x0.5 = 1.5 s. So quarter note does not really last for a quarter of measure time. Still it is called a quarter note? Or is it simply understood that a quarter note is a true quarter note only in relation to 4/4 signature?
Ashok Ranade You are exactly right. The names "quarter note", "half note", etc. seem to make more sense in a 4/4 measure, and not so much in 3/4. But really you should think of them as being 1/4th of a whole note, not 1/4th of a 4/4 measure. In other words, think of a 4/4 measure as being 4 quarter notes, not a quarter note being 1/4 of a 4/4 measure.
Ashok Ranade Excellent question. I was thinking the same thing Ashok. Michael's answer is perfectly clear - just like his videos. :)
+Michael New I've been wondering about exactly this for years, thanks and great videos!
Great work Ashok.
So does that mean that a whole note in 3/4 time is worth 3 quarter notes? Does a whole note last a measure, or does it always last 4 quarter notes and therefore a whole note in 3/4 time takes up a measure and a third?
Well I have been looking for an excuse to buy a Go Pro...
Excellent video...you are vry easy to listen to and you explanation are clear an effiecient..Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
First video that explains this well.
I've never learned so much fundamental music note knowledge in such a simple and composed way
Thanks for posting this. Very comprehensive.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It is much appreciated.
I think (after your writing music lessons) you should teach about how to improvise and explain modes cuz I've gone to dozens of different sources and all are very confusing, but you explain things very well. All I have is the blues scale, and I wanna learn to really improvise!! Thanks!
"You're not gonna be counting out loud when you play this." My piano teacher would beg to differ.
Thank you, very clearly explained and illustrated. Great job
Thank you! It's so much easier now to understand and keep learning. When I felt that I couldn't get the basics I panicked a bit. But now I don't feel anxious anymore. 😊🙌
Great video, very clear and to the point.
You know what would help the lesson go a long, long way? Audio examples of what you are talking about.. Imagine a lesson on various paint brush techniques, but never an example. Just words about it.
When trying to remember 6/8, I hum "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" from the Wizard of Oz.
Thanks, this video is really helpful, I had a hard time understanding what the bottom number of a time signature meant and how they worked together, now thanks to this, I understand it perfectly
First time in my life i properly understood time signature..Thank you....Please do a video on cross rhythms , poly rhythms, triplets.
And just like that I understand time signatures finally! You're videos are superb man, you pretty just saved my butt from my theory exam this afternoon haha.
I finally understand... at last.. I drum and play guitar... Been having trouble in the rhythm section of the instrument because of the beat time signature, I normally memorise beats and strumming pattern for each Time signature but now I know once I hear the music and I get the time signature, I can play a beat to fit in
You got one new subscriber
an in depth series on modes and how to properly utilise them would be awesome :)
I have watched so many videos on time signatures....and still don't get it. All I see is someone just counting faster or slower. Is there some prerequisite I need to understand first?
This is so helpful! Thank you so much!
This video made the theory sooooooooooooooo much clear to me. Thanks bro. Really Appreciate.
Hey Michael, I really enjoy your videos a lot, you are one of the best teachers out there and learning something from you is nothing but pleasure. This topic is actually a hard one for me as I never really came to understand it, no matter how often I tried. There is always something left that confuses me. So here I am, sitting with my chicken coconut soup and the video paused at 00:00 . Really curious now if I may finally get it and I will let you know in a few minutes :)
okay , 1 hour later ... I actually watched all of the 5 videos about rythm and I now understand EVERY.LITTLE.THING you say. dude this is awesome I cannot thank you enough !
Micheal I love your videos! You have really "filled in some gaps" for me and I REALLY appreciate your work!
I got into looking up time signatures as I know the band Tool and the genre of Math Rock, deal a lot with changing tie signatures. Is there any way you could make a video breaking down specific examples of how Tool and/or Math Rock bands(I only know of one Math Rock band at the moment; Slint (specifically, their album Spiderland)) utilize unconventional or altering time signatures. Just some food for thought for a future video.
gnarmad A cursory google search for 'math rock' would've saved you from looking like a toolbag yknow.
You wanna hear something crazy but also unsurprising? I just commented something similar on this video. I’m prob the most recent comment in like 5 years, and it was also in reference to Tool 😯. Only Tool fans dude lol. We’re such fuxking dorks.
This helped so much with some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings that I had. Particularly with wrongly thinking that the top number = beat structure and not realising how it relates to accented notes. (hopefully I've taken that in correctly because I'm not sure I've put that very well...)
Finally, an explaination that makes sense to me. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I was so confused because I was always taught that there was always __ beats in a bar. When I didn’t get it my teacher said I was bad at math when really I got the math award at school, but he thought I was dumb. Now I understand, thanks!
You explained 2/2 and 4/4 so well thanks!
Hi Michael,
Thanks for posting such a concise and yet informative video. I just really really wished you had included played examples of what the various time signatures actually 'sounded' like... its now so much easier to read the basic signatures that you've explained,.. but how do they "sound" different?!?!... you were hinting at that very point at 08:45 but only depicted a 4/4 example. Could you please post an update video with practical audio examples.... play the same piece of music in varying time signatures... that would make things so much clearer! Thanks a lot. Jim
+Jimbo Kraut I agree, and I wish I had done more of that. I did give an example or two in the video after this one on 6/8, but I should have done more of that.
Yeah. Have you posted a new video with live examples?! Thanks...
this is the best music lesson Ive watched in my life. thank you sooo much
Hey, you know I'm really sorry I haven't gone farther with that yet. I honestly got a little stuck and couldn't get a decent lesson to coalesce. I'm going to do one or two more on this topic of rhythm, and then I promise I will summon every ounce of teacher skill I have to try and get that ball rolling again.
Thank you so much, for years I've never known the difference between 2-2 and 4-4 or why a composer would bother with different time signatures! It sounds kind of rediculous but I never asked the simple questions when I was younger, so here I am in my 2nd year of a varsity choir with very limited musical knowledge 😆
THANK YOU! So much less confusing than the last video I watched on this concept.
I don’t know tbh at comments is where you write anything more than a thanks and no place for qs but: the whole heavier lighter concept is what I was wondering about when in a 6/8 time when you should count 1+u which gives heavy and light - eight /8 being a dotted quarter (thanks for that) But you count 123 because of further break down into 8th and 16th (likewise). Which would mean 6 counts of all heavy notes. Struggling with that still. Thanks for the videos. Way, way terrific. Ace. Merci. 🙏🏼
Actually, the term "odd time" doesn't have much of a technical meaning. It just means an unusual time signature. So 5/4 would be "odd time" just because it's not a normal time signature.
How long (in seconds) is a measure?
Michael, your videos are great! I started as a music major in 2000 but never finished and dropped out a year later. I'm back to school this year but wont be taking any music classes until next fall. Your videos are really helping me remember and re-learn music. Thanks again for your work. As a side note, do you have any recommendations on any helpful music theory books that might be good to check out? Thanks!
Thanks Michael New. Now I finally get it. Your lessons are great. Actually playing the time signature would help. Otherwise best you tube video lessons I have found on the subject..
This dude is a god sent! Thanks so much...
Will do. I'll get back to you sometime once I get my work schedule soon. Til then.
Hi Michael, could you please record a lesson about chord progressions?
Thank you bro! Made so many things clear!
Thanks for you're excellent explanation of difference between 2/2 and 4/4.
Wonderful morning with a wonderful lesson...thank you from india😊
Amazing explanation! thank you very much
Good teaching Michael.
my lord how I wish I could understand this. I took music in school from 5th to high school, but watching your video, which apparently goes over well with other viewers, completely goes over my head.
ok, I play music by war and have created many beautiful songs on piano and guitar and would love to know what time signiture they're in. I wouldn't know if the tapping of my foot 4 times makes the measure, or tapping it twice as fast makes an equal measure just as accurate in half the space. I'm certain your lesson is spot on, but it left me just as hopeless as when I started.
thanks tho