Jamorama

[creativecool]

Ok, here’s the story I’m getting very confused with this whole timing thing and I hope some one can help me.
If you have a 4/4 timing that means there are 4 notes in a bar right ? So for example if you playing an A chord that means I would strum 4 times right ?
Now what is the bottom 4 for then and how would a 4/8 timing work ?
Can someone please explain this for me ?

Thank you

[Ndawg]

I am in same boat as you with timing. I understand it somewhat but not 100% clear on it. Hopefully someone with the knowledge can help out.

[creativecool]

Well Ndawg lets hope that some one can help us out soon, for the mean while i'll keep on searching and let you know if I find something

[Juggling.Arcs]

Rhythm in music works by subdividing (breaking each part down, usually in half).

You generally have:

Whole Notes (Take a whole measure)
Half Notes (taking half a measure [measure is a bar of music])
Quarter Notes
Sixteenth Notes
Thirty-second Notes
etc (usually you won't see anything broken down more than Thirty-second notes).

When you have 4/4 timing, the first four tells you there are four beats. The second four means that the Quarter Note gets one beat (and so half notes would get two beats. Whole notes would get four beats before you go on)/

You won't see 4/8 (most songs would call it 2/4) but it would mean that there are four beats per bar and eighth notes get one beat each (unlike half a beat in 4/4).

The three most common time signatures that you will see are 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 (six beats and an eighth-note gets one beat).

This concept is really important when you are playing specific notes or reading music, but when we are just learning chords to a song we tend not to think about it all that often. We just strum by ear.


If you already found an answer to this I imagine it was simpler Please post it for others

Hope this isn't confusing (if so please ask questions)
-Rory

[Juggling.Arcs]

Hey Ndawg,

This is a big idea behind strumming patterns. Did understand those better, or still have questions?

-Rory

[Billywhizz]

Hi Guys,

I struggled for ages with this and I'm still not convinced I've got it right. I was looking at it from a maths perspective - like if there are quarter notes then there must be 4 in a bar to make it a whole bar (4 quarters make 1 whole thing, right?). I knew this couldn't be right or you could never have a 3/4 time signature, so that flummoxed me for a while.

Now I think I've got over that, and my understanding is that the whole, half, quarter note thing doesn't relate at all to how many there are in a bar - it just defines how long they last for.

I remember having the same problem with this at school and giving up because the teachers couldn't knock it into me.

I just hope this is right or I'll have to start again.....happy to hear back from someone who knows!
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