Jayson, tell me - in your manuscript - why didn’t you just write it in a mixed meter - 3, with the occasional bar in 2? The fermatas don’t provide a fixed value.
If you’re talking about this post:
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=169302&sid=6b7e9f8ce69fe109172b87e5331ef528#p2242997
I’m not understanding what you mean by, “The fermatas don’t provide a fixed value.”
How so?
Well, a fermata means hold the note more or less ad libitum. There are practical and aesthetic limits, of course, but the time the note is held is not fixed to any certain number of beats. Since by your explanatory notes you mean for the measures that contain fermatas to have three beats and for those that don’t to have 2 beats, I’m wondering why you didn’t just write it in mixed meter. I guess it meant more back in the old days when you had to write the manuscript by hand, but still, how does anyone who is playing the piece know your intention that the held notes are held for two beats?
Oh, I mean neither to assume or to insult - a fermata is the “eye with the eyebrow” symbol.
Anyway, if you wrote it in mixed meter, you could use 3/8 and 2/8, or more commonly, 3/4 and 2/4 time. It would just get rid of all those dots and make the notation simpler. Again, when you use a computer, it matters less in the writing, but it is still easier to read, I think.
Yeah, I know what a fermata is, but in your explanation I see where I caused confusion.
My notes are incomplete, looking back at them.
The application I was using was lacking a marcato (or accent) so I borrowed a fermata to stand in place of the marcato markings.
Those false fermata’s are just references to strong points of rhythmic pronouncement; as in a waltz - which I tried to borrow the signature of at first, but it didn’t line up right and from there proceeded the diminishing return down to this odd 3/16th dotted notes.
Because of that, I felt I had to mark the emphasis points since otherwise it would read like a poka.
edit…
HOLY CRAP!
They updated the software and now it has marcatos and accents!
Here’s the same piece with accents (YAY!) properly instead of borrowing fermatas.
And here’s a wave export of the simple midi so it’s easy to hear the concept of this snippet of a piece.
soundcloud.com/thestumps/no-idea
Faust…I went back and rewrote the piece with what you had said in mind.
This easier to read?
Yeah, that would be easier for me. Easier yet would be 3/8 - 2/8 or even 3/4 - 2/4. Doesn’t really matter, though. The only thing now is the metronome marking. You’d want to give the value in terms of a 16th note, wouldn’t you?
Oh - actually, even easier is if you write the whole thing in 2, with whatever note value you want - I would suggest eighth notes instead of 16ths - and use triplets for the 3-note bars. That way you don’t need mixed meter. I didn’t realise that you wanted three notes articulated in the “three” bars. This would be the easiest way to read the piece. The accents are going to be naturally played, I think. You don’t really need to put them all in after the first few bars, but this does no harm. There’s a way to notate that the accents are continued throughout the piece, but i can’t think of it right now. Again, no harm is done by including them all.
The word I was trying to think of is simile or sempre, which you would put after an accent in maybe the third bar. The first means “similarly” and the second means “always”, as in “always use the accent on the first beat”. I think either is acceptable. Again, accents don’t really clutter anything up, so it’s not important.
Do you mean 2/2 when you say this?
I would use 2/8. That way, you get the bar across the triplet. Easier to read.
That would be a problem…the software doesn’t have triplets. 
(perhaps if I were a paying account there would be one, not sure)
edit: I just found the triplet template controller…very odd place to put it.
I’ll see how well it works.
Running into a problem…
The tempo “sounds” to the ear to dramatically slow down in the third bar since it’s not trippling.
So this idea of tripplets with an interjection of two quarters seems at odds with a consistent tempo.
Any thoughts?
Oh yea, that’s right. Mixed meter is the way to go. My bad.
There is another way, but it’s goofy.
Meh…considering the oddities I’ve done in other pieces, this mixed meter at 3/16-2/16 is fairly simple.
And for readability, I even chopped up the layout…this is only a sample since I don’t feel like pasting all the images of the multiple pages right now…but is this easier to read?
Yeah, or you could use the bar between notes in the 2 beat bars, too. either way, it’s entirely readable.
Stumbled into creating this fun song tonight while relaxing for the evening.
It’s been a while since I have posted anything…
Let’s see…
We’ll start with the one I just finished today:
Stone Washed Ocean
Then there’s also one I wrapped a while ago:
Oceana
Hmm…I seem to be missing the ocean.
The Gingerbread Baker Is A Candlestick Maker
This one…this was incredibly difficult, and incredibly satisfying.
So…I learned of Ginger Baker this past week. That might be shocking to some folks that I hadn’t a clue who that was before last week - Yes I knew Cream, but didn’t know Baker specifically.
Well, after learning of him rather specifically…immediately my ideas about drums were impacted.
I quickly consumed everything I could on Ginger Baker.
Then I decided that the best way to learn was to imitate. This piece was made with direct influence from Ginger Baker’s style of drumming, and since I was doing a study of Ginger Baker … I just had to grab a drum solo of his and create a virtual drumming solo duet where I “play” virtual drums alongside a recording of his actual drumming - this is the build-up section of the song (around the 4 minute mark or so is when Ginger Baker’s actual drumming is coupled with virtual drum composition that I put along side).
I’m quite happy with the end result, and I have to say…this was one of the most emotional pieces to make in a long time - about 4 or 5 days of constant work and so many “YEAH!” and “F####!” moments during it…there were some times I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to be capable of finishing the song, and then…during the last night of 7 hours of working on it, it all finally clicked…that…that was very thrilling.
So…there it is - my Dance music tip-of-the-hat to Ginger Baker.