# Question about Time signature and Meter



## eliyia (Feb 22, 2009)

My friend told me that any piece would sound the same whether notated in 4/4 or 2/2 , even in 11/8 or 7/2 etc . , 
at the end its a type of measurement resembling a ruler where we agree on the value of one single measuring unit , like 1 centimeter or 1 inch , and then grouping every 10 centimeters , and so on..
I guess that mathematically he may be right , but my musical instinct tells me not , 
Can u help me understand this matter once and for all ,,
Thank you.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Mathematically, it is the same - as can be evidenced by the fact that, for the ease of the players, a conductor might conduct a piece in 2/2 using a 4/4 motion. But the distinctions are made in accordance with the predominant rhythm of the music, and exactly what happens in each bar. For example, though a piece of music would still stand up whether it was 4/4 or 2/2, it is conventionally 4/4 if its rhythm is best notated in each bar as a group of four crotchets, whereas it would be 2/2 if its rhythm were better written as two minims.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Yes indeed Polednice is correct.

In terms of Metre all these bars will have a different feel. This is dependent on the strong and weak beats naturally inherent in the timing. 

To further stress this, if you took a piece of music in 4/4 and shifted all the notes back by one beat; it would sound incredibly different.


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## PostMinimalist (May 14, 2008)

Actually, we're going about this from the wrong end of the problem. 

Music with different feels are written down using the notation which suits it the best, including the time signature. Technically it is almost possible to write down music using completely the wrong time signature and, by adding accents to weak beats, change the 'feel' to reconstitute the original one.

This technique is actually used by composers more than you might think, the Hemiola being the most common and the isorythmic motets or the middle ages display this kind of thinking even if the notation wasn't available to them.

Anyway, the trick is to feel in which meter the work should be notated, and notate it thus.


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## eliyia (Feb 22, 2009)

Polednice :


> Mathematically, it is the same...But the distinctions are made in accordance with the predominant rhythm of the music, and exactly what happens in each bar.


emiellucifuge :


> This is dependent on the strong and weak beats naturally inherent in the timing.


PostMinimalist:


> Technically it is almost possible to write down music using completely the wrong time signature and, by adding accents to weak beats, change the 'feel' to reconstitute the original one.


Thank you.


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