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So lots of people say that dance music should be in 4/4 because it's easier to dance to, and that it's easier to mix.

But why hasn't there ever been a style in, say 3/4? It's a really energetic time signature when played with speed. Or 5/4, that extra step could make for some funky dance moves.

And mental combinations of polyrhythms such as 4 over 3 sound awesome when done right.

I'm talking specifically dance-floor friendly music.

Don't tell me people can't dance to different time signatures! I won't have it! And don't tell me DJ's can't count in 3's!

Or does something like that already exist?

I take it you aren't familiar with "waltz".

different time signatures are just plain annoying

messes with your head too much

Jas0n wrote:I take it you aren't familiar with "waltz".

true, its very much a dance genre

OP im with you!
6/8 would probably work really good in a fast dnb track methinks.

I have two remixes where at the ends I've tagged on odd meters. Dunno how these would translate to a club setting though...people would probably be falling down

http://soundcloud.com/extreme-society <--- Aaliyah "Try Again" has a part at the end in 5/4, Alicia Keys "Fallin" has a bridge in 7/4.

there's a lot of dubstep and DnB that can be thought of as in 6/8, even though it's been written as a triplet-heavy 4/4 track. It's only really set in stone when there's a proper score. (Phaeleh - Perilous is a good example - it probably said 4/4 in his DAW and he just used a lot of triplets but a lot of musos analysing it would say that it's 6/8 but at a different tempo) I saw a thread on here somewhere a few weeks ago about 3/4 tracks, they are out there

i'd recommend listening to Venetian Snares if you're not already familiar with his stuff, it's nearly all in 7/8 and i'd imagine a lot of dubstep fans would enjoy it

Sheff wrote:different time signatures are just plain annoying

messes with your head too much

Not sure if troll...

But yeah I've been digging on VS lately and thinking odd time sigs would lead to more creative tracks. My friends ep was all in 6/4 I believe, Mixed Medium on SC n iTunes

I mean, not dubstep, but very much next level 7/4 (7/8)

I suppose if you're producing with the mindset of your track being played out, it would help to have it in standard 4/4 timing.

karmacazee wrote:So lots of people say that dance music should be in 4/4 because it's easier to dance to, and that it's easier to mix.

But why hasn't there ever been a style in, say 3/4? It's a really energetic time signature when played with speed. Or 5/4, that extra step could make for some funky dance moves.

And mental combinations of polyrhythms such as 4 over 3 sound awesome when done right.

I'm talking specifically dance-floor friendly music.

Don't tell me people can't dance to different time signatures! I won't have it! And don't tell me DJ's can't count in 3's!

Or does something like that already exist?

As a DJ who does play out... I wouldn't even briefly consider playing a tune anything different than 4/4... Just totally unnecessary in my opinion.

1point5 wrote:i'd recommend listening to Venetian Snares if you're not already familiar with his stuff, it's nearly all in 7/8 and i'd imagine a lot of dubstep fans would enjoy it

Totally, his work showcases what can be done in this, and other weirder time signatures. Like said already, it's probably best to keep it 4/4 if your aiming for the track being played out in clubs or such.

All this chatter has made me yearn to write a track in a different signature. (and listen to Hajnal by Venetian Snares)

both in 3/4



thats 4/4 but im sure there are some beats missed out at certain points cos it like new sections seem to start too early

and im sure in Unglued by Objekt he said it goes into 7/8 at some point during the intro, probably that mental bit haha

Why are different time sigs considered unnecessary?

karmacazee wrote:Why are different time sigs considered unnecessary?

Because mixing them is a completely unnecessary pain in the rectum in complete honesty...

People also don't know how to dance to anything that's not 4/4 based, and anything properly in 3 sounds like folk music. Mosca got away with it by having most of the percussion not emphasizing the 3/4 rhythm.

Went to a Venetian Snares gig before, and only about a third of the crowd actually understood the rhythm and were moving in time, the rest were just jumping about randomly.

frankiegrimes wrote:People also don't know how to dance to anything that's not 4/4 based, and anything properly in 3 sounds like folk music. Mosca got away with it by having most of the percussion not emphasizing the 3/4 rhythm.

Went to a Venetian Snares gig before, and only about a third of the crowd actually understood the rhythm and were moving in time, the rest were just jumping about randomly.

That too... Anyone with a name like Frank has got to know what he is on about.

I take a lot of ideas for bass drops from mathcorecore breakdowns.
Yes, it's weird to dance, but for a bridge when things get intense it's the shit.

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both of those mosca tracks are 4/4.

nothign wrong with trying diff time signatures but i don't think it'll get played out much

Never understood the big deal about time signatures. I used to 'sing' in a Dillinger Escape Plan'esque band when I was 16. At one point I got guitar lessons from a friend and he thought I did well except he thought that I didn't understand rhythm too well because I played a bunch of things that he taught me in a different time signature. It's not that I didn't get '4/4', just that I thought the groove was better in whatever timesig I was playing and 4/4 doesn't feel any more 'natural' to me than other time signatures.

When I first started making beats I just...... did it. It was in Renoise so I just made beats and adjusted the number of lines to sound like I wanted them to sound. I'd really only check the timesig out of curiosity afterwards. Now most of my stuff is 4/4, but for the longest time It was just odd time stuff.

And modern dance music is largely based on disco music, through house. All four-to-the-floors. I think that's where the convention comes from.

B-Frank wrote:I wouldn't even briefly consider playing a tune anything different than 4/4...

Boring DJ imo

I've been making nothing but 3/4 recently...I find it really interesting. Can't find anything to mix my stuff with though