Unconventional Time Signatures (Quiz)
You’ve probably clapped along to songs like We Will Rock You by Queen or sung your heart out to Photograph by Ed Sheeran. However, do you know what’s one of the most common features within popular songs? Most of them are in 4/4 time signature.
Time signatures are an integral part of a composition, guiding the rhythmic structures of any music piece. If you have any musical notation, you must have noticed two numbers right next to the treble clef or bass clef. Those numbers denote the time signature of the musical piece. The number above refers to the number of beats per bar, while the number below refers to the type of beat within the bar.
Going back to what we were talking about before, most likely you must have come across popular music that’s in 4/4 time signature. But, have you ever come across popular songs that are 6/7 or 5/8? Not many, right? It’s normal for most of us to not find popular songs with unconventional time signatures.
Here’s a small explanation of it by our faculty, Nathan Fernandes, breaking down all the complex concepts related to uncommon time signatures into simple words.
Hold it right there, no need for you to go ahead and Google about complex time signatures found in popular songs. To make it easier for you, we’ve made a list of songs and turned it into a fun quiz. Ready to exercise your musical listening skills? Let’s get started!
We hope you had fun with the quiz! While acing most answers was part of the goal, we hope that this quiz also helped you learn something new today. By understanding time signatures and other aspects of music theory, you learn the science behind every song. This reveals an entirely new world of music, where you can think and communicate like a bona fide musician.
Learning how to communicate as a musician through music theory is one of the most essential steps to becoming a professional music producer. Learn more about our B. Voc in Music Production program and take your first step into the professional world of music and sound today!
