Michael Cooper <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>Any comments? Can anyone cite specific examples of (preferably classical)
>music wherein there is a denominator in the time signature that is not a
>power of two (of course, one=two to the zero power).  I heard there are
>examples in Varese and Stockhausen, but that's all I've heard.  Clearly
>conventional notation is a bit inadequate here, but I don't see why it
>can't be bent a little.  2/6 time would have two "triplet" quarter, or
>"sixth" notes, in it, so just write them as quarters.

It's not classical, but there's a Soundgarden song whose title I
unfortunately forget that effectively has a measure of 5/6 in it.  Here's
how:

The song is in 4/4, and then one transitional measure consists entirely
of triplet quarter notes.  But instead of there being six triplet quarter
notes, which would fill out a 4/4 measure exactly, the last triplet quarter
is left out entirely and we're back on the downbeat after only five of
them.  It's a neat effect.

If I were to notate this song, I'd notate the measure as 5/6.  I guess the
alternative is to use the graphical time signatures you sometimes see, and
put a 5 in the numerator and a triplet quarter in the denominator (which of
course means exactly the same thing).

Dan Schmidt | http://www.dfan.org