Help me figure out this crazy time signature/tempo change..

[cheeseandpepper]

My math isn't what it used to be so I need some help.

I have a measure that would be 7/8 if the quarter = 120 except that its one 16th note triplet short. So if you took a measure of 7/8 you would have 21 16th note triplets to satisfy 7/8, only this measure is 20 16th note triplets.

Im thinking it needs a tempo change to make it work, but i cant remember how to do the math. Can someone help?

Thanks! And sorry if this is the wrong forum, I have no where else to turn to.

[Khatru]

I'd bag the math and identify where I want my downbeats to sit.

Sounds fun. I'd love to hear it. I'm working on a piece now that has a wicked groovy 21/16 section but it's in a duple meter.

Dave

[cheeseandpepper]

It's actually not really about the time signature - its about keeping the grid correct. I'm a slave to the grid and if it gets off all my clicks and quantizations will be effed.

I either need to figure it out mathematically or I just thought of this... is it possible to have 1 measure that has no meter? Or call it whatever meter then force the new measure when i know exactly where it begins? Like having 1 measure be permanently in slip mode while the rest maintains the grid?

[O.G. Killa]

Originally Posted by cheeseandpepper

My math isn't what it used to be so I need some help.

I have a measure that would be 7/8 if the quarter = 120 except that its one 16th note triplet short. So if you took a measure of 7/8 you would have 21 16th note triplets to satisfy 7/8, only this measure is 20 16th note triplets.

Im thinking it needs a tempo change to make it work, but i cant remember how to do the math. Can someone help?

Thanks! And sorry if this is the wrong forum, I have no where else to turn to.

Keep multiplying by 2. if 1/4note=120, then 1/8note=240,16note=480.

Now, I'm not sure what you mean by 16th triplet, as they usually don't exist in meters based on 8, since the "triplet" IS the eighth note. For example 12/8 IS 4/4 with triplets. 9/8 is 3/4 with triplets. 6/8 is 2/4 with triplets. That means that when you play something like 16th triplets in a meter of 8, it is written as straight triplets.

So just to make sure we are clear here... are you saying you want a measure of 7/8 WITH 16th note triplets in it... meaning three 16th notes per 8th note? That would give you the 21 triplets you are talking about.

If that is the case... 7/8 at 240bpm, then mulitply by 3... so you will have 720 16th triplets per minute.

But if you only want 20 16th triplets per measure then you aren't in 7/8 anymore. You can either look at it as four measures of 5/16, or two measures of 10/16, or one measure of 20/16, two measures of 7/16 and then one measure of 6/16. All with the tempo of 1/16=720bpm / 1/8note=360bpm / 1/4note=180bpm.

[cheeseandpepper]

YES YES YES YES YES. Thank you. 20/16 @ 180 bpm is perfect. Esp since there are 5 evenly spaced hits in that measure so they become quarters tied to 16ths.

And thanks for walking through the process out loud - i can refer to this to figure it out on my own the next time i need a metric modulation.

[obiwan177]

Was the song written like that? Cause that's some pretty crazy stuff going on there. I am writing a song in 7/8 and that's interesting enough for me write now!