Time Signatures: Finite to Infinity

By W.E. Powelson

Discover the (lost) 500 year-old enigmatic secrets concealed within the current time-signature system. This material has rarely (if ever) been taught in music theory classes, yet it is simple enough for grade-school students. Seven short and easy-to-follow lessons will lead you quickly and easily towards (musical-time) guru status. You will learn to visually imagine and see (read, write or feel) the existence of more than 18.4 quintillion new and different song-beat structures. Most have never been used.

Do not think that you already know these secrets. The odds are 18-quintillion-to-1 that you do not. We'll be examining time-signatures from an entirely new perspective. The DRUMMER'S perspective! If you are (at least) as intelligent as the drummer, you'll carry this knowledge with you and use it the rest of your life and career. You'll easily see (read, write and feel) the BIG PICTURE of all the potential rhythms within the musical universe.

The beat pattern of a song is the song's backbone. It is very often the 'hook' that sells the song. Until now, almost all the popular music from the 1920's until the present time (even jazz) has been monotonously constructed around just 5 or 6 primary song-beat structures and a few (about 80) of their possible 18.4 quintillion variation possibilities. What isn't commonly known is that up to the current time, we (the music community) have only utilized very small fractions of those song-beat variations or rhythmic-permutation potentials.

Every drummer on the planet should study this book. It is also easy enough for any musician to comprehend, thus allowing new surges of creativity for song-writers, composers, pianists, guitarists and bass players as well.

As we see the bird's-eye view of musical time and rhythm from this completely different perspective, nothing is left to doubt or question. The new and different song-beat structures will embed themselves into any analytical mind. You'll be able to think a few seconds, then feel and play, jam, create or compose within any odd or even time-signature structure from 1/1 to 64/64 and beyond.

We will quickly and easily see how to break each of the enigmatic X/X time-signature patterns into great, new and interestingly different, song-beat structures, most of which have never seen the light of day.

With the help of any drum machine, any song-writer or composer will be able to set-up and play any of these potentially new and different song-beat structures, then build entirely new and unique songs around them. Any of them! (More than 18-quintillion.) Are you currently aware of those (specific), 18,446,744,073,709,552,000 (18.4 quintillion) song-beat rhythmic structures?

Knowledge is power! This easy to acquire knowledge will most likely launch completely new and different eras of uniquely original musical styles. Those who gain this knowledge, within barely and hour of this totally engrossing study, will automatically see (and feel) how to use it. Those with the creative song-writing and composing talents will most likely become the future innovators of new styles and potential eras of new music genre's.

For Example: 8th-note 4/4 is the most common song-beat structure in pop-music history. Hundreds of millions of popular songs have been based on that structure. It' is a little known fact that 8th 4/4 (the primary rock beat) contains a whopping 4.3 billion potential beat variations or permutations. Collectively, all the songs and all the greatest of the great drummers are using only around 80 of those possibilities over and over. Most artists do not realize they have 4.3 billion other potential beat variations (rhythmic permutations) from which they could choose. This knowledge has not been available until now.

This e-book will become the very best investment you'll ever make towards your future musical career.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W.E. Powelson
• Release date: Nov 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311482365

W.E. Powelson

W.E. (Bill) Powelson hails from the deep South Texas border town of McAllen. He is currently retired (err-uhh, unemployable) and living happily in Daytona Beach, Florida, on the twelve dollars and fifteen cents he saved as a working Honky-Tonk drummer.After a lifelong (50-year) career playing music (drums) for his supper, he is now in his golden years and has discovered that writing for the fun of it helps to keep a smile on his face. He is the author of five digital (html) e-books on the art of drumming; all of which may be viewed and studied online (or off), by going to “The Homestudy Institute of Drums” on the World Wide Web. (Just do a Google search for Bill Powelson.)If you are seeking help with Smashwords Meatgrinder Formatting, e-mail him. Bill will be happy to help in every way he can, plus (if you prefer) he will format your e-books according to Smashwords specs for a fee of $20 per each 100 pages.NOTE: If you are trying to use Word Starter to do your Meatgrinder formatting, feel free to e-mail Bill for free tips that may save you weeks of frustration.

Book preview

Musical Time & Rhythms

(Simplified)

Every Time-Signature * Every Song-Beat Variation

Easily Explained.

By W. E. (Bill) Powelson

~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2012 W.E. Powelson

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

*** Lesson Menu ***

Study the following (seven) stair-stepped-lessons in the exact order they appear.

Title

Copyright

Lesson #1. The 5 Basic 4/4 Dance-beats: These are the extremely important, common, everyday, time-signature beat structures that serve to weave an entirely new perspective throughout the entire time-signature system. They create a backdoor, easily explaining every possible beat pattern within the complete rhythmic Universe.

Lesson #2. note-values, Terminology and Music Symbols: You will need at least a vague understanding of the note-value relationships to pull all the pieces of this great puzzle together.

Lesson #3. Permutations: Parts I & II: The plot thickens. Visualize Every beat variation and syncopation within 8th-note 4/4, (The common rock beat). This knowledge will become the key to all time signatures and rhythm patterns between 1/1 to 64/64 and beyond. You will see it all in one brilliant flash of deep insight. An epiphany or eureka moment will or should occur here that will forever illuminate your overall comprehension of musical time and rhythm. This should fire the creative juices in a way that will keep you innovating new and different song-structures for the next 10,000 years.

Lesson #4. Waltz: The 5 Basic Waltz structures. Your bridge to infinite rhythmic wisdom. We begin to comprehend all the odd, time-signature structures. They serve as a clue or a bridge that will generate another bolt of deep-wisdom-lightening that will re-enforce and further illuminate and expand the above epiphany.

Lesson #5. Time-Signatures: (1/1 to 64/64.) You may already be vaguely aware of some of this knowledge but you'll see it all in a much deeper and in a more complete way. Here you will gain complete command of every potential (practical or impractical) song beat structure within the entire rhythmic Universe. At this point you become a rhythm guru.

Lesson #6: There's more! What about all the other X/X signatures? Still More Help. (Time-Signatures other Than X/4.) Once you've absorbed the first six lessons there may still be some lingering questions in your mind, (if you are doing all the necessary thought). There may be a need for a few more lessons to help clear up those lingering questions. For instance, you may be asking, What is 16th-note 7/8, or 32nd 5/4, etc.?

Lesson #7: Final Thoughts: Accessing the value of it all.

The End

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Lesson #1. The 5 Basic 4/4 Dance-beats

First things first: It's very important to gain a working knowledge of the 5-basic 4/4 dance-beats. Learn to 'routinely' identify them as you listen to everyday music on your own CDs, the radio, and all other media. This is equally important for non-drummers. It's very easy. Most of you will get the hang of it in minutes.

Drummers: Can you already play those 5 beats (below) along with almost any song as you listen. If so, you will be happy to know that they are the key to literally 18 quintillion unique and different beat patterns you will be discovering before you put this book down, just an hour from now.

Non-Drummers: (Song writers, guitarists, etc.) It's important that you to should gain the ability to 'hear and feel' these basic beat structures within the music as you listen, improvise, create and/or play. You don't have to be a drummer to do this! It's easy as pie! Learn to do it in this lesson.

You've heard these patterns before, countless times. But they are at the hub and they form the backbone of all the music we enjoy every day. Now you'll learn to listen this new way, identifying those specific beat structures by name, and visualizing the underlying beat structures and their many variation possibilities, as they occur within today's popular music.

Note: Many times, the hi-hat (or secondary pulse) may actually become a repeating Arpeggio, on instruments, other than drums. Those 5 primary structures will be there even if there are no drums within the music.

Factoid: Approximately 95% of all the recorded music of the past 75 years, has been based in these simple, 5 basic dance-beats and only a limited number of variations and syncopated versions. We will explode those variations and syncs into the quintillions by lesson