Irrational Time Signatures Question

• Jul 22, 2019 - 22:19

Hi all. I'm currently writing a softer rock piece in which at the end of the chorus, the drums do this fill. The fill is at an eighth note triplet speed, however, there are 13 triplets in the fill. Immediately after the fill, there is a cymbal crash on 1, and the next measure, you're back into the verse. See the screenshot below for what it would look like, without the missing thirteenth triplet. So, Musescore, how would i accomplish this time signature?

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Comments

I don't see any triplet, so surely not 13 of them. I do see 2 6-lets, but just using 12 8th instead in a regular 4/4 measure should fit too? Or using an 13-let, if you really want 13 8th? Or a 6-let and a 7-let?

Why does it have to be in 13/12? Why not 13/8 with an instruction to play a dotted quarter note in the same time as the preceding quarter note? I know that irrational time signatures exist but I struggle to understand them most of the time.

Do you intend to place 13 notes into the current space, or add one triplet partial into the measure? In other words, are you looking to cram more notes in, or tag one on the end?

Here's a solution for you: use 13/8 labeled as 13/12. Use a tempo change from [q = tempo] to [dotted q = tempo] and hide the changes. Add a "3" with some staff text above the eighth notes and beam them as triplets. This way, the performer will understand the triplet feel without actually worrying about a tempo change, and the time signature is still 13/12 as intended. (Attached is a rough approximation)

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