Changing original time signature - please help
Hello. I am a new user and I've just started entering my first composition. I've realised I think I got the time signature wrong. It's faster than I had originally thought and I think it needs to be in 2/4, not 4/4.
Is there a way of changing the current time signature in such a way that the current notes will all be preserved and automatically have their values adjusted? I was hoping there was, but when I tried changing it to 2/4 by dragging and dropping a new signature I got lots of mangled and missing notes.
Is there another way of doing it, or will I have to enter it all in again from scratch?
Thanks everyone
Posercm
P.S. I am not very good at musical theory - that's why I didn't know it was wrong until it was too late. If there's no way of changing it, will it matter if I just leave it as it is? It will still be readable - right? I don't really understand WHY it ought to be 2/4 but according to Google, faster pieces / pieces with lots of quavers in them have to be in cut time. Mine has lots of quavers. :)
Comments
You can create a new one in 2/4 and then Ctrl + A in your original in 4/4, Ctrl + C to copy. Select the first rest in your 2/4 piece, Ctrl + V to paste.
In reply to You can create a new one in by [DELETED] 5
Thank you very much! That seems to have worked.
I shall keep a copy of each because I am not sure which is correct.
I wish there was some way to know for certain.
It's not so much speed as general character of the piece that dictates (or, at least, hints at) whether a piece should be in 2/4 or 4/4 or whatever. Once you are a great composer, you can completely ignore this:
Chopin's Étude Op. 10 No. 3 is a rather slow 2/4. Id doesn't really "sound" 2/4. Goedicke's Trumpet Solo (Cornet Etude) is a fairly fast 4/4 and in places I feel it ought to be a 2/4 but in others is most definitely a 4/4.
Upload your piece here and see what others think?
In reply to Changing original time signature by underquark
Oh thank you for the new reply. Well, it's hard to tell its character, because my piece starts off gentle and dreamy but then turns more lively and fun in later parts. It looks easier (for me, anyway) to read in 4/4 but I want to decide based on what's correct, not based on what's easier. I am a person who plays instinctively by ear and don't know much about theory so it's very interesting to me to learn all of this and I'm immensely grateful for this free program.
I cannot upload my piece here, because I have only typed in the first part so far, so all you would hear would be the beginning part, which is rather sad and dreamy (it gets faster and happier later on, so that won't really help make an overall evaluation).
Also, I would be very guarded about putting an as yet uncopyrighted piece in the public domain for people to potentially steal and pass off as their own.
In reply to Oh thank you for the new by Resopmoc
There is no such thing as an uncopyrighted piece. The way copyright law works, the moment you set something down on paper (or on your computer), it is fully protected by the law. So there is really nothing to worry about. I mean, sure, someone might ignore the law and try to pass your work off as their own, but that's *incredibly* unlikely, and in any event, you could then sue them and make far more money off your composition than you likely would have otherwise.
Note time signature can change over the course of a piece, and that would be totally appropriate if the feel changes. But also, 2/4 is not cut time. Cut time is 2/2, which looks exactly like 4/4. there is really no special requirement that it be written as cut time just because it fast. That's kind of an older convention (like, 200 years ago). These days, people tend to write cut time only if writing in the very specific styles that are traditionally written that way.
In reply to There is no such thing as an by Marc Sabatella
Cut time represents a gesture written in 4/4 (for ease) with the pulse on the half note, so, 2 pulses per bar, written as 4/4.
In reply to There is no such thing as an by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for your reply. Well, I shall err on the side of caution with regards to keeping my music to myself. I'm still rather confused about time signatures but I shall have one version in 2/4 and one in 4/4 just in case. When I'm finished I shall try and find a musical expert and show it to them and ask which is right.
4/4 tends to be for ballads or even fast rock pieces and probably is the most common. It is sometimes called the foxtrot rhythm because of the definite feel of the 4 beats which match the dance.
2/4 has a definite 1, 2, 1, 2 rhythm and you can replace the 1, 2 with left, right which is why it crops up in marches.
2/2 is the same but with a beat on each half-note.
3/4 is called waltz time with the 1, 2,3, 1,2,3, matching the dance It would be lousy to march to waltz time unless you grew an extra leg.
6/8 is also used in places where 2/4 or 2/2 is used because it usually gets reduced to 2 beats with each beat having 3 eight notes. A conductor will usually wave his batton in a 1,2, 1,2 motion rather than have his/her arm fall off trying to do 8 beats per bar in a fast piece.. 6/8 marches often have a more rollicking feel like a jig than a strict 2/4 or 2/2 march.
When playing a fast 2/2 piece for the first time a band or orchestra may have it conducted as 4/4 which provides 4 definite conductor motions instead of 2 per bar to help place the shorter notes until familiarity is gained with the piece. A conductor may elect to conduct a fast 4/4 as 2/2 to save his/her arm and may often conduct fast 3/4 as 1/1 (1 beat per bar).
In reply to Signature depends on the feel of the piece by Zoots
2/2 and cut time are equivalent.