Sunday, March 8, 2009

Happy 3/8

Since March 8, 2008, I have been on a mission (a slight one) to find a song solely in 3/8. Nope, nothin' - its an odd little meter that really isn't odd at all, sort of. Is it a fast 3/4- or just an accent meter? I have heard/counted it mixed with other meters especially with 9/8 & 7/8, which creates a cool affect. Here are some examples of mixed 3/8 that I know of....

All Gone Now - O.S.I. - 3/8, 5/8, 6/8, 11/8

Chaos in the Conservatory - fred - 3/8, 2/8, 3/4 , 2/4, 6/4 ,4/4, 5/4

MIDI Treat - BetZe - 11/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/8

Quartokoda the Third - Pfly - 3/8, 4/8, 5/8

Rhythm Method - Flobots - 7/8, 9/8, 3/8

Rite of Spring - Stravinsky, Igor
Thec. Ritual of Abduction - 9/8, 4/8, 5/8, 12/8, 6/8, 7/8, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8, 2/8
Thek. The Naming and Honoring of the Chosen One - 5/8, 9/8, 7/8, 3/8, 4/8, 7/4, 3/4, 6/8, 5/4, 2/4, 6/4
Then. Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One) - 3/16, 2/16, 2/8, 5/16, 3/8, 5/4,3/4, 4/4, 2/4, 4/16,

Stick It In - Say Bok Gwai - 3/8, 4/4

When Acting As A Particle - Dillinger Escape Plan - 6/8, 9/8, 3/8

Wrecksuite - Ryan Rapsys - 3/8, 11/8

Tell me what 3/8 means to you - and tell me please if you have ever written in just 3/8.

Merci, Merci, Merci,
-B
OddTimeObsessed.com

2 comments:

andy said...

I have *never* understood why 3/8 is different to 3/4. Why would it be any different than halving the tempo?

Can someone explain it to me?

Unknown said...

Hello, I'm new to the blog. I love what you're doing here.

3/8, in my eyes, connotes subdivision - basically 1/dotted q. (I have seen it notated that way, too). A lot of jazz waltzes which are "felt in one" could be notated this way - but again, for the jazz players who aren't used to dealing with odd time, it might fail the test of easy communication.

[ONE two three, ONE two three]
[ONE and 'a, ONE and 'a]

I like to use 3/8 functionally in legit music (chamber, orchestral, etc). I have used 'just 3/8' and 3/8 in circumstances where the feel shifts from quarters (or sixteenths) to subdivided eighths - also in certain other metrical circumstances that would take a lot more space to describe. It's 3:30a, and my description is probably poor enough as it is, so I will leave it at this.

Thanks for the fantastic blog.

From a fellow time-geek