Urgent help needed

Nealio1987

Senior Member
Hi all

Ive joined a brass band and need some advice , i have been given some music written in CUT TIME , the bars are written in 4 4 , so i take it this will be played as 2 2 , does this mean it will generally be a fast piece or a lot slower , no metronome mark on it....

the piece is lord of the dance the intro is a march ... this is all new to me .....

ANY ADVICE ON THIS TIME SIGNATURE AND FEEL WOULD BE APRECIATED


NEAL
 
I found this:

1) http://cuttime.com/symbol.htm

"... Cut time is a common musical term with slightly various meanings among different musicians. It is the standard symbol (shown above) in written Western music indicating alla breve (twice as fast). But to classical musicians, this symbol will mean "having a feeling of 2 beats per bar" (as opposed to 4 which is called common time) and/or that the tempo (pacing) of the music is generally fast and flowing. While jazz musicians say "cut time" or "half time" when they want the music to suddenly go twice as fast!

2) http://piano.about.com/od/musicaltermsa1/g/GL_cuttime.htm ..."

"... To Speed Up Tempo: When switching from common time, cut time means you’ll be playing twice as fast. In this manner, cut time can be referred to as “half time,” or “playing in 2.” ..."

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature

"... The symbol cut time, a "semicircle" with a vertical line through is also a carry-over from the notational practice of late-Medieval and Renaissance music, where it signified tempus imperfectum diminutum (diminished imperfect time)—more precisely, a doubling of the speed, or proportio dupla, in duple meter.[2] In modern notation, it is used in place of 2/2 and is called "alla breve" or, colloquially, "cut time" or "cut common time" ..."

Hope that helps!
 
I found this:

1) http://cuttime.com/symbol.htm

"... Cut time is a common musical term with slightly various meanings among different musicians. It is the standard symbol (shown above) in written Western music indicating alla breve (twice as fast). But to classical musicians, this symbol will mean "having a feeling of 2 beats per bar" (as opposed to 4 which is called common time) and/or that the tempo (pacing) of the music is generally fast and flowing. While jazz musicians say "cut time" or "half time" when they want the music to suddenly go twice as fast!

2) http://piano.about.com/od/musicaltermsa1/g/GL_cuttime.htm ..."

"... To Speed Up Tempo: When switching from common time, cut time means you’ll be playing twice as fast. In this manner, cut time can be referred to as “half time,” or “playing in 2.” ..."

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature

"... The symbol cut time, a "semicircle" with a vertical line through is also a carry-over from the notational practice of late-Medieval and Renaissance music, where it signified tempus imperfectum diminutum (diminished imperfect time)—more precisely, a doubling of the speed, or proportio dupla, in duple meter.[2] In modern notation, it is used in place of 2/2 and is called "alla breve" or, colloquially, "cut time" or "cut common time" ..."

Hope that helps!

Basically cut time is twice as fast as common time
 
I found this:

1) http://cuttime.com/symbol.htm

"... jazz musicians say "cut time" or "half time" when they want the music to suddenly go twice as fast!"

No, they don't.

Nealio, you're right, the piece will be conducted in 2/2, with the beats landing on 1 and 3 of the written 4/4. It has nothing to do with tempo, but since your piece is a march, the quarter notes will go by pretty quickly. The beat (the half notes) should be a spritely moderato.
 
The tempo won't change, but you'll go through two bars of 2/4 to every one of 4/4.

So if you have 20 bars of 4/4 at 60bpm: in the 60 seconds you'll do all 20, in 2/4 or cut time, you'll be able to do 40. The time signiture won't change, but the amount of beats per bar you play will.

If I were you I wouldn't worry, unless you're covering Thomas Lang and going from 4/4 to 7/8 to 9/16 to 4/4 to 2/4 to 3/4 and finish. :p
 
No, they don't.

Nealio, you're right, the piece will be conducted in 2/2, with the beats landing on 1 and 3 of the written 4/4. It has nothing to do with tempo, but since your piece is a march, the quarter notes will go by pretty quickly. The beat (the half notes) should be a spritely moderato.

Scary that a site called cuttime.com is wrong about cut time!
 
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