BillBachman
Gold Member
I'd say 7/4. The rhythmic placement of chord changes and where the average listener would tap their foot are the keys to determining time signatures. This tune is definitely 3/4 and 4/4 alternating, but players will be quite unhappy if you put a chart in front of then with constant time sig changes, so the two bars are linked into 7 to stay consistent (and the players will quickly figure out to think in bars of 3 & 4 based on the chordal rhythm).
I'm saying 7/4 because the quarter note pulse is smooth and consistent, where as 7/8 would flip every other bar relative to where you'd tap your foot or feel the pulse. There are definitely going to be gray areas between 7/4 and 7/8 depending on the tempo, chordal and melodic rhythm and where the beholder feels the beat. In those situations both answers are correct, but whoever puts it down on paper gets to decide.
Ultimately the time signature for any song can only be definitively determined by the guy writing it with the authority to name it. If we want to take it to a ridiculous end I could say that song is in 15/16 and is full of over the bar line crazy chord transitions & accents if I really wanted to--it's just math that has to add up per bar any way you slice it. (But where the rubber meets the road that song is definitely in 7/4.)
I'm saying 7/4 because the quarter note pulse is smooth and consistent, where as 7/8 would flip every other bar relative to where you'd tap your foot or feel the pulse. There are definitely going to be gray areas between 7/4 and 7/8 depending on the tempo, chordal and melodic rhythm and where the beholder feels the beat. In those situations both answers are correct, but whoever puts it down on paper gets to decide.
Ultimately the time signature for any song can only be definitively determined by the guy writing it with the authority to name it. If we want to take it to a ridiculous end I could say that song is in 15/16 and is full of over the bar line crazy chord transitions & accents if I really wanted to--it's just math that has to add up per bar any way you slice it. (But where the rubber meets the road that song is definitely in 7/4.)