Time and Tempo

[Bob Stolkin]

I've been doing a lot of work with the metronome of late. The benefits are readily apparent.

I would love for someone to clarify some basic things for me about tempo and time signatures. I'd like to understand the true meaning of BPM in the context of the time signature and use of the metronome.

Here's are a few questions:

1) I hear tunes mentioned that are played at say, 220 BPM. Would this refer to a tune in 2/4 time, with the metronome set at 110, and clicks on the downbeat (as half notes)? Would this be considered 110 BPM in 4/4 time?

2) It seems that it is not really relevant to know the tempo in BPM unless you know the time signature. Is this true?

3) Assume I've set the metronome at 80 bpm, and am using the clicks as quarternotes. If I'm playing sixteenth notes on the mando (4 per click), this would be equivalent to playing eighth notes at 160 bpm with the mando set to click on the half notes (i.e. 1 and 3)?

Thanks.

[David Miller]

1) I hear tunes mentioned that are played at say, 220 BPM. Would this refer to a tune in 2/4 time, with the metronome set at 110, and clicks on the downbeat (as half notes)? Would this be considered 110 BPM in 4/4 time?

2) It seems that it is not really relevant to know the tempo in BPM unless you know the time signature. Is this true?

3) Assume I've set the metronome at 80 bpm, and am using the clicks as quarternotes. If I'm playing sixteenth notes on the mando (4 per click), this would be equivalent to playing eighth notes at 160 bpm with the mando set to click on the half notes (i.e. 1 and 3)?


As you are probably aware, BPM=Beats Per Minute. A time signature, with its two numbers, can be read in the following way: "There are (insert top number here) beats in a measure, and the (convert bottom number to a note type here) note gets one beat". So, for example, the 2/4 you mention means there are two beats in a measure, and the quarter note gets one beat. It is this second piece of info that is critical for the metronome. The clicks of your metronome, assuming your metronome is not doing any subdivisions for you, will be the speed of the note on the bottom of the time signature. Therefore, to answer question #1, 2/4 and 4/4 would both be 220 BPM, with a quarter note equaling one beat.

For question #2, you are technically correct, as you need to know what type of note is getting the beat to really know what the metronome click is giving you. With that said, probably 90% of the music being played, if not more, will use the quarter note as the one beat note.

As for question #3, if I understand you correctly, if the quarter note is happening at 80 BPM, then the 1/8th notes would be happening twice as fast, or 160 per minute (the "Beat" would still technically be with the quarter note at 80).

I hope this information helps. I agree with you that the metronome is one of the most powerful tools that can be used by any musician to aid in effective practice!

[Bob Stolkin]

Thanks, David. If I understand correctly, then the time signature and tempo are tied to the metronome in as much as one specifies the division of the beat with the metronome click. The number of beats is the number of beats, regardless of how it is divided by the metronome.

So, if the tempo of a tune is 240 BPM and the time signature is 4/4 then we can assume:

1. The metronome would be set at 120 if the clicks are every other beat (i.e 1 and 3).

2. The metronome would be set at 60 if the click were only on, say, the 1.

3. There would be 60 measures per minute.

Are these all true?

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

Thanks, David. If I understand correctly, then the time signature and tempo are tied to the metronome in as much as one specifies the division of the beat with the metronome click. The number of beats is the number of beats, regardless of how it is divided by the metronome.

So, if the tempo of a tune is 240 BPM and the time signature is 4/4 then we can assume:

1. The metronome would be set at 120 if the clicks are every other beat (i.e 1 and 3).

2. The metronome would be set at 60 if the click were only on, say, the 1.

3. There would be 60 measures per minute.

Are these all true?


Those are true.

One thing to remember with folk/bluegrass/irish music is that these are mostly tunes that were not notated by the person who wrote them. So people may feel them different ways. If the time signature is 4/4 and the tempo is 240bpm, that will be the same speed as writing the music in 2/2 and playing at 120 bpm (since the beat is now a half note). The tempo is the same, but the feel can be quite different.

When dicussing something already written, like a Beethoven symphony, then the beat and time signature is established in the score, and talk of tempo becomes a bit clearer.

Cheers
Mark

[Dave Weiss]

This is almost the information I was looking for with my metronome questions. I had a copy of "50 Tunes for Mandolin, Vol.1" (with 3 cd's) by Mark Geslison, most of the tunes in that book were done at 100-120 bpm, they were plenty fast.

In 4/4 time at 120 bpm, In 4/4 time at 240 bpm
2 1/4 notes per second. 120ppm 4 1/4 notes per second. 240ppm
4 1/8 notes per second. 240ppm 8 1/8 notes per second. 480ppm
8 1/16 notes per second. 480ppm 16 1/16 notes per second. 960ppm
ppm = "picks" per minute
I wonder what folks are really counting when they talk about 240 bpm?

60 measures per minute... hmm, that would be playing your average fiddle tune (aabb) twice in one minute. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think that's being played ridiculously fast.

[Mike Bunting]

This is almost the information I was looking for with my metronome questions. I had a copy of "50 Tunes for Mandolin, Vol.1" (with 3 cd's) by Mark Geslison, most of the tunes in that book were done at 100-120 bpm, they were plenty fast.

In 4/4 time at 120 bpm, In 4/4 time at 240 bpm
2 1/4 notes per second. 120ppm 4 1/4 notes per second. 240ppm
4 1/8 notes per second. 240ppm 8 1/8 notes per second. 480ppm
8 1/16 notes per second. 480ppm 16 1/16 notes per second. 960ppm
ppm = "picks" per minute
I wonder what folks are really counting when they talk about 240 bpm?

60 measures per minute... hmm, that would be playing your average fiddle tune (aabb) twice in one minute. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think that's being played ridiculously fast.

They would be i 2/4 time no doubt.