Introduction - Love Music Festival

Introduction
The Creaking Tree String Quartet often use complex time signatures in their music that’s what makes them sound so lively and interesting!
‘Common’ time signatures can be divided by 2 or 3, such as
and
A complex time signature means each bar contains a number of beats that cannot be
divided by 2 or 3.
Each bar in a complex time signature has 5, 7 or a higher number of beats in it – often
a prime number of beats. These beats can be any length – quaver, crotchet, minim…
Other words used to describe these less standard time signatures are asymmetrical
and irregular time signatures.
© Eve Harrison & Love Music Festival
Activity 1. Listening to Complex Time Signatures
Listening
• Computer with internet access & headphones / speakers
• Paper & pens for notes
• Love Music Festival Jukebox
30-45
mins
Class
Any age
Glossary
Bar: a small cell of a piece of music
Time Signature: the number of beats of a given duration that make up each bar
Listen to the tracks in the table below, all of which have complex time signatures.
Look at the Time Signature column to find the number of beats in each bar (the top
number). For example, there are 5 beats in the bar at the start of Lithograph Lizard.
Try and clap the beat and count out loud eg 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5 etc.
Now emphasise the first beat eg 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5 etc.
Finally, look at the Grouping column and try to place an emphasis on the start of each
group eg 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
Title
Album/Band
Time Signature
The Hamlet of Kilbuck The Soundtrack,
The Creaking Tree
Lithograph Lizard
Tooth and Tail
The Soundtrack,
The Creaking Tree
Side Two,
The Creaking Tree
Grouping
of Beats
3322
Slow , later goes into
23
with some
Can you find any other music that has a complex time signature?
Tell me what you find by uploading your comments on our Glow group page.
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Activity 2. Building Blocks
Practical - Rhythm
• Card (2 colours) and scissors or if you like print out the
templates: triangles on one colour, rectangles on the other
• Paper & pens for notes and lists
• Computer with internet access & headphones / speakers
• Audio: Examples of 2 and 3 Syllable Words
30 - 45
mins
Groups
Primary
Complex Time Signatures are often made up of beats grouped in to 2s and 3s.
a. Think of some words that have 2 or 3 syllables. Add them to the lists below.
Two Syllable Words:
Three Syllable Words:
Scotland
Banana
Apple
Microwave
Giant
mp3
Water
Strawberry
TV
DVD
iPod
Eastenders
Pizza
Canada
b. Try to clap the syllables of some of the 2 and 3 syllable words at the same time as
speaking them in a robotic manner so that all the syllables last the same amount of
time. Emphasise the first of every group. Can you do 2s and 3s on a loop? Listen to me
demonstrating some on my Glow resources page.
c. 2s and 3s are the building blocks of the time signatures you have just listened to. You
can use symbols to represent your groups of 2 and 3. Cut out about 5 of each shape.
= Scot-land = 2 claps
= Ca-na-da = 3 claps
Get used to using the line for 2 claps and the triangle for 3 claps. You could even write
your favourite 2 syllable word on the lines and 3 syllable word on the triangles. Still
emphasise the first of every group of 2 or 3. Can you do it without chanting out loud
now? Say the words in your head to keep it even.
d. Test each other by holding up either a triangle or rectangle and clapping the correct
number of beats.
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Activity 3. Making Complex Time Signatures
Practical - Composing
• Shapes from previous section
• Film: Examples 1 - 5
30-45
mins
Class or groups
Primary
Arrange combinations of your shapes and see if you can clap them back as a class.
Start with just 2 shapes then build up to maximum of 4 shapes.
Can you clap these rhythms on a loop (repeatedly)?
You are clapping Complex Time Signatures of your own!
Try clapping them faster, making sure all claps have the same gap between them.
You can watch my film to see and hear me doing this.
Did you know?
You have just made a Graphic Score by making a visual representation of your rhythm.
Share your photos of your graphic scores or recordings with me and other schools on
our Glow Sharing Space.
Activity 4.
As a final activity, choose one of the Creaking Tree String Quartet tracks from the table
in Activity 1 that has an entry in the Grouping of Beats column. Combine 2 syllable and 3
syllable words plus your shapes to create the same pattern of 2s and 3s given.
For example, The Hamlet of Kilbuck time signature is grouped 3 3 2 2. Using ‘piz-za’ for
2 and ‘mi-cro-wave’ for 3, I get ‘mi-cro-wave mi-cro-wave piz-za piz-za’. Using your blocks
to create the rhythm too, The Hamlet of Kilbuck’s time signature would look like this:
Extra Info
Don’t leave any gaps until you need to breathe.
Make sure you keep each syllable the same length.
Emphasise the first letter of each word, eg Microwave Microwave Pizza Pizza.
This is what The Creaking Tree String Quartet would use as a basis to play melodies
and improvise over. Interested in improvising? Check out the Kolektif Istanbul resource
Melodies. Someone could improvise over a group clapping or playing their Complex
Time Signature on a loop.
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