Tempo Issue

[Sponer]

I've been having trouble explaining this so bare with me.
In a song my band's working on writing, we're slowing the tempo down. Yet technically, we're not.

Ok, so the tempo's 180. It's 4/4 throughout the song. Then at the part where we slow down, the "quarter note" now is actually a half-note triplet at the same tempo. My problem is this. Is there a mathematical way I can figure out what that tempo (half-note triplets at 180) would be if it was actually quarter notes?


This is sort of an example of what I'm talking about. Now I know most of you probably won't like the music, but just listen for where it changes. You can tell the tempo stays the same, because if you play 8th note triplets, they'll still line up in the slower part, just they'll line up at 16th notes.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=744156
(that's The Faceless, btw)

[Chippy569]

if you're playing at 60bpm, then 1 beat is 1 second.
if you're playing at 120bpm, then 1 beat is 1/2 a second.
if you're playing at 180bpm, then 1 beat is 1/4 a second.
if you're playing at 240bpm, then 1 beat is 1/8 a second.

man i'm sure i can figure this out, just not right now.





so if you're playing at 4/4 at 60, one measure is 4 seconds.
or at 120, two measures is four seconds.
or at 180, 3 measures is 4 seconds.
or at 240, 4 measures is 4 seconds.
or at 300 5 measures is 4 seconds.

[Berk]

What song is that?

[Sponer]

if you're playing at 60bpm, then 1 beat is 1 second.
if you're playing at 120bpm, then 1 beat is 1/2 a second.
if you're playing at 180bpm, then 1 beat is 1/4 a second.
if you're playing at 220bpm, then 1 beat is 1/8 a second.

man i'm sure i can figure this out, just not right now.





so if you're playing at 4/4 at 60, one measure is 4 seconds.
or at 120, two measures is four seconds.
or at 180, 3 measures is 4 seconds.

I'm not really sure where you're going with that... I probably am just confused with the way your doing it, or I just didn't really word it too good to start.

Tempo's 180. Now, at 180 play half-note triplets. Those half-note triplets are what I want the quarter note to be. So at what tempo is a quarter note equal to a half-note triplet at 180bpm? Is there a way that I can mathematically figure that out so it's exact? Am I making sense?


@Berk: song's called Pestilence. It's on their myspace. http://myspace.com/thefaceless

[Chippy569]

give me five minutes.
sam bredeson says its 135bpm.


which is correct.

take 180
divide by 4 to get number of measures
multiply by three to get the new number of beats based on three beats per measure instead of four

[Sponer]

give me five minutes.
sam bredeson says its 135bpm.


which is correct.

Damnit, I always think way too hard about crap.
That should've been blatantly obvious. :rolleyes:

Thanks. :)


/thread I guess

[Damo]

When you change to from 1/4 notes to 1/2 note triplets, youre playing 3 notes where there used to be four. Thats three quarters of the total number of notes youll count per minute.

180 x 3/4 =135

Therefore 1/2 note triplets at 180bpm is equivalent to quarter notes at 135bpm

[Chippy569]

Damnit, I always think way too hard about crap.
That should've been blatantly obvious. :rolleyes:

Thanks. :)


/thread I guess
i always over-complicate math dealing with time. those F*** 60's screw with me. as you can see from above. lol.

[FockerTheLopper]

You are superimposing a new downbeat.

Assume all these are Triplets capitalized ones are accents

XxxXxxXxxXxx|XxxXxxXxxXxx|XxxxXxxxXxxx|XxxxXxxxXxx x|


That is turning the regular pulse into the quater note triplet. What you want to do is a little riduculous(you probably want the quater note triplet pulse, half note triplet is rarely done) but anyway heres what it would be.

You would go from

XxxXxxXxxXxx|XxxXxxXxxXxx|

To

XxxxxxxxXxxx|xxxxXxxxxxxx|

Which would take 2 bars to resolve.

Practice this only with accents on snare first while tapping your foot to the real triplet. After start doing a beat to a click(standard backbeat) switching back and forth. This is one of the most complex things in drumming and is very hard to master or get even remotely good so when you do it in your song I suggest doing a triplet fill with the new pulse to get the band together.

Also check out Vinnie, he really is a master at modulation.

[Josiah]

Mmmm modulation yummy

[TAMA_Tom]

Why not change up to a totaly new rythm when the change occurs. I know this would be a novel idea... but too me- it would ad some charactor to well... your song. I think if you just try to keep the same beat but change it up- it wont sound right. Just my 2cents. Music wasnt bad- but of course.... I like to listen to lyrics :)

good luck

[Happy_Squirrel]

When you change to from 1/4 notes to 1/2 note triplets, youre playing 3 notes where there used to be four. Thats three quarters of the total number of notes youll count per minute.

180 x 3/4 =135

Therefore 1/2 note triplets at 180bpm is equivalent to quarter notes at 135bpm

OK, I'm a little confused Damo. If you're playing 1/2-note triplets, than that's one triplet per half note, so each measure would be "One-trip-let, Two-trip-let", right? So wouldn't there be 6 notes in the same space as the previous 4?

[Chippy569]

i thought a half-note triplet was one denoted with half-notes, making it 3 notes in a 4/4 measure.

[Happy_Squirrel]

i thought a half-note triplet was one denoted with half-notes, making it 3 notes in a 4/4 measure.

OK, gotcha. I was a little confused on the terminology. Sorry.