Why is all popular music in 4/4 time?

[Molly]

Every band right now is shit. Don't you feel like you've just heard it all before? The faces change but the music is just about interchangable. And how come it's always in 4/4 time? Would it kill them to give something else a try?

Bah humbug. I must be getting old... Where's me slippers?

[Motu]

Relax with some Jethro Tull and try to keep track with his timing.

[98tls]

Dont much like the new stuff meself,yep im an old bugger to,must say i dont mind Kings of Leon or at least the few songs ive heard,as for 4/4no idea what that is mate sorry.

[Hans]

You need to stop listening to pop "music" then. Plenty of good stuff out there.
And there's a thread somewhere on here wit "music you think others might like"

[James Deuce]

Because you can dance to it.

A lot is in 2/4, and there is a reasonable pool of 6/8 and 3/4 too. All of those are relatively easy to dance to as well.

Every 10 years or so a decent song in 5/4 slips into the charts as well.

Musicians crave diversity.

Partygoers like engaging simplicity.

One of those options makes money.

[98tls]

Because you can dance to it.

A lot is in 2/4, and there is a reasonable pool of 6/8 and 3/4 too. All of those are relatively easy to dance to as well.

Every 10 years or so a decent song in 5/4 slips into the charts as well.

Musicians crave diversity.

Partygoers like engaging simplicity.

One of those options makes money.

Can you explain the 2/4,4/4 5/4 thing D?I love my music as much as the next person but no idea what this stuff means.

[Hans]

Can you explain the 2/4,4/4 5/4 thing D?I love my music as much as the next person but no idea what this stuff means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(music)#Polymeter

Long talk explaining, listen to the samples, that should explain itself...

[fridayflash]

i like 4/4 timing myself, but thats the old rockin rythm & blues
influences.
having said that..it always catches my ear when its a different time
signature and often on bass i like to 'double them up'

[James Deuce]

All music is divided mathmatically into sections. The basic building block is the "bar".

4/4 is a bar comprised of 4 crotchet notes (sometimes called quarter notes - quarter of a 4/4 bar) counted as 1 2 3 4. All bars comprise divisions of notes.

5/4 means we are counting 5 crotchets per bar. Another common "odd" time signature is 7/8.

Quavers are eighth notes and you have to fit twice as many of them into the same space as a crotchet.

When you hear someone counting "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" they are accenting the crotchet notes with real numbers and using the "and" to describe the quaver in between. So 4/4 can be counted "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" or if we wrote it as 8/8 "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8". At a given number of beats per minute a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 8/8 take the same length of time.

2/4 is "1 and 2 and", 3/4 is "1 and 2 and 3 and" (waltz time) but even though 6/8 takes the same amount of time to play as 3/4 at a given number of beats per minute, we play it very differently to 3/4. Waltz time is quite rigid, or staccato, where 6/8 is legato or smooth and the 1 and 4 (remember when counting as quavers we count "1 2 3 4 5 6" for 6/8) is usually accented to give a 6/8 feel more space.

If you like A Perfect Circle, "Judith" is one of the best 6/8 songs I've ever heard and remains a personal favourite, simply because that group of musicians nails the 6/8 feel to floor.

Never Loved a Man by Aretha Franklin demonstrates another way to make 3/4 work without sounding "square", like a Strauss waltz.

Reggae in 4/4 played Drop style is another cool way of screwing with 4/4. The rhythm section effectively ignores the "1", giving Drop its loping feel.

[Usarka]

Popular music is in 4/4 because 4/4 is popular.

[riffer]

Popular music is in 4/4 because 4/4 is popular.

well maybe. But IMO it's because they have a formula for popular manufactured music, and it fits around 4/4 at 105-120 bpm.

[gatch]

Listen to nearly any song by "tool", I know some basic music factoids, but their time signatures elude my comprehension..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbFrl9wLBA

[Hans]

Yeah, Iron Maiden's also a good one for not figuring out.

[98tls]

All music is divided mathmatically into sections. The basic building block is the "bar".

4/4 is a bar comprised of 4 crotchet notes (sometimes called quarter notes - quarter of a 4/4 bar) counted as 1 2 3 4. All bars comprise divisions of notes.

5/4 means we are counting 5 crotchets per bar. Another common "odd" time signature is 7/8.

Quavers are eighth notes and you have to fit twice as many of them into the same space as a crotchet.

When you hear someone counting "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" they are accenting the crotchet notes with real numbers and using the "and" to describe the quaver in between. So 4/4 can be counted "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" or if we wrote it as 8/8 "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8". At a given number of beats per minute a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 8/8 take the same length of time.

2/4 is "1 and 2 and", 3/4 is "1 and 2 and 3 and" (waltz time) but even though 6/8 takes the same amount of time to play as 3/4 at a given number of beats per minute, we play it very differently to 3/4. Waltz time is quite rigid, or staccato, where 6/8 is legato or smooth and the 1 and 4 (remember when counting as quavers we count "1 2 3 4 5 6" for 6/8) is usually accented to give a 6/8 feel more space.

If you like A Perfect Circle, "Judith" is one of the best 6/8 songs I've ever heard and remains a personal favourite, simply because that group of musicians nails the 6/8 feel to floor.

Never Loved a Man by Aretha Franklin demonstrates another way to make 3/4 work without sounding "square", like a Strauss waltz.

Reggae in 4/4 played Drop style is another cool way of screwing with 4/4. The rhythm section effectively ignores the "1", giving Drop its loping feel.

I understand plenty about the workings of motorcycles but this is still a mystery,heres a clip from one of my all time favourite bands,so what / is this?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1vmPGiL-0c

[Fatt Max]

I've been listening to a lot of Frank Zappa lately, now there's a challenge....

4/4 is the most basic of time signatures and is the easiest to use. Music should not be complicated for the sake of it (remember that '80's band called It Bites, they were fucking ridiculous and it added nothing to the music).

Feel it in your heart and soul what ever the key signature may be.

Good observation though and some equally fascinating responses.

You clever lot you.....