What exactly is a bar?
- Thread starter SaltyDawg
- Start date
Don't laugh, peoples. Yes, the numbers on top are bars. In 4/4 time (the time which nearly all of hip hop is in), there are four beats per bar. Basically, it tests your ability to count to four. Go like (Bar 1) 2, 3, 4 (Bar 2) 2, 3, 4 (Bar 3) 2, 3, 4 (Bar 4) 2, 3, 4 and so on.
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matt42
Guest
It's not so hard. Listen to the drums. In a basic beat the bass drum hits on one and the snare on three with hihat on the all the beats. One and three will feel like the stongest beats, so it should be easy to count along (four beats=1 bar).
If you can do it for a real simple beat it's not hard to count along to more complex beats.
If you can do it for a real simple beat it's not hard to count along to more complex beats.
houseofthesun
New member
"In a basic beat the bass drum hits on one and the snare on three with hihat on the all the beats"
Actually on your most common beat the snare will hit on your 2nd and forth quarter note, when were talking in 4/4 time.
In a time measure the top number represents how many of the bottom number gets played.
The bottom number represents what type of note your hitting, 4 stands for quarter note ( crotchet ). so in 4/4 time one bar is 4 quarter notes ( 4 crotchets ).
1 2 3 4 makes one bar.
now say we have 6/4 as our time signature we will have 6 quarter notes to make up one bar. 1 2 3 4 5 6..
Now with keeping it simple we add the time signature of 4/8 now the 8 on the bottom represents an eighth note ( quaver ).
Get a click track going in your sequencer and start with 4/4 then change it to 6/4 you will see the grid change to 6 notes per bar, also most clicks will default with the first note having an accent ( being louder than the other notes inside the bar ) which helps in knowing where the start of the bar is.
then try 4/8 and feel its a bit faster well actually it will sound like its at double the tempo. because in a sense it technically is. Im trying not to go too indepth here, if you get what im saying have a look on the net for some more comprehensive guides to time signatures and measures.
"It'd be pretty hard to count them by ear without knowing the tempo..."
counting bars is how you can get an approximate tempo for a track.
get a stop watch and start counting bars and let the watch go for 30 seconds and stop at 30 seconds.
there is 2 ways of doing it, count each quarter note so you would go 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and so on untill the clock hits 30 seconds when it hits 30 seconds double the number you got up to and you have your approximate bpm ( beats per minute ) aka ( tempo ).
The other way is to count in bars and the trick I do is go 1 2 3 4 now we come to the second bar so I will say 2 2 3 4, the first number now being the bar I am counting. So next would be 3 2 3 4 and then 4 2 3 4 and so on.
then once again when you come to 30 seconds you will be upto lets say 18 2 3 4, which makes it 18 bars with 4 quarter notes in each bar so 18 times 4 = 72 double 72 = 144 making it 144 bpm.
I do it the second way because it feels easier counting that way with music insted of treating each quarter note as one bar which would make it 1/4 which can be technically correct but takes away from the swing and feel. and its easier to multitask when counting in bars so I can write down things on a pad like verse chorus and so forth and not loose count of where I am.
So remember that your time signature will tell you how many notes reside within one bar, 4/4 meaning 4 crotchets inside the bar 6/4 meaning 6 crotchets 10/4 will have 10 crotchets, 3/8 will give you 3 quavers inside of 1 bar. And in cubase fruity loops pro tools well all your sequencer thats what the grid where you place your midi notes represents and is telling you.
It is something that becomes very easy in time and practise.
Actually on your most common beat the snare will hit on your 2nd and forth quarter note, when were talking in 4/4 time.
In a time measure the top number represents how many of the bottom number gets played.
The bottom number represents what type of note your hitting, 4 stands for quarter note ( crotchet ). so in 4/4 time one bar is 4 quarter notes ( 4 crotchets ).
1 2 3 4 makes one bar.
now say we have 6/4 as our time signature we will have 6 quarter notes to make up one bar. 1 2 3 4 5 6..
Now with keeping it simple we add the time signature of 4/8 now the 8 on the bottom represents an eighth note ( quaver ).
Get a click track going in your sequencer and start with 4/4 then change it to 6/4 you will see the grid change to 6 notes per bar, also most clicks will default with the first note having an accent ( being louder than the other notes inside the bar ) which helps in knowing where the start of the bar is.
then try 4/8 and feel its a bit faster well actually it will sound like its at double the tempo. because in a sense it technically is. Im trying not to go too indepth here, if you get what im saying have a look on the net for some more comprehensive guides to time signatures and measures.
"It'd be pretty hard to count them by ear without knowing the tempo..."
counting bars is how you can get an approximate tempo for a track.
get a stop watch and start counting bars and let the watch go for 30 seconds and stop at 30 seconds.
there is 2 ways of doing it, count each quarter note so you would go 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and so on untill the clock hits 30 seconds when it hits 30 seconds double the number you got up to and you have your approximate bpm ( beats per minute ) aka ( tempo ).
The other way is to count in bars and the trick I do is go 1 2 3 4 now we come to the second bar so I will say 2 2 3 4, the first number now being the bar I am counting. So next would be 3 2 3 4 and then 4 2 3 4 and so on.
then once again when you come to 30 seconds you will be upto lets say 18 2 3 4, which makes it 18 bars with 4 quarter notes in each bar so 18 times 4 = 72 double 72 = 144 making it 144 bpm.
I do it the second way because it feels easier counting that way with music insted of treating each quarter note as one bar which would make it 1/4 which can be technically correct but takes away from the swing and feel. and its easier to multitask when counting in bars so I can write down things on a pad like verse chorus and so forth and not loose count of where I am.
So remember that your time signature will tell you how many notes reside within one bar, 4/4 meaning 4 crotchets inside the bar 6/4 meaning 6 crotchets 10/4 will have 10 crotchets, 3/8 will give you 3 quavers inside of 1 bar. And in cubase fruity loops pro tools well all your sequencer thats what the grid where you place your midi notes represents and is telling you.
It is something that becomes very easy in time and practise.
M
matt42
Guest
Doh! Yeah you got me.
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jaybizzle3000
Guest
u mean 2 claps and it doesnt matter how many kicks cuz it changes from track 2 track. in a lot of southern beats its sumtimes more but thatll just confuse u. but yea, everytime u hear 2 claps thats 1 bar.
houseofthesun
New member
" but yea, everytime u hear 2 claps thats 1 bar."
Come on guys we all know bars time signatures and measures have nothing to do with what instrument or percussive tool is used. I could have 32 claps in 1 bar.
I hope this was just a joke from 1 bar = 4 kicks and 4 claps to there is 2 claps in one bar. Cause bars and time signatures are all very basic and some of the starting points of music theory.
Come on guys we all know bars time signatures and measures have nothing to do with what instrument or percussive tool is used. I could have 32 claps in 1 bar.
I hope this was just a joke from 1 bar = 4 kicks and 4 claps to there is 2 claps in one bar. Cause bars and time signatures are all very basic and some of the starting points of music theory.
skillz said:
Well, by the time you get to 4 claps in that song, you have gone quite a bit longer than your typical bar... being that a typical "hip hop" song is in 4/4 time.
In that song, the "claps" (although, in my copy, I can't tell if they are claps or snares or both) are playing on the 2nd and 4th beat of the bar. By the time 4 claps are completed, 2 full bars have passed.
Besides, you can have "typical" hip hop beats with many variations in the number of kicks and claps (or whatever) in any given beat...
rabblerouser
New member
How long a bar is depends on the time signature and tempo. The tempo sets the pace and the the time signature sets how many "clicks" and in a bar and what each "click" is a reference to. For example 4/4 is 4 quarter notes per bar 7/8 is 7 eighth notes per bar... and so on and so forth. Its the basics of the basics.
