Lesson 13: 如何數拍子

Most songs have a time signature 拍號. Its time signature will be one of those that are introduced a few lessons ago, e.g. 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc. Each of these time signature has its own characteristics in sound, which is indicated by its strong beat 重拍. By listening to the downbeat of a song, one can distinguish the time signature of the song. As a musician, it is extremely important to be able to "hear" the time signature of a song, especially when you are to play a song without a score. Also, a musician must be able to count the beats of a song correctly so that he/she can play it in the way it is supposed to sound.

Here is how each time signature should sound like:

1. 4/4:   ONE     two     THREE     four
2. 3/4 or 3/8:   ONE     two     three
3. 2/4 or 2/2:   ONE     two
4. 6/8 or 6/4:   [ONE     two     three]     [TWO     two     three] 
5. 9/8 or 9/4:   [ONE     two     three]     [TWO     two     three]     [THREE     two     three]

The bolded ONE is always a strong beat 重拍, no matter what time signature the song is. In the 4/4 time signature, THREE is considered a semi-strong beat 半重拍, so it is not as strong as the first beat, but still stronger than 2nd and 4th beat.  In compound time signature, you should be able to hear the 1-2-3 in each beat. Sometimes, songs in compound time can sound like this: one-one-two, one-one-two (where one is long and two is short). This is called the swing pattern, which is commonly heard in Jazz. A song that has this pattern is most likely in compound time, but you would still have to figure out whether it is 6/8, 9/8, or 12/8 by listening to the strong beat.