What key/time signature is this song in?

[Maelstrom]

I'm pretty sure 4/4 has 4 discernable beats, while 2/4 only has 2.
And 3/4 has 3 beats while 6/8 can be divided into 2 equal parts.
And, Undersea Palace from chrono trigger is 6/8 right? I think I messed up and made the electronic part eigth notes instead of 16ths. That's going to be a pain to fix.

[Sebastian]

I'm pretty sure 4/4 has 4 discernable beats, while 2/4 only has 2.
And 3/4 has 3 beats while 6/8 can be divided into 2 equal parts.
And, Undersea Palace from chrono trigger is 6/8 right? I think I messed up and made the electronic part eigth notes instead of 16ths. That's going to be a pain to fix.

I think I understand what your saying. Thanks

[Zunawe]

Think pulses and groupings. Beat 3 in 4/4 is weaker than beat 1. If you're having trouble telling the difference between 4/4 and 2/4, try conducting it in 4/4 and see if it feels weird. 3/4 and 6/8 is much more obvious. In terms of eighth notes, 3/4 has three groups of two while 6/8 has two groups of three. The beats in 3/4 are Strong-Weak-Weak, and in 6/8 they're Strong-Weak-Weak-Medium-Weak-Weak. Back to the conducting, 3/4 is a 3 pattern, and 6/8 is almost always a 2 pattern.

Anyway

The first measure is 7/8. Right now, what's bothering me is what would be the left hand in the first 30ish seconds. There are 8 eighth notes in every measure (with a triplet every other measure). The problem is the groupings. I kinda want to say 8/8 grouped 2+3+3, but that really doesn't fit the right hand. Then again, the right hand isn't consistent with the left anyway.

[Jompa]

um, you shouldn't really be worrying about that grouping thing. The song is just 4/4, and in terms of grouping the eights it's just 2+2+2+2. Syncopated rhythms doesn't affect the meter. In stupid classical music it can, but that's wrong.
Only time signature changes are the one at about 1:00, which is just one measure that's 2/4,
and then right after that it goes a bit crazy into some 3/-signature, and melts over to the beginning again on repeat. To get this right it would take some analysis.

About the first measure:
Are you absolutely sure about 7/8?
Based on the beginning, I wouldn't put it as 7/8, but rather as 4/4 (like the rest of the song), but rather just start that sixteenth run after an eightnote rest. There's no right answer to that measure, because it doesn't establish a time before the A-part starts, so it's better to have it in 4/4 both for reading purposes, and for consistency with the rest of the arrangement.
Though this run comes back later before the repeat, so if you've already analyzed it and found that it has to be 7/8 then it's fine.

[Zunawe]

It just looks wrong on paper and the pulses don't match. Beh. I'll leave it unless I find that something is absolutely right.

When it repeats, there are actually 20 sixteenths instead of the 14 at the beginning, so I'll have to figure out how that works with the time sig before it.

[Maelstrom]

And, Undersea Palace from chrono trigger is 6/8 right? I think I messed up and made the electronic part eigth notes instead of 16ths. That's going to be a pain to fix.

Was I right? I don't want to have to change it back (or even change it in the first place: I'm halfway done.)

[Sebastian]

Need a Key Signature please
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L6miLWHtUk

[Jompa]

G major. It's got some mixolydian going on

[Sebastian]

Thanks

[mikey]

G major. It's got some mixolydian going on

Is mixolydian...
Tonic whole whole half whole whole half whole?

[FireArrow]

Is mixolydian...
Tonic whole whole half whole whole half whole?

Yeah... but that's probably not the best way to think about it.

[mikey]

Yeah... but that's probably not the best way to think about it.

I think about it as G

[FierceDeity]

Agreed, firearrow. There are two ways I think of modes:

1. By position on the ionian (i.e. major) scale. Dorian starts on the supertonic (2), phrygian starts on the mediant (3), lydian starts on the subdominant (4), mixolydian starts on the dominant (5), aeolian starts on the submediant (6), and locrian starts on the leading tone (7). So, want to play G mixolydian? Same notes as C major, starting on G. Want to play C# locrian? Same notes as D major, starting on C#. This is what I was told to be the "correct" way of thinking of it, because it considers the modes in context, but as long as you understand where they come from, I don't see the harm in using this next method for convenience:

2. By notes raised or lowered. Lydian has one note raised from major (4), mixolydian has one note lowered from major (7), dorian has two notes lowered (7, 3), aeolian has three notes lowered (7, 3, 6), phrygian has four notes lowered (7, 3, 6, 2), and locrian has five notes lowered (7, 3, 6, 2, 5). As long as you know why these notes are lowered (typically along with the order in which they are lowered), I see no problem doing it that way for quickness, especially considering what happens with writing key signature.

There are technically 2 options for writing key signature in modal music. You can write the key of the root "major" (i.e. C major for G mixolydian), or you can write in the closest related major or minor key of the same letter name (i.e. C major for C lydian and mixolydian, C natural minor for C dorian, phrygian, and locrian). According to my professors, both approaches are acceptable. However, what I see most frequently is the former, which I believe is what Jompa suggested. If you write the key signature in that way, then way #2 for thinking about modes is most convenient, as it tells you which notes to raise or lower with accidentals in relation to the major or minor key signature you've given it.

[FireArrow]

I swear this is what's gonna happen my first two years of college:

Professor: Your a very dedicated stupid, putting in the time to ace every test.
Me: Naw, I've just been reading Fierce and Jompa posts for 6 years.

[mikey]

Professor: Your a very dedicated stupid

Yep.  Every professor is like that.