? : Scoring in 12/8

[muxlow]

*** This is not a DP-related question, just a general "music" question stemming from me tabbing some riffs out in another app ***

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When scoring in 12/8 with the following feel:

D-d-d-D-d-d-D-d-d-D-d-d



...it seems very odd to use a dotted whole note to cover 4 beats (one bar).

Technically, it works, but it's certainly not "right".

I vaguely remember as a kid seeing a graphic at the top of guitar tabs that was "Quarter note symbol = 3 tied eight notes" (sorry, I don't know how to do actual music notes here).

I could very well be making that up, but if I'm not, then it would allow you to use a regular whole note instead of a dotted one, as well as setting the tempo to quarter notes instead of dotted ones.


Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Nigel Keay]

For 12/8 a dotted whole note is correct for a note that covers 4 beats (one bar), however it could all be written in 4/4 using triplets as in the "quarter note symbol = 3 tied eight notes" that you've mentioned. The triplet sign above each quarter note group would be the standard way of notating that.

12/8 is a compound time signature, meaning the triplet grouping is written into the music avoiding the need for all those triplet signs. In reality both should give exactly the same musical result.

[bkshepard]

Nigel is correct, the dotted-whole note is the correct notation for a note that covers the entire bar. Where it gets a little weird is if you want a rest that covers the entire bar. It has become common practice to just use a whole rest (not a dotted-whole rest) in this situation. The whole rest has come to mean "whatever the length of the bar is, this fills it up."

[muxlow]

Thanks for the confirmations, guys. It's silly, but as long as I'm doing it the way others would expect, that's all that matters.

[ramadev]

For 12/8 a dotted whole note is correct for a note that covers 4 beats (one bar), however it could all be written in 4/4 using triplets as in the "quarter note symbol = 3 tied eight notes" that you've mentioned. The triplet sign above each quarter note group would be the standard way of notating that.

12/8 is a compound time signature, meaning the triplet grouping is written into the music avoiding the need for all those triplet signs. In reality both should give exactly the same musical result.

"quarter note symbol = 3 tied eight notes" is standard notation in big band jazz bands (and is used more frequently than 12/8 in my experience), but I've never seen it in classical scores.

[Jed]

"quarter note symbol = 3 tied eight notes" is standard notation in big band jazz bands (and is used more frequently than 12/8 in my experience), but I've never seen it in classical scores.

Alternatively the same music can be written out as 4/4 with the words "swing" or "12/8 feel". In both of these cases an 1/8 note pattern would be "swung" and a true triplet would be written as a triplet.

IMO the 4/4 version is much easier for people to read and hence play accurately.

cheers,