time signatures have always stumped me. i love odd timings yet i never knew how to write them out (7/8, 6/4, wutever). since i asked about it here quite a while back, and was too dumb to know wut the hell u guys were talking about, i tried to figure it out on my own terms---with tool . i have "schism" in a guitar mag and through that went wut seemed like hours of trying to understand wut these slash numbers mean. i know 4/4 is the average, normal signature. obviously where u count 1-2-3-4. so at first i thought maybe the first number is what you count once, and then u count the second number till u go back to the first. example: 4/6-----u count to four, then to 6, and then go back to four, and then 6 again and so on. i think this is wrong. so then i thought that the first number was what u counted, and the second number is how many times. like 6/4-----u count six times for the riff, playing that riff four times. i think this is wrong as well. so then i was like "ahh! i dont know wut this is!". but am i correct to say that the first number is how many times u count over that riff? like, if the first number is 6:

..1...2...3...4...5...61...2...3...4...5...6
|-----------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------------------------------
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|-0-003h000-03h50-003h000-03h5----------------

if so, then wat does the second number mean? because all the theorys i came up with, didnt go for some of tools rhythms and wut they were called. i know im an idiot that seems to be beyond help, but any help could bring an idiot out of that...idiotism. and open him to an understanding of the worl of theory. so any help would be appreciated.

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theres a space to say that that 0 is not apart of the tremeled 0s, just listen to the song.

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Well i used to know all this stuff like the back of my hand......but that was over 10 years ago.

I'm pretty sure something like 6/4 means there are 4 beats in the measure (1-2-3-4) but you play the equivalent of a 6 beat measure in a 4.

So, for every 2 beats of the 6/4, you're really playing 3 beats.

I might be wrong, so someone please correct me if i am in order not to confuse this poor soul anymore......but i'm pretty sure that's what it means.

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i would, but i made that riff up. i couldnt think of a song to use as example. but on the other guys reply, by beat do u mean snare hit? putting all those things u said togther is like math---and i suck at math sooooo bad. so maybe thats my problem. no one can help me cuz me stupidity is beyond the reach of any genius. but humor me and keep tryin .

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I don't mean snare because there isn't always a snare in a song.

Take a measure for example (or a riff if you prefer). The amount of "beats" is how many times you can count 1-2-3-4.... before the riff repeats itself.

Most riffs are X/4 (X being a variable like 4, 6, 7...whatever). The 4 means that by the time the riff starts over again, you will have counted 1-2-3-4...and then start over again, 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 and so on and so forth.

As for the first number, or X....well, i've kind of lost myself. I somewhat know what it means, but i can't seem to put it into words right now.

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i se wut u sayin now. but i if the second number means how many times u count before u repeat, then how can the second number b a four, and the other be like a 6 or 9, or anything other than four? hmm..looks like the one who can explain to me has lost concentration and so have i. well, as yoda says...hmm...well, nevermind. anywho its alright. i can do my counts system. its where u have one number---the number u count over the measure before u start over at the begining of the measure. like if u count to 6 and repeat, or 7, or 5, or 3, and so on... thatll do i guess

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this is hwo it works:

the top number is how many beats in a bar
the bottom number is what makes up one beat, 4 being a quarter note, 2 being a half note and so on.

so 6/4 would mean that in one full bar, there is the equivilant of 6 quarter notes.

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JOY!!! i think i have it figured out thanx to u 2 dudes help. i WAS right about it for the most part. the first number is how many times u count before going to the next(or repeating the)measure. and the second number(this may be a bit fuzzy)is the normal beat it WOULD have. its like, in a 6/4 u count 6 times(1-2-3-4-5-6)before the end of the measure. and the 4 means, its being counted(the 1-2-3-4-5-6)at the speed it would be counted at if it were a normal(4)counted timing. but wouldnt that make 6/4 and 6/8 the same thing? if they ARE the same thing, then i do fully understnd . anywho, if not, oh well. ive got a close enough understanding.

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Thanks weijia for clearing that up.

6/4 and 6/8 are not the same. 6/8 is twice as fast because each beat equals an eighth note, while like weijia said 6/4 means each beat is a quarter note.

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HAHA! thats amazing. while studying schism, i came up with that idea(that 4 to 8 is twice as fast). so yes---i completely understand. finally, u can put your little minds to rest . anywho, thanx bunches.

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