# Beaming notes.



## Winspear (Apr 20, 2010)

Hey guys. I've recently been paying a lot more attention to notaton in my writing and learning theory. I am trying to make my scores as correct as possible. I have looked up and learned the very basics of beaming notes, but I have some questions.

Is it ok to beam 'to the riff' instead of the time signature? E.g in 4/4,a chord progression picking 8th notes, but in sets of 3 for a few bars cleaning the end up with a set of two (like the rhythm of the Master of Puppets riff). This usually looks a lot neater and makes more sense to me, if it's one beam per chord or so. 

Can I change the beaming pattern on consecutive bars of the same time signature? E.g. two bars of 5/8, the first beamed 2+3, the next beamed 3+2 due to how the riff is played.


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## Seedawakener (Apr 20, 2010)

I'd personally like to know where the pulse is when reading notation in 4/4. That is why I feel that it should be beamed "normally" and not like the phrasing of the rythm. That's pretty much the reason why beams are there. So IMO, no, it should not be done that way. It just makes reading more complex rythms a lot easier!


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 20, 2010)

I, on the other hand, believe that there should be some semblance of contour when it makes sense. If you're in 4/4, and the beat is clearly heard as 3+3+2, I don't see a problem in writing it that way. Check this out:







In comparing 1 and 2, it's not so bad. 2 technically conforms to where the "beats" are in a regular division of 4, but you see both. Comparing 3 and 4, I would personally be more comfortable with 4. 3 just kind of says where the notes are, but 4 indicates the feel, as well. Then again, I've run into situations where I'd rather see two eighth notes tied together than one quarter note. It's very situational.

One problem with that notation, though, is that some people read groups of 3 as triplets. If you're just having a piece performed once, without rehearsal, use the normal beaming. If you're insistent, you might use something like this:


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## All_¥our_Bass (Apr 20, 2010)

I tend to beam relative to phrasing/feel, it makes it easier to see the different "parts" of the measure.

However for something more plain I will beam "normally"-like say a few measures of chugging one note.


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## Winspear (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys. Pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear. 

Some last questions: If I am beaming relative to phrasing, can I beam differently on each instrument if they are playing different rhythms? E.g. 5/8 one guitar 3+2, the other 2+3?

Also, I understand beaming can vary depending on the bottom number of the time signature, even though the signatures are effectively the same.
E.g. 5/4 v.s 10/8
I have a bar of music in 5/4 which I beamed as 5+5 8th notes relative to the phrasing. Would I be correct in thinking 10/8 is a more appropriate time signaute because the beams of 5 8th notes are not divisible by a quarter note? I hope I worded that ok!


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## Keytarist (Apr 20, 2010)

Beaming is often used to indicate accentuation, articulation and 'feeling' in the meter. In common simple meters (with an even number on its numerator), you can beam in two different ways. For instance, in 4/4 time:


As a simple meter, you can beam by 2 eight notes.
But also you can turn this meter into an additive meter. That would be using 2 groups of 3 eight notes sticking together, and 1 group of 2 eight notes (making 8 eight notes in total).
In compound and asymmetrical meters, you can beam using a lot of different groups. In 3/4 time, you're free to beam as if it was 6/8 (and viceversa), with no need to put any indication for this type of hemiola. However, in complex meters sometimes it is good to indicate the beaming at the right of the time signature (for example, in 5/8, you can write 3+2 or 2+3). 

In polymetrical music, is very common to use beams crossing the bar line.

When you have mixed meters, it is always good to indicate the equivalence between two bars stating a metric change. For instance, if you go from 4/4 to 3/8, you must specify if the eight note in 4/4 will have the same value as in the next 3/8 bar. You can write 'eight note=eight note' or 'quarter note=dotted quarter note', etc., above the staff.

Finally, in symmetrical meters, when writing syncopated rhythms, it is always good to show where the middle of the bar is. However, additive meters often 'hide' the middle of the bar, so you can solve this problem just by writing the groups of notes at the right of the time signature. Same thing for asymmetrical meters (since they can't be divided into halves).

Hope this helps.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Apr 22, 2010)

EtherealEntity said:


> Some last questions: If I am beaming relative to phrasing, can I beam differently on each instrument if they are playing different rhythms? E.g. 5/8 one guitar 3+2, the other 2+3?


Yes, when I do beaming it is relative to the instrument and what that instrument is doing. Say guitar one is doing a one note chug-I will beam this one "plainly", whilst guitar two has syncopations and odd divisions of the same meter going on at the same time-I will beam this one to make the "phrasing/feel" obvious.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 22, 2010)

All_¥our_Bass;1950530 said:


> Yes, when I do beaming it is relative to the instrument and what that instrument is doing. Say guitar one is doing a one note chug-I will beam this one "plainly", whilst guitar two has syncopations and odd divisions of the same meter going on at the same time-I will beam this one to make the "phrasing/feel" obvious.



It sounds good, but this can throw people off if they're reading a 3+2 beat pattern, and hearing 2+3. They might try to make their part match the rhythm of the other part(s), and chaos may follow. Of course, assuming rehearsal, it should turn out fine. And a good performer will sight read and figure out the syncopation. One of the times I've had a piece played, the cello screwed up terribly (twice), and everybody else was spot on, despite the rhythm being completely fucked for two measures by the cello.


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