A. Simple Meter: 2/8, 3/8, and 4/8

2/8

2/8 is rare as the main time signature for a piece. It is more commonly found in mixed-meter contexts, as we will see in later chapters. Thus, we provide only one example here.

Exercise 6A-1: Leoš Janáček, Pohádka for Cello and Piano, Movement 1

3/8

3/8 is more common as a main time signature and can function in one of two different ways. The first, which we encountered in Chapter 2, was to represent compound meter with one beat to the measure, typically in association with faster tempos. The second way 3/8 can function, which is the focus of this chapter, is to represent simple triple meter with three beats to the measure, typically in association with slower tempos. The two effects are entirely different, so it is important to accurately distinguish between them.

Exercise 6A-2: Igor Stravinsky, Pulcinella Suite, Movement 8, Minuetto

Exercise 6A-3: Franz Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin, “Der Müller und der Bach”

Exercise 6A-4: Franz Schubert, “Du bist die Ruh”

Exercise 6A-5: Johannes Brahms, Symphony Number 3, Movement 3

Exercise 6A-6: Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony Number 2, Movement 2

4/8

4/8, though more common than 2/8 as a main time signature, is still relatively rare outside of mixed-meter contexts. In most cases, it indicates the possibility of feeling in four a passage that might otherwise be notated in 2/4. In Exercise 6A-7 where the tempo is faster, it is possible to feel the passage in either a fast four (4/8) or a moderate two (2/4). In Exercise 6A-8 where the tempo is slower, the passage is best felt in four (4/8).

Exercise 6A-9 is ambivalent in this way. Here, the parenthetical 4/8 is a notational device to help the musicians transfer out of a prior passage of fast 3/8 (not shown) and into this passage’s moderate 2/4. While the melody is probably best felt in two (2/4), the ability to move fluidly between a fast four (4/8) and a moderate two (2/4) facilitates a smooth transition. (We will return to this transition in a later chapter where we discuss beat-constant meter changes.)

We recommend practicing all of the 4/8 exercises in both ways: feeling in two (2/4) and in four (4/8).

Exercise 6A-7: Hugo Wolf, Mörike-Lieder, “Er ist’s”

Exercise 6A-8: Hugo Wolf, Italienisches Liederbuch, Book 1, “Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen”

Exercise 6A-9: Igor Stravinsky, Pulcinella Suite, Movement 3, Scherzino