Hi,

Cut common time is meant to mean a time signature of 2/2 if it's used properly - that is, it's a two-beat time. (Many people notate music incorrectly using the cut time time signature and use it as a way of meaning fast 4/4.)

I've had a look at Jolene on the internet and found a version that gives the time signature as 2/2. The tempo is 108 half-note beats per minute. This means that your chosen style at 110 bpm will work well. With this internet version of the music, the chords are...

  • Dm (bar 1)
  • F (bar 2)
  • C (bar 3)
  • Dm (bar 4), etc.

Since each bar in the song only contains two beats, to enter the above chords using _bcjg110.sty there are two possible approaches that I can think of.


Approach 1
(Using _bcjg110.sty as a 4/4 style)

It is necessary to keep in mind that to achieve 2 beats to a bar feel, one bar of the BIAB chord sheet needs to play two bars of the music. The tempo of the chord sheet remains at 110 bpm.

With the above in mind, try entering this...

  • Dm (bar 1, beat 1)
  • F (bar 1, beat 3)
  • C (bar 2, beat 1)
  • Dm (bar 2, beat 3), etc.

In other words think of the 4/4 bar as really two bars in cut time; Beats 1 & 2 are one bar, and beats 3 & 4 are the second bar


Approach 2 (my preferred approach)
(Using _bcjg110.sty as a two-beat style)

After setting the the 4/4 style, right click on bar 1, enter into "Bar Settings" and set the "# Beats this bar" to 2. It's set to '3' on the image below.



When this is done, the chords can be entered exactly as on the sheet music since each bar now only contains two beats. The tempo remains set to 110 bpm. When generated, the style will accommodate this time signature.

That is, after changing the number of beats per bar, enter the chords....

  • Dm (bar 1)
  • F (bar 2)
  • C (bar 3)
  • Dm (bar 4), etc.

With this second approach and Realtracks and Realdrums, its success will depend on the individual RT/RD files. I anticipate that some RTs and RDs will work better than others. Trial and error will tell. If it turns out that a particular RT/RD does not generate well at 2 beats to the bar, then Approach 1 is the way to go.

Hope this helps,
Noel Adams

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2026