Originally Posted By: Cathie
Hi muzikluver. What I think you might like much better than a tempo change is going from straight 4/4 to swing 4/4, and I think that your bridge might move very smoothly into quarter note triplets. That would give you the faster speed with no need to change tempo or time signatures, although you might need to hold notes at the end of phrases for an extra beat (or leave off a beat, depending how the phrases fall). Top 40 music in the Swing Era years did this all the time, moving from straight quarters to swing quarters and back again, or vice versa. In the case of your bridge, it means what you've written as two 3/4 bars totalling six notes would become one 4/4 bar with six notes. Quarter note triplets have a very smooth, flowing sound to them, which I think might compliment your lyrics.

Edited to add that we cross-posted, so I went back and listened to your 5th take. The stop time before you resume the 4/4 time signature is quite effective. For me, though, the switch from 4/4 to 3/4 with the tempo change is a little jarring even done gradually. It just feels to me like it ought to be triplets in 4/4 at the same tempo. (I watched the bars on the bridge this time, and saw that you wouldn't need to add or subtract anything at the ends of phrases; you have it very neatly divided.)


Hi Cathie, thanks for your suggestion, but I'm not familiar with swing 4/4. Would that be the same as a 6/4 time signature? It's hard for me to picture six quarter notes in a measure with a 4/4 time signature.

Tom Levan (pronounced La-VAN)
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