What I would like to be able to do is to have a midi section written in let’s say “3/4 time” and in the following bar have it transition smoothly into 4/4 time over the duration of the bar, the bars after would be in 4/4 time.
I know that you can create a time signature track and set the cursor to where you want the time signature to change, but it only allows for step automation, instant time signature change.
Is it even possible to do something like ramp automation for time signature transitions in Cubase? I read somewhere that a certain musician was able to pull this off in Logic
The time signature is a property of a measure. It makes no musical sense to transition gradually from one time signature to another during a measure. Maybe you’re thinking of quantization?
In a way it could be quantization, as the notes would have to be shifted bit by bit into the new time signature. Transition between two different time signatures is a very valid technique and has been used to make quite a dramatic effect in certain styles of music.
Changing the time signature would not shift notes. That would be like saying you would be heavier if your name was Bill instead of Sam. The time signature is just an arbitrary organizational construct. I’m sure you have something useful in mind, but what you’ve described makes no sense.
The time signature also known as meter signature, is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure, and which note value is equivalent to a beat.
Now you have me really curious about what you’re actually describing. Could it possibly be transitioning, for example, from a 3/4 to a 4/4 while maintaing the same “measure-per-minute” time? In other words if one measure in 3/4 took two seconds, after the transition, the 4/4 measures would also take two seconds … meaning that the transition measure would be a 3/4 at a faster tempo which would place the transition 3/4beatsat the pace of the beats in the following 4/4 two second measures? (The tempo would actually be 4/3 = 1.333 times faster in the transition measure).
Or maybe nothing remotely related to what I wrote above?
I’m curious because you say it can be used for dramatic effect - therefore it seems like something I should know about. What specific types of music employ the method you attempt to describe?
