Questions & Answers

Set Different Time Signatures for Different Instruments in Same Bar?

+5 votes
1,039 views
asked Jan 23, 2019 in Studio One 4 by jessegriebel (170 points)
Looking to change the time tempo of two different instruments in the same measure--working on a piece with a ton of polyrhythms and having to play to the same click tempo/time signature for both parts is very difficult and throws me off.

1 Answer

0 votes
answered Dec 15, 2019 by patrickperkins1 (150 points)
I was able to accomplish this by simply switching the time signature at the bottom between takes by doing a little math first.

For instance, I created a piece of music in 13/8 time, then wanted to pair a another track in 4/8 (yes it was insane).

The lowest common multiple of 13 and 4 is 52, so I set up a 52 measure block of 13/8, then switched the time signature to 4/8 and played that part, using the metronome for a click each part.

So with this in mind, and perhaps even more useful for "live" recording, another option is to use the metronome and render the click tracks you need beforehand - spend some time playing with the metronome and creating the right click track for what you need. Render it to a track, then switch the time signature and render another one. Then you can switch with the mute button, or even set up an automation to control the switching between them automatically as needed. It literally took seconds to set up a few click tracks of different time signatures to create any imaginable polyrhythm.
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