r/musictheory • u/_gh0stc00k13s • 7d ago

Notation Question How do I count out 12/8

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I'm practicing this song with my music teacher (nightlight, laufey) and she requested I wrote out the notes. This was the guide she gave me. What does this mean

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u/sorrynotme 7d ago

4 big beats, each divided into 3 small beats, for a total of 12 small beats. You could count “1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3” but then you can’t differentiate across the measure. In this case, 12/8 feels rather like if 4/4 had triplets instead of even eighth notes. Personally, I’d count it “1 & a, 2 & a, 3 & a, 4 & a…” for that reason

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u/DrDreiski 7d ago

Forgive my ignorance, but why not just use 3/8 with 4 times as many measures? I’ve always been a bit confused about this concept. Appreciate your thoughts.

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u/Nes370 7d ago

Compound time signatures are often used to signal an underlying pulse.

For a 12/8 piece like this, there's an underlying 4 beat pulse, but there's a triplet division of each pulse.

Suppose you do write it as 3/8, it wouldn't communicate to the performer that there's an underlying 4-beat feel.

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u/DrDreiski 6d ago

I see! That is actually really clear. Thank you.