Ever wondered what a song written with a time signature of 17/4 would sound like? For non-musical folk, time signature relates to the beat and aids in how the music is written down. The most common time signature is 4/4, which means there are 4 crotchets, or quarter notes, in each bar. If the time signature is 17/4, there are 17 crotchets, or quarter notes, in each bar. It is incredibly uneven and incredibly difficult to keep up with. This is why 17/4 is not a widely used time signature. But I would like to see someone create a dance for it.
How did it come about? Well my sister challenged me to compose a song in an hour with the particular time signature of 17/4. It was succesfully composed within the hour, and mixed several days later to let the strangeness pass.
If you're struggling to keep beat , count it as 4/4, 3/4, 4/4, 4/4, 2/4. Or 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17. Whichever is easiest for you really.
