Compound Time: 12/8
12/8 is a common time signature typically found in songs with slower tempos such as ballads. Alongside 3/8, and 6/8, 12/8 is in a time signature category we call compound time. Unlike regular time signatures such as 4/4, compound time is made up of pulses rather than beats. In contrast to the grounding beats of 4/4, the pulses within 12/8 inherit a floating quality. Therefore a pulse can be perceived as lighter version of a beat. This is due to the weight difference of the 1/4 beat compared with the 1/8 pulse.
On and off Pulses
Section titled “On and off Pulses”Within all time signatures live on and off-beats. In the context of compound time we use on and off-pulses. In between our on-pulses (12 counts) we have our off-pulses which we can label as +.
On-Pulses
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On and Off-Pulses
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Placing 12/8 on top of a 4/4 Framework
Section titled “Placing 12/8 on top of a 4/4 Framework”12/8 has an inherent triplet feeling that is built on top of 4/4. We can therefore apply a 4/4 framework on top of 12/8 to further anchor our rhythmic feel. We can achieve this by incorporating the down beats from 4/4.
As we can see below the 4 down beats of 4/4 are mapped out after every third pulse of 12/8.
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