Re: [microsound] Re: 4/4's for neanderthals

[Joshua Schrei <josh@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> there needs to be a
> modicum of conflict in a beat, be it in 4/4 time.

yep, funk is the space in between the notes. if the space is all the same,
then there's not much going on.

that being said, I think there's something that humans naturally respond to
about 4/4 time. why else would it be so prevalent? and I don't think we
respond just because its simple, or easy to digest. I think something about
that particular cycle resonates with our intrinsic rhythm, or something like
that. for instance, in western musical notation, everything is based on
dividing up measures into four parts. music is almost always expressed in
quarters or sometimes eighths. if this was purely a mathematical process,
wouldn't it be based on a decimal system like mathematics is? why do we
naturally gravitate towards fours? four seasons, four directions, etc...