All Metronome Types/Inharmonic Polyrhythms like pi/4 and golden ratio/4
From Bounce Metronome
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Next: Theremin's Rhythmicon (Harmonic Polyrhythms)
Previous: Harmonic Polyrhythm Cycles like 4:3 + 7:8 + ...
Controls Common to Many Windows
Bounce Metronome
Fractal Harmonic Metronome main window - see F1 Help window for QUICK START...
This tip is shown when you hover the mouse over the title bar or the background of the main window. Hover mouse over individual controls for their help.
Fractional Harmonic Metronome
may need to use the RESET METRONOME button first if if you have come here from one of the other metronomes
Here the idea is that you can use fractional or irrational rhythms e.g. involving the golden ratio or PI and combine that with the idea of using pitches corresponding to the number of beats to the bar.
So for example, PI / 4 will be played using two pitches at a ratio of PI to 4.
The rhythms involving the golden ratio g, such as g / 4 particularly interesting here because the golden ratio rhythm is in a sense the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm (ratio of beats most hard to approximate using a rational number). Also for similar reasons, the golden ratio pitch interval is the most inharmonic possible pitch interval.
Although it is as inharmonic as you can get, i.e. as far as you can get from a harmonic series based interval - it is a pleasant musical interval actually on most instruments. Some inharmonic pitch intervals are very pleasant sounding. The intervals that are most often hardest on the ear are ones close to a very pure interval such as a fifth, octave or fourth, but obviously not hitting it, such as the detuned "wolf fifths" (though this is timbre dependent).
So anyway, the g/4 preset in this window gives the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm combined with the most inharmonic possible interval.
To make it, choose Harmonics (major type chords) (Alt + J). Then press the g / 4 button, and as usual use the Play Sound button (RETURN key shortcut) to play it.
Similarly for the other presets. To try out your own rhythms, switch on as many of the With buttons as you need, and then enter the values.
You can use PI, or g (for golden ratio) or formulae such as sqrt(2). For details of the symbols you can use in formulae, see the tool tip for the Values field in Calculator (Ctrl + 81)
Hide graphics (button)
Hide Graphics - use this button if you are blind or prefer keyboard to mouse
Metronome Type (drop list)
Choose YOUR BOUNCE METRONOME type from the drop list depending on your interests...
The main window will change depending on which metronome you choose from the drop list, and then you can check the help for the main window for that metronome (hover mouse over main window title bar and see the F1 help for the main window for the metronome).
Here is a quick summary of what each one does:
Free Taster
Free version of Bounce Metronome. Has 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 and up to 4 subdivisions.
Bounce Metronome Basic
Basic metronome for any time signature (including any odd time signature), and any number of subdivisions.
Also has the gradually changing tempo feature (though with fewer options for it than the Pro metronome).
Bounce Metronome Pro
All the features of the PRO metronome acessible within one window. If you want to focus on one particular feature then try one of the more specialised metronomes.
Swing Metronome
Use this to practise swing or to use lilt for a more lively rhythm.
Drum & Dance Metronome
For drum rhythms such as paradiddle, and dance rhythms mixing quarter notes, eighth notes and so on. You can select from a drop list of rhythms or enter a new rhythm.
Polyrhythm Metronome
Use this to practise polyrhythms (cross rhythms) such as 2 beats to a measure with 3 simultaneously, or 3 with 4, 3 with 5 etc.
Additive Metronome
to practise additive rhythms such as 2 + 3 (i.e. 5/4 divided into two beats followed by 3 beats) or 3 + 2 + 3 etc.
Rhythm cycle Metronome
Here you can make a cycle of rhythms and polyrhythms one after another. Useful for long additive rhythms with many rhythms one after another - or a cycle that combines ordinary rhythms with polyrhythms.
Fractional Rhythms Metronome
Fractional rhythms here are ones with either a fractional (e.g. 2.2) or irrational (e.g. golden ratio or PI) number of beats to the measure. The beats drift in and out of phase with the measure line.
Tap out a rhythm
Use this to tap out a rhythm and then play the bouncing balls metronome to follow the rhythm of your taps.
Harmonic Metronome
Here the idea is that each number of beats per measure is assigned a pitch, so e.g. 7 beats to the measure corresponds to the seventh harmonic, 5 beats to the measure corresponds to the fifth and so on.
The results sound harmoniously together as they use pitches from the harmonic series.
This idea is related to the Lambdoma arrangement of pitches, and to Theremin's Rhythmicon. Originally suggested by Barbara Hero and may be of interest for music therapy.
Harmonic Rhythm Cycle Metronome
Play a cycle of rhythms or polyrhythms one after another with the pitches following the harmonic series.
Fractional Harmonic Metronome
Here the idea is that you can use fractional or irrational rhythms e.g. involving the golden ratio or PI and combine that with the idea of using pitches corresponding to the number of beats to the measure.
So PI / 4 will be played using two pitches at a ratio of PI to 4 to each other.
The golden ratio rhythms are particularly interesting here because the golden ratio rhythm is in a sense the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm (ratio of beats most hard to approximate using a rational number). Similarly the golden ratio pitch interval is the most inharmonic possible pitch interval. It's a pleasant interval actually on most instruments - some inharmonic pitch intervals are very pleasant sounding (the ones that are often hard on the ear are e.g. detuned fifths, close to a very pure interval such as a fifth, octave or fourth,but obviously not hitting it).
So this combination gives the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm combined with the most inharmonic possible interval.
A Version of Theremin's Rhythmicon
Lets you play a version of Theremin's Rhythmicon using the number keys on your PC keyboard and the first six keys of the first row of letter keys e.g. q w e r t y as the keys of your instrument.
Theremin's Rhythmicon is an instrument with sixteen keys. Each key silences or plays a rhythm with a different number of notes to the measure, starting from 1 for the first key, 2 for second key all the way down to 16 for the last key. Each key also plays a different note of the harmonic series.
see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythmicon
Fractal Tune Metronome
Play the rhythms using fractal tunes. This is just a taste of what can be done in this way. It may give some idea of what your rhythm will sound like melodically. It also introduces you to the fractal tunes you can make with Fractal Tune Smithy.
Note - at present Bounce Metronome Pro is at version 3.2. but FTS is still at 3.0. Bounce Metronome Pro has many capabilities not in FTS such as the skipped beats for instance. So most of the tunes you make here can't be played in Tune Smithy itself until the release of version 3.0 hopefully some time in summer or autumn 2009.
Car - Tunes Metronome
Show a ball bouncing on the lyrics as for the Song Car Tunes in early movies.
This metronome is left out of the drop list of metronomes for blind users at present. Perhaps there is something one could do here without the bouncing ball graphics - i.e. to display the words of the lyric in time to the rhythm, perhaps arranged so that the screen reader reads out each word just before it is sung - but I'm not sure at present how useful it would be or how exactly one would do it.
All the other metronomes are accessible to blind users.
/ Show volume as a number (button) (Alt + /)
Change between the volume as text box, or as a graphic...
Click to change from volume as a text box to volume as graphic, and back again.
Harmonics (button)
Sets the parts to play Harmonics (major type chords)...
The pitch of each part gets set to a harmonic of the pitch set in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic
What this does
This sets the pitch for each part based on the harmonics series 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1 etc. where 2/1 means double the frequency so raised by an octave. 3/1 means three times the frequency of the 1/1, and so on.
You can adjust the pitch of the 1/1 in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10) - which will adjust all the other pitches up or down as well since they are all intervals from the 1/1.
Details of how the subharmonics are selected
The way this works depends on your choice in "How to choose the harmonics" drop list.
E.g. if set to "Match harmonic to number of beats per measure" then a part with three beats per bar will get set to play three times the frequency of the 1/1.
If you select Reduce to octave, then the interval will be "reduced to the octave" i.e. raised by octaves (multiplied by 2) until the pitch gets to the interval 1/1 to 2/1 (in the case of the 3 beats to a bar example it gets reduced to 3/2).
Not quite what you expected?
If you use this feature with rhythms such as 4/4, or 2/4 (time signatures) amd set to match the harmonic to the number of beats in per bar - then it will play notes at octaves at 4/1 and 2/1 respectively. If you use this with the option to reduce to octave, then e.g. with the 4/1 set to reduce to the 1/1 then it may make no difference at all.
If you want to make sure all the parts have different pitches then choose another option in the Choose pitches as drop list.
For some ideas to get started with this feature, try out the presets for the Harmonic Polyrhythm Metronome or the Harmonic Fractional Polyrhythm Metronome.
This is an option for MELODIC INSTRUMENTS ONLY, selected for instance using Instruments (Ctrl + 8) or Modify Wave Shape Instruments Menu (Ctrl + 196). Non melodic instruments, selected using Non Melodic Percussion (Ctrl + 21), will ignore any pitch adjustments you make.
The pitch for each part is an exact harmonic if you have a whole number of beats per bar. However, for the unusual rhythms with fractional beats per bar, then it won't be an exact harmonic. For instance use this with the g beats per bar of the Harmonic Fractional Polyrhythm Metronome and you get the interval g/1 which is an interesting interval since it is the interval hardest to approximate by simple ratios, so in a sense, as far from a harmonic interval as it is possible to get.
How it works (under the hood)
What Bounce Metronome does is to set the Shift pitch by column in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) to the desired interval for each part for the current rhythm. can could alternatively set the pitches for each part there by hand - this is just a quick and easy way to do it automatically.
What else happens
After you press this button you will see that it gets a permanently "pressed" appearance to show that it is now active. From then on, every time you make a new rhythm, it will get made with pitches based on the subharmonic series.
To switch this option off, when you want to make a rhythm with all the parts the same pitch, press "All parts the same pitch" in Harmonics Metronome (Ctrl + 229).
Background information about harmonics
The notes on a natural trumpet, or the overtones of a string, are examples...
Most melodic instruments have a spiky frequency spectrum. You see a peak at the heard pitch of the note, but also another peak an octave higher, then another an octave and a fifth higher, the next is two octaves higher, then two octaves and a major third, and so on the peaks get closer and closer together in pitch.
Some instruments like wind instruments have very few peaks, e.g. the ocarina which has a very pure sound often has only the one peak for the heard frequency of the note.
Other instruments like strings have many peaks. Musicians who spend a lot of time listening to the constituent pitches of notes may be able to hear these peaks as distinct pitches. For instance bell tuners may because in order to tweak the sound of a bell you adjust the volumes and positions of the individual peaks that make up its characteristic timbre - for instance to achieve the minor third type sound of a church bell you need to tweak the shape carefully.
If you have learnt to listen like this, and you listen carefully to a note played on say a 'cello you may be able to hear these as separate individual component pitches of the note, a bit like a chord. You can then e.g. sing its constituent pitches one note at a time up the harmonic series. Or on a string instrument, you can sound the harmonics by touching the string lightly half way along, or a third of the way along etc - this blocks off all the sound except for one of its component pitches, giving a pure sounding "overtone" or "harmonic".
When you play harmonics together, then the notes go harmoniously with each other, just as the constituent pitches of say a 'cello combine to make a single mellow sounding note.
A major chord is made up of the fourth, fifth and sixth harmonics of a harmonic series of a note two octaves below the root note of the chord.
The harmonics as frequencies
As far as frequency is concerned, the first peak in the spectrum is the heard pitch, the second peak is double the frequency, the third peak is three times the frequency and so on. Since an octave corresponds to a doubling of pitch - that's just how we hear sound - then the first octave is at twice the original pitch, the second is at four times the original, the third octave is at eight times the original pitch and so on.
So there are more and more intervals to fit into each new octave - so we hear these intervals as getting closer and closer together as you go up in pitch.
Sub-harmonics (button)
Sets the parts to play Sub-harmonics (minor type chords)...
The pitch of each part gets set to a subharmonic of the pitch set in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subharmonic
What this does
This sets the pitch for each part based on the subharmonics series 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 etc. There 1/2 means half the frequency (lowered by an octave). 1/3 means a third of the frequency (lowered by an octave and a fifth)and so on.
If you use this with the pitch of the 1/1 set to middle C, then some of the subharmonics will be extremely low in pitch
If the pitches are too low, adjust the pitch upwards using Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10).
Details of how the subharmonics are selected
The way this works depends on your choice in "How to choose the harmonics" drop list.
E.g. if set to "Match harmonic to number of beats per measure" then a part with three beats per bar will get set to play a third of the frequency of the 1/1 as set in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10).
If you select Reduce to octave, then the interval will be "reduced to the octave" i.e. raised by octaves (multiplied by 2) until the pitch gets to the interval 1/1 to 1/2 (in the case of the 3 beats to a bar example it gets reduced to 2/3).
This is an option for MELODIC INSTRUMENTS ONLY, selected for instance using Instruments (Ctrl + 8) or Modify Wave Shape Instruments Menu (Ctrl + 196).
Non melodic instruments, selected using Non Melodic Percussion (Ctrl + 21), don't have a pitch assigned to them - so will ignore any pitch adjustments you make.
How it works (under the hood)
What Bounce Metronome does is to set the Shift pitch by column in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) to the desired interval for each part for the current rhythm. can could alternatively set the pitches for each part there by hand - this is just a quick and easy way to do it automatically.
What else happens
After you press this button you will see that the button is displayed with a permanently "pressed" appearance to show that it is now active. From then on, every time you make a new rhythm, it will get made with pitches based on the subharmonic series.
To switch this option off, when you want to make a rhythm with all the parts the same pitch, press "All parts the same pitch" in Harmonics Metronome (Ctrl + 229).
Background information about subharmonics
You need to know about the harmonic series first - the series of overtones for instance the notes played on a natural trumpet. The harmonic series consists of the original note, double its frequency, three times its frequency and so on.
Subharmonics work the same way but you divide instead of multiply.
So, this time you start with the original frequency, then half of it, then a third and so on.
So for instance for the fifth subharmonic, instead of 5/1, you have 1/5. The interval between the subharmonic and the 1/1 is just the same as for the harmonic, inverted, here a 5/1 downwards instead of upwards. If you look at pairs of notes then all the intervals are the same as for the haronic series.
But chords with three or more notes have a different flavour when you play them using subharmonics.
Just as a major chord is made up of notes of the harmonic series, the minor chord is made up of notes of a sub harmonic series. So chords based on the sub harmonic series have somewhat of a "minor" sound. Chords using only notes in the sub harmonic series sound harmonious like the chords of the harmonic series, but with this minor sound to them.
The overtones that make up most instruments follow a harmonic series. Most musical instruments only have peaks in the harmonic series - or close to it (in the case of the stretched partials of a modern piano) or are inharmonic like some gongs with a fairly random distribution of frequency peaks.
You could say that, in a way, most instruments have a natural "major" type sound to the instrument "timbre". If you play just one note on an instrument rich in harmonics such as violin or whatever, you are actually playing a major chord type pattern of overtones.
However, (most) church bells are designed to have a clear frequency peak, the "tierce", a minor third above the fundamental frequency - giving them their characteristic "minor" sound. That is why even just a single church bell playing on its own has this sad "minor" type sound to it. It is by design, church bells have to be constructed carefully to have this characteristic sound.
Some unusual bells have a major third for the tierce, and you can set other pitches to it too with careful design of the bell.
So, with suitable bells,you can compare the sound of a bell with a major third for the tierce, one with an equal tempered minor third, and one with a just minor third. The tempered minor third is flattened slightly to exactly match the twelve equal interval of a modern piano.
To listen to those three types of bell sound, visit this page:
[ http://www.hibberts.co.uk/compat.htm The sound of Bells]
Auto choose pitches (check box) (Alt + C)
Sets the parts to play Sub-harmonics (minor type chords)...
The pitch of each part gets set to a subharmonic of the pitch set in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subharmonic
What this does
This sets the pitch for each part based on the subharmonics series 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 etc. There 1/2 means half the frequency (lowered by an octave). 1/3 means a third of the frequency (lowered by an octave and a fifth)and so on.
If you use this with the pitch of the 1/1 set to middle C, then some of the subharmonics will be extremely low in pitch
If the pitches are too low, adjust the pitch upwards using Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10).
Details of how the subharmonics are selected
The way this works depends on your choice in "How to choose the harmonics" drop list.
E.g. if set to "Match harmonic to number of beats per measure" then a part with three beats per bar will get set to play a third of the frequency of the 1/1 as set in Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10).
If you select Reduce to octave, then the interval will be "reduced to the octave" i.e. raised by octaves (multiplied by 2) until the pitch gets to the interval 1/1 to 1/2 (in the case of the 3 beats to a bar example it gets reduced to 2/3).
This is an option for MELODIC INSTRUMENTS ONLY, selected for instance using Instruments (Ctrl + 8) or Modify Wave Shape Instruments Menu (Ctrl + 196).
Non melodic instruments, selected using Non Melodic Percussion (Ctrl + 21), don't have a pitch assigned to them - so will ignore any pitch adjustments you make.
How it works (under the hood)
What Bounce Metronome does is to set the Shift pitch by column in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) to the desired interval for each part for the current rhythm. can could alternatively set the pitches for each part there by hand - this is just a quick and easy way to do it automatically.
What else happens
After you press this button you will see that the button is displayed with a permanently "pressed" appearance to show that it is now active. From then on, every time you make a new rhythm, it will get made with pitches based on the subharmonic series.
To switch this option off, when you want to make a rhythm with all the parts the same pitch, press "All parts the same pitch" in Harmonics Metronome (Ctrl + 229).
Background information about subharmonics
You need to know about the harmonic series first - the series of overtones for instance the notes played on a natural trumpet. The harmonic series consists of the original note, double its frequency, three times its frequency and so on.
Subharmonics work the same way but you divide instead of multiply.
So, this time you start with the original frequency, then half of it, then a third and so on.
So for instance for the fifth subharmonic, instead of 5/1, you have 1/5. The interval between the subharmonic and the 1/1 is just the same as for the harmonic, inverted, here a 5/1 downwards instead of upwards. If you look at pairs of notes then all the intervals are the same as for the haronic series.
But chords with three or more notes have a different flavour when you play them using subharmonics.
Just as a major chord is made up of notes of the harmonic series, the minor chord is made up of notes of a sub harmonic series. So chords based on the sub harmonic series have somewhat of a "minor" sound. Chords using only notes in the sub harmonic series sound harmonious like the chords of the harmonic series, but with this minor sound to them.
The overtones that make up most instruments follow a harmonic series. Most musical instruments only have peaks in the harmonic series - or close to it (in the case of the stretched partials of a modern piano) or are inharmonic like some gongs with a fairly random distribution of frequency peaks.
You could say that, in a way, most instruments have a natural "major" type sound to the instrument "timbre". If you play just one note on an instrument rich in harmonics such as violin or whatever, you are actually playing a major chord type pattern of overtones.
However, (most) church bells are designed to have a clear frequency peak, the "tierce", a minor third above the fundamental frequency - giving them their characteristic "minor" sound. That is why even just a single church bell playing on its own has this sad "minor" type sound to it. It is by design, church bells have to be constructed carefully to have this characteristic sound.
Some unusual bells have a major third for the tierce, and you can set other pitches to it too with careful design of the bell.
So, with suitable bells,you can compare the sound of a bell with a major third for the tierce, one with an equal tempered minor third, and one with a just minor third. The tempered minor third is flattened slightly to exactly match the twelve equal interval of a modern piano.
To listen to those three types of bell sound, visit this page:
[ http://www.hibberts.co.uk/compat.htm The sound of Bells]
Auto choose pitches (drop list) (Alt + C)
This changes how the pitches are found for the parts in the rhythm...
Match harmonic to number of beats per bar - so the more beats to a bar in the part, the higher the harmonic it will play in the harmonic series of pitches. See below example .
(not shown for fibonacci rhythms or sound of pendulum wave)
Consecutive prime harmonics - 2nd harmonic for part 1, 3rd for part 2, 5th for part 3, 7th for part 4, and so on.
Consecutive harmonics starting from ...
- e.g. 2nd harmonic for part 1, 3rd for part 2, 4th for part 3 and so on.
Example
An example may help make it clear how the maths works - this uses Match harmonic to number of beats per bar, with the first part set to 7 beats per bar and the second part set to 5 beats per bar, with a bar beat as well.
The first part has 7 beats. So the seventh harmonic is used to find the pitch for that part, so the pitch for the part is seven times the frequency of the bar beat as set in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9). If set to reduce to the octave, then the pitch will be 7/4 times the frequency of the bar beat part.
The second part has 5 beats, so the fifth harmonic is used, and its pitch will be 5 times the bar beat frequency, or 5/4 times it if the frequencies are reduced to the octave. If the bar beat is ignored, then the first part will play the pitch set in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) so you divide all the pitches by 7, and the second part will play 5/7 times the pitch of the first part.
Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10)
Transpose all the notes up or down in pitch...
This sets the pitch of the 1/1 of the scale used by Bounce Metronome to play your notes. 1/1 here means the original note all other scale pitches are measured from.
So when you change the pitch of the 1/1, it transposes all the notes of the scale, so all the notes played in Bounce Metronome using that scale.
Ignore bar beat (check box) (Alt + N)
Sets the first part to 1/1 and adjusts the other parts in pitch accordingly, except the bar beat is also left at 1/1
Reverse order (check box)
Assigns the pitches to the parts in reverse order so that the first part gets the pitch normally assigned to the last one and so on.
Reduce to octave (check box) (Alt + D)
Shifts all the pitches by octaves so that they all play in the same octave range - useful if the pitches vary greatly in range
Divided by (editable)
Default 1 - this changes the pitch of the entire rhythm, - e.g. set to 2 to reduce the pitch by an octave, or 1/2 to increase the pitch by an octave...
This option is made visible whenever you make a rhythm with harmonics. The default of 1 means no change of pitch.
The way it works is that it divides all the ratios in the "Shift PItch For" column in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) by this number.
You can also use Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10) to vary the pitch.
The advantage of this option is that it lets you set a different pitch for the harmonics and for the subharmonics, making it easy to go back and forth between harmonics and subharmonics with a single click.
The default for the harmonics is 1 to play the same pitch.
The default for the subharmonics is to multiply the pitch be 16 - that's because the subharmonics as they go down from the pitch of the 1/1 tend to be several octaves lower in pitch on average.
g (golden ratio) --- 4 (button) (Alt + G)
In a way, the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm - the golden ratio is as far as you can get from any simple fraction...
Since the two beats never exactly coincide you may prefer to call this a "polytempo" - amounts to pretty much the same thing.
The closest approximations to a golden ratio are successive Fibonacci numbers so 1/1, 2/1, 3/2, 5/3, 8/5, 13/8, 21/13, 34/21, ... get you closer and closer to the golden ratio - but it gets there very slowly, takes a long time to get reasonably close to it.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/nature-golden-ratio-fibonacci.html
nice demo of how the golden ratio is as far as you can get from any simple fraction, and how this explains the way sunflowers form using the golden ratio and fibonacci number related spirals
This makes this the "most polyrhythmic" rhythm you can play, in a sense. It's the polyrhythm that continues for longest without any of the beats getting particularly close to the bar beat (as with that sunflower animation).
It can be interesting to combine this rhythm with the Harmonics Metronome (Ctrl + 229) window with the option to match the harmonic to the number of beats per bar in the part. The golden ratio musical interval you get when you use the golden ratio as a frequency ratio between the two notes is as far as you can get from any of the ordinary "harmonious" intervals you get between low numbered notes of the harmonic series.
So in a sense its as far as you can get from harmony as usually understood - but that doesn't mean it is dissonant particularly :-). You may well find that it is quite a pleasant musical interval to listen to.
The musical interval played
The musical interval is between an 8/5 and a 5/3, between a minor sixth (inversion of major third) and a major sixth (inversion of minor third).
It's 833.0903 cents. A minor sixth in equal temperament is 900 cents, and major sixth is 800 cents. So it's a minor sixth two thirds of a semitone flat, or a major sixth a third of a semitone sharp (a sixth of a tone sharp).
It's the inversion of a major third slightly flat (i.e. towards the minor third) at 367 cents instead of 386 cents for a pure 5/4.
The various types of major, neutral and minor thirds and their inversions are generally regarded as pleasant to modern ears.
This is culturally dependent - for instance in Western Europe in medieval times these intervals including the major and minor thirds were all regarded as dissonances needing to be resolved - and only the perfect fifth, perfect fourth and octave were considered to be consonances - all music had to resolve to perfect fifths or fourths.
This is also timbre dependent, which intervals sound consonant or dissonant can depend on the instrument you play it on - some intervals sound better on some instruments and others on others. Just to take a few examples, the frequency sepctrum of bell timbres have inharmonic partials, clarinets have only odd harmonis in their frequency spectrum, and pianos have detuned higher partials because of the high tension in the strings.
You can also custom build new textures with the frequency spectrum designed to make almost any interval sound consonant (this approach was pioneered particularly by Bill Sethares).
g, g^2, g^3 --- 4 (button)
Golden ratio g, its square and its cube all played at once...
Pi --- 4 (button)
pi beats to a bar - this will never repeat exactly - pi here is the circumference of a disk with diameter 1...
Also the area of a disk with radius 1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi
Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217)
Combine numbers of beats per bar as polymeters, polyrhythms or as additive rhythms (one after another) - also set the numbers of subdivisions separately for each rhythm..
This lets you combine rhythms to make a polyrhythm, or one after another as an additive rhythm (long bar or hypermeasure).
To find out about time signatures, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature
Beats per bar - first time signature
Enter the number of beats in the bar such as 3, 4, 5, 6 etc...
This is the top number of the time signature e.g. the 3 in 3/4, also called the "denumerator".
You can find this control in the main window for some of the metronomes, in 3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224) and Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217). Note, Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) isn't available in the Basic metronome.
Other ways to vary the number of beat in the bar
You can adjust the number of beats in each part by hand using the controls in the bouncing balls windows or using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) or Beats - Set beat times and volumes individually (Ctrl + 31).
The time signatures method is often better though, as it lets you change to other time signatures quickly, and vary the number of subdivisions of each beat easily, just with a single adjustment.
Extra check boxes
For some time signatures check boxes appear in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) to let you emphasize some of the beats in the bar.
NOTE these check boxes don't appear for the Polyrhythm Metronome or the Basic Metronome.
Compound time
This is for time signatures such as 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 etc
You'll see a check box to beat compound time. In this rhythm the quavers are played in groups of three, so every third beat is emphasized.
You see this option If the number on top is a multiple of 3 and the number on the bottom is 8 or any other number higher than 4.
Beat crotchets
For time signatures such as as 8/8, 12/8, 16/8 etc you can switch on an option to beat crotchets.
You see this option when the number on the top (denumerator) is a multiple of 4 and the number on the bottom is 8 or a higher multiple of 4.
Fractional numbers of beats to a bar
You can also have fractional values here e.g. 3.1 or even an irrational number like PI. You can enter a number like PI as 3.14159 (as many places as you like - up to 14 decimal places will be used to make the rhythm). Or in the case of PI you can use formulae - just enter it as PI.
With fractional numbers of beats to a bar, the beat will drift with respect to the bar lines - if unsure what that means, just try it out to see what happens.
You can use any formula here. Some simple examples include PI, G (golden ratio), E (natural logarithm of 1), R(2) (for square root of 2), ...
For details of formulae you can use for these fractional beats, see the help for {{w81}
Beats in "bar" (spin)
Increase or decrease number of beats in the bar for first time signature
With (check box)
Add a second time signature
With (check box)
Add a third time signature
With (check box)
Add a 4th time signature
With (check box)
Add 5th time signature
Beats subdivisions - first time signature
How many subdivisions to play for each beat of the time signature...
Example, set this to 2 to play two subdivisions for each beat.
Example, 4/4 with the subdivisions set to 2 then the first part plays the crotchets, and then another part plays quavers
Fractions and decimal values also possible here. One example of use of that features - if you set this to a number just above or below a whole number, say for example, set it to 2.001, then over time, the subdivisions will gradually move in and out of phase with the main beat.
You can set which instruments play each part and the volume for each part etc. in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9)
How to set subdivisions for all the rhythms in polyrhythms or rhythm cycles
The main window lets you set the number of subdivisions of the first rhythm only. But if you go to Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) then you can also set the numbers of subdivisions independently for all the other rhythms in the cycle or polyrhythm.
More about the Fractional subdivisions (rarely used feature)
You can make this number fractional. For instance, you can set it to 3.1 or a ratio like 11/10, even an irrational number like PI which you can enter as a decimal 3.14159 or as the word PI, or a number defined using a formula.
This lets the subdivisions drift with respect to the main beat - if you aren't quite sure what this means, just try it out to see what happens.
It's an unusual effect but may be of interest on occasion. For instance try playing a tune along with a rhythm with drifting subdivisions - it is quite hard and may help one deal with distractions while playing.
Or for that matter try and see if you can play both the main beat and the drifting subdivisions simultaneously along with the metronome (e.g. on drums or keyboard).
For details of formulae you can use see the help for {{w81} - you can use those formulae for the numbers here and in most text areas in Bounce Metronome.
Subdivisions (spin)
Increase or decrease number of subdivisions for time signature
Auto Accents (check box) (Alt + C)
Varies volumes of the OFF BEAT NOTES automatically. For triplets or n-tuplets, makes them gradually quieter, in the way a drumstick bounces if you let it fall loosely...
When lilted in pairs then the second beat is quieter than the first in each pair. When lilted in triplets or more than three notes, each beat is quieter than the previous one exactly in the way it happens with a bouncing ball or drumstick (exponential decay). You can also set it to accent the last beat slightly in triplets or n-tuplets, as players sometimes do. Or you can set it to accent alternate notes. This depends on your settings in Swing and Auto Accents - Preferences (Ctrl + 232)
To get syncopation and Jazz type accents, i.e. with the off beat notes accented, set the amount of the auto accents larger than 100.
Automatic choice to lilt in pairs, triplets, or more notes
The automatic choice to lilt in pairs, triplets, or more notes depends on the reinforced beats.
For instance in the 6/8 preset the third beat is reinforced, as it is played in both of the first two parts. So this rhythm is lilted or swung as two triplets.
In 3/4 with each crotchet split into quavers, the second and fourth beats of the six beat part are reinforced. So this time, the six beats (of part 2) are lilted or swung in pairs.
In both of those examples the number of beats to the bar is the same, six beats for part 1.
You can override this by setting the metrical pulse yourself in Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76)
You can set any number as the metrical pulse and indeed, one can get interesting rhythms by using a pulse that doesn't match the rhythm, e.g. a metrical pulse of 4 in 6/8 or whatever.
Accent (button)
click to switch on NORMAL ACCENTS - ON THE BEATS - then after that with each click switches between normal accents and Jazz accents, then back again...
This button will be labelled Accent when the volume is set to normal accents, or Jazz if set to Jazz accents.
You can then press the button to switch between the two at any time. If set to normal accents, changes volume to 300 for Jazz accents. If set to Jazz accents, sets this to 50.
How this works is configured in {{w232]]
If you already have the desired type of accent you can use SHIFT + click on the button to set it to the preset value without switching the type of accent (saves need to click twice to get back to desired type of accent).
You need the volume to be over 100% for Jazz type accents between the main beats of the rhythm.
You need it to be below 100% for normal accents - emphasize first beat in each subdivision.
Bounce Options (Ctrl + 220)
Includes: option to DELAY BOUNCES TO SYNC. WITH SOUND - also configure MOUSE BUTTONS for the bouncing balls e.g. to adjust beat times - and other options for the bouncing balls.
Bar beat ball (check box)
Display a bouncing ball for bar beat parts (parts with one beat to the measure)
3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224)
Show in 3D as drum sticks, conductor's batons, or bouncing balls...
For options for the 3D visuals, see 3D Bouncing Ball Visuals (Ctrl + 226)
Tempo
Enter Tempo in Beats per Minute (like heart rates)- including decimal values or fractional BPM - or optionally as time for note in seconds...
Vary this to play the rhythm faster or slower.
You can use decimals, or ratios like 53/2 or any formula e.g. 3*21 or whatever.
If you want to enter the time for the note instead there's an option to do this in Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223)
Click and drag to adjust the number
You can also adjust the number here with click and drag. Click on the number and then with the mouse button held down, drag the mouse cursor up out of the text box to increase the number. Drag downwards to decrease the number. If there's a decimal point then you can adjust the numbers either side of the point in the same way, and you can also use Ctrl, Shift or Alt + click / drag to adjust by larger amounts. If it's a formula e.g. 3*21 you can use Ctrl +click to adjust the two numbers independently.
The keyboard shortcut to adjust the number in the same way is Page up or Page down.
Tempo in BPM
This normally shows the tempo as beats per minute (BPM) - like heart rates. So for instance 60 is 60 beats a minute, i.e. one beat per second. For more about BPM see the tool tip help for the tempo dial Tempo Dial (Ctrl + 222).
You can show the tempo for any part in the rhythm.
You can see the tempi for all the parts in the rhythm in the bouncing all display in the main Bounce Metronome window and in Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219), also as a text field in the More version of Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223).
You can see the tempo as a tempo dial in the main window or in Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219).
About the Parts and the Tempi for Parts
Many of the rhythms use several tempi at once. All the tempi are listed at the top of the bouncing ball display.
Example: with the preset 6/8 rhythm, you will see three tempi, for the bar beats, the two beats to a bar (for the centre beat) - and the six beats to a bar.
You can select the part to show on the tempo dial in Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223). Or left or right click on the part number at top left of the dial as a quick way to skip to the next or previous part, also the tempo part is synchronised with the selected part in Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) or Beats As Text (Ctrl + 77).
When you set the tempo for any of the parts, the tempi for all the other parts will be updated to match. E.g. if you set the quaver tempo to 120 BPM for a 6/7 rhythm, the tempo for the dotted crotchets automatically updates to 40 BPM (a third of the tempo because the individual notes are three times longer).
Tempi
Tempo in Beats per Minute - Set tempo
Or TAP AT DESIRED TEMPO with BACKSPACE
OR use LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN ARROWS to CHANGE...
Tempo is usually measured in beats per minute, like heart rate. For more about this scroll down to What do the numbers mean?
Tempo is usually measured in beats per minute, like heart rate. For more about this scroll down to What do the numbers mean?
Gradually Changing Tempo etc (Ctrl + 42)
Changing or Accelerating Tempo - Configure the gradually changing tempo...
To use this feature first you have to switch on "Gradually Changing Tempo".
You can set it to vary gradually over a time period in minutes and seconds, or over a number of bars. To use bars, switch on "Show Measures"
Changing tempo (check box) (Alt + E)
This lets you vary the tempo slowly over a number of minutes or seconds....
Helpful for practicing gradual changes of tempo - accelerando or ritartando - or to practise a rhythm slowly at first then faster and faster over a number of seconds or minutes.
To set the amount of tempo variation and how long to take to change the tempo, use Gradually Changing Tempo etc (Ctrl + 42)
How to change tempo drop list
You can also choose how it gets varied in the How to change tempo drop list in Gradually Changing Tempo etc (Ctrl + 42).
Choose Following sine wave there for ultra smooth transitions so that you change tempo imperceptibly to start with.
Choose or linear if you just want to change tempo at a steady rate.
See the tip for the drop list in Gradually Changing Tempo etc (Ctrl + 42) for more information about this
Tempo & Rhythm Progressions (check box)
Tempo or rhythm progressions - e.g. for the different sections of a song, or to set the tempo individually for each bar - Configured in Automatic Tempo and Rhythm Changes (Ctrl + 245)....
For the tempo progresssions, just switch on the tempo progressions and set the tempo you want for each section or bar.
For the rhythm progressions, enter all the rhythms for your progression using "rhythm codes" such as 4 for 4/4, 2 for 2/4, 3:5 for a 3:5 polyrhythm etc
See the help for the Auto Rhythm Progression text area for details of how the rhythm codes work.
Use for subtle tempo changes
The Lilt Bars preset and the check boxes to play some of the bars a little faster or slower may help with subtle tempo changes from one bar to the next. Or you can set the tempo for each bar individually.
Helps to give a more natural feel to the rhythm by varying the timing subtly from one bar to the next.
Motivation for lilt bars
When you play or sing a tune, while keeping to a steady overall tempo, it's natural to vary the timing very slightly from one bar to the next. Playing all the bars exactly the same is a bit like walking with all your strides exactly the same like a robot. It isn't wrong to do that - it is done sometimes - especially with music based on repeating sound loops. However it is more common for the bars to vary in a subtle way from bar to bar.
Often the bar timing varies with the melody line and the feel of the tune, so this can't be preset in advance, unless you set it individually for all the bars in the tune you want to play.
However, one interesting pattern is to start at normal tempo, second bar is a tiny bit faster, third is back nearly to normal tempo and fourth bar is very slightly slower than normal, then continue in that way in waves of subtle tempo variation, slower and faster.
So this is the preset pattern.
You can vary the amount of the lilt. You can also set the instant tempo for each bar individually for as many bars as you like.
Some musicians may find that this option helps the metronome to feel a bit more lively and make it easier to play along with. It might also be good practice for playing with other musicians and help make your own rhythms more organic and lively.
Human rhythms are far more fluid and flowing than this.. This option is just a first approximation. It may be useful as an alternative to a totally mechanical repeating metronomc click, and as a way to set a metronome which varies subtly in tempo.
go SILENT briefly (check box)
Switches the sound off for a few bars at a time - this can help you learn to develop your inner sense of rhythm - you can set the number of bars to play or go silent in Go SILENT Briefly (Ctrl + 260).
The idea is it helps you to play at a steady tempo without a metronome.
You enter the numbers of bars to play and to be silent for in Go SILENT Briefly (Ctrl + 260). You can also hide the bouncing balls independently of the sound.
You can set it to go silent at different places in each of the parts as well - for details see the help for the text area "Enter number of bars to play, then number to be silent for, alternating".
Motivation
The idea here is that you continue to play when the sound stops. Then when the sound comes back again, aim to be exactly in time with the metronome, or as close as you can get to it.
You can try this either with or without the bouncing ball visuals as an extra cue to help you stay in time through the silence.
Play in the Pocket
When you practise with the metronome it helps to play exactly in time with the beat, so you "bury the click". That makes sure you are exactly in tempo with the metronome.
Then when the metronome comes on again, are you still in time with it?
Are you so exactly in time that you "bury the beat" right away on the first click after the silence?
You can then try longer and longer silences and see if you are still in the pocket at the end.
Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50)
Set stereo pan positions for each part for a more immersive experience...
You can use this to place individual instruments in different locations to get a more immersive experience. To take one example, in the traditional seating arrangement for a string quartet the first violin is to far left. Then from left to right you have the second violin, viola, and 'cello in that order with 'cello at far right.
Auto (check box)
With Stereo Pan, you hear the notes played spread out in space. Switch this on if you want to set the stereo pan automatically. Configured in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50)...
You can auto pan by part, by position in seed, by position in scale, and various other options.
Auto pan is configured in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50).
You can also set the stereo pan positions for each part manually as well, again in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50).
Count from 1 (button)
This is the default - counts normally...
It switches various check boxes on or off, all in one go.
In Beats Counting System (Ctrl + 246)
Start at number of beats in bar OFF (except for Flamenco view which has this ON)
Only do this for "Clock" like rhythms with 12 beats ON
For fractional beats per bar - continue count until beats next hit bar beat OFF
In Bouncing Balls - Visuals - Controls, Text and layout (Ctrl + 233)
Bar beat SHOWS NUMBER OF BARS (instead of 1) OFF
Count from 0 (button)
This is useful for rhythms like golden ratio / 4 - for those rhythms it counts from 0. Also, the count keeps on endlessly, or until the rhythm repeats. ...
For other types of rhythm, the count starts with the number of beats in the rhythm. e.g. counts 4/4 as 4 1 2 3 instead of 1 2 3 4. For golden ratio rhythms and others that continue endlessly it counts 0 1 2 3 ...
The idea is to show the numbers of beats so far in all the parts, including bar beat, and starting the count at 0, so it shows a 1 after the first beat is finished, a 2 after 2nd beat is finished and so on, in all the parts including the bar beat.
It switches various check boxes on or off, all in one go.
In Beats Counting System (Ctrl + 246)
Start at number of beats in bar ON
Only do this for "Clock" like rhythms with 12 beats OFF
For fractional beats per bar - continue count until beats next hit bar beat ON
In Bouncing Balls - Visuals - Controls, Text and layout (Ctrl + 233)
Bar beat SHOWS NUMBER OF BARS (instead of 1) ON
Why is this option useful?
This helps when you want to see if the beat numbers are approximations to the golden ratio or PI etc.
So for instance with golden ratio, then the beats almost coincide when the beat numbers are 8 :5 or 13 : 8 or 21 : 13 (successive Fibonacci numbers approximating golden ratio)
and with PI then they almost coincide at 11:7 and multiples of that (corresponding to approximation of PI as 22/7)
For youtube videos as examples of this option in use, see:
http://bouncemetronome.com/video-resources/harmonic-polyrhythms/golden-ratio-inharmonic-polyrhythms
Reset Metronome (button)
New Rhythm - Resets rhythm and anything that changes its sound...
This resets the options such as tempo, timing, instruments, controllers etc, that change the sound of the rhythm.
Leaves visual options as they are e.g. whether to show as conducting patterns, bounce inside ovals, colours, textures etc.
Custom Reset
You can make a custom reset using File >> Save As RESET METRONOME for this view.
Reset nearly all settings
If you want to do a reset to get nearly all the settings back to the way Bounce Metronome was when you first installed it, then File | Reset Nearly Everything will probably do the trick.
Reset settings for a particular window
You can also reset the settings for any window in Bounce Metronome.
To do that click on the O (Organise Windows) icon in the window and in Organise windows (Ctrl + 51) you will find options to reset the settings for the window
BouncingBall
Shows balls bouncing in time with the rhythm, and various controls you can use to adjust the rhythm...
Quick start for the Bouncing Balls controls
LEFT CLICK ON THE GRAY SEMICIRCLES to Show / hide the blocks and the parts adjustments.
LEFT or RIGHT CLICK on BLOCKS to ADJUST INDIVIDUAL BEATS, e.g. to skip beats, accent beats, or change volumes. Hover the mouse over a beat for more information.
You can also LEFT CLICK on the main display to restart the bar. This only works if the balls are bouncing silently. When the sound is playing the bouncing balls always synchronise with the sound.
You see this tip when you hover the mouse over the bouncing balls themselves. hover the mouse over the title bar of Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219) for background information.
More Details
The gray semi-circles to left and right can be used to show the beats for each part as blocks below the bouncing balls - and to show controls you can use to adjust the individual parts in the rhythm.
Each row of shaded blocks shows one of the parts. For instance 6/8 has three parts. One of the parts plays the six beats to a bar (as quavers). Another part plays two beats to the bar, so that you can hear the middle beat clearly. Another part plays the bar beat.
Each row is the same colour hue as its bouncing ball, though lighter in shade. In each row, the blocks show the individual beats in the rhythm, and the size of each block shows the duration of the beat. The blocks are all done with the first beat of the bar to the left, and last beat to the right (and shown reversed when the balls bounce from right to left).
If you have the display set up so that all the balls bounce together then the balls for each part bounce on the divisions between the beats. However you may have the balls bouncing in opposite directions for polyrhythms like 3 with 4 / 4. If you have a setup like that and also beats varying in size, then the balls may not bounce on the divisions between beats for all the parts.
How to use the blocks to adjust the rhythm
You can LEFT CLICK on a beat to SKIP it, or to adjust the timing of individual beats. You can RIGHT CLICK to ACCENT it, and MIDDLE CLICK or SHIFT + CLICK to adjust the volumes. For more details hover the mouse over the blocks.
Tap out rhythm
You can RIGHT CLICK on any of the parts, to tap out an entire new rhythm. The last click ends the bar so for instance to tap out a bar with four beats, tap four times for your rhythm, then add a fifth tap for the start of the next bar.
Right click on the part you want to adjust the rhythm for - as the rhythm is used for the currently highlighted part.
Another way to tap out an entire rhythm is to use the SPACE BAR on your keyboard. Again, right click on the desired part first to choose the part to set the rhythm for.
Then use Ctrl + SPACE to switch on the SPACE BAR RHYTHM TAPS. Then tap out the rhythm. Use CTRL + SPACE to switch the taps off again when finished
How to play your rhythm back at speed
To play your rhythm at the speed you tapped it, set the beats tempo in the main window to 60 beats per minute. Set it faster than that, or slower. if you want it speeded up or slowed down.
Parts adjustments
You can ue the diamonds, circles and rectangles to the left of the bouncing ball display to hide any of the bouncing balls, change the instrument for a part, or silence any of the parts.
You can use the triangles to the right to vary the number of beats in each part or the number of parts.
To find out what one of those controls does - just hover the mouse over it.
How the blocks work for scripted additive rhythms
These rhythms show up as separate bars along the bottom of the window, one after another, with only one of them highlighted.
With these rhythms, you can click to select one of the bars of the rhythm - this lets you change between the sections of the script manually.
These rhythms are made automatically by Bounce Metronome by creating a script for Tune Script (Ctrl + 171). Because the rhythm is scripted, you can't adjust the beat timings by hand for these rhythms, at least not permanently. If you do adjust the individual beats (for instance using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76)) then the next time that bar is played the script will just set the beats back to the way they were before.
However you can play these rhythms with swing.
You can also make your own scripted rhythms with skipped beats or using any of the other features of Bounce Metronome using Tune Script (Ctrl + 171) - explore auto script in that window.
For instance, one way to do it, if you switch on auto script and then play the rhythm slowly until the script highlight reaches the bar you want to adjust, you can then adjust the beats using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) as normal and your changes will be added into the script at that point.
Lyrics
The preset list has lullabies and nursery rhymes most for 4/4 time...
The lyrics are only shown for parts with the right number of beats per bar. Other parts are shown as beat numbers. When you change rhythm, automatically selects a lyric to fit the current bar if available.
Most of the preset lyrics are suitable for a metronome at 4/4 (4 and 1 beats to a measure)). Some are sutiable for 6/8 or 2/4.
To edit use the Edit Lyrcs drop list button. Or use Edit Lyric and Lyrics Options (Ctrl + 231)
In the future I'll update this so that you can edit the text directly in Bounce Metronome itself - and also easily add your lyric to the drop list - and also have separate files for different lists of lyrics, e.g. you could have separate lists for nursery rhymes, and lullabies or whatever.
Some day I plan to add an option to enter the melody lines as well, probably in abc notation, so that Bounce Metronome can play the tunes for the lyrics.
Conducting Patterns
Choose the conducting patterns to use - the first option follows the standard conducting paterns from Brock McElheran's book...
The left to right option is useful especially for the polymeters and the polyrhythms with polyrhythmic bar beats - it's similar to the bounce left to right but the balls don't need to bounce in synchrony with each other.
The up beat up option is for fun and not a standard pattern - conductors do raise the baton high on the up beat - but normally the up beat starts at the moment when you begin the upward movement - not at the end of the upward motion of the baton (the end of the upward motion is a less precise moment of time, because the baton slows down and so is moving slowly at that point). See below for details.
The custom option let's you configure your own patterns - which you can do in Conducting Patterns (Ctrl + 247)
The patterns used here
The bounce patterns used here are the ones recommended by Brock McElheran - see:
McElheran, Brock. "Conducting Technique for Beginners and Professionals ", 1989, New York and Oxford, OUP
In all conducting patterns, you raise the baton high after the start of the last beat of the bar. This is called the up-beat. Then it is dropped vertically to emphasize the first beat of the bar, called the down beat. So you raise the baton high BEFORE the first (or down) beat.
This helps you to see where you are in the bar and to anticipate the first beat before it happens.
The invisible horizontal plane for the conductor
This style of conducting uses an "invisible horizontal plane" as recommended by Brock McElheran. He recommends it because it makes it easier for performers to anticipate the moment of the beat (particularly if seated to one side of the conductor).
So with this style of conducting, you play the note at the moment when the baton bounces off the "invisible horizontal plane", and all the beats are conducted bouncing off the same horizontal plane.
Other conducting patterns
As for the particular pattern - e.g. 3 4 1 2 for 4/4, different conductors may use slightly different bounce patterns.
An alternative for 4/4 is 3 1 4 2 i.e. the conductor's baton bounces over the position of the down beat twice, from 2 to 3 and then back again from 3 to 4. You can set your own custom patterns in Conducting Patterns (Ctrl + 247).
Also an alternative to the horizontal plane is to have the bounces at different heights. So for instance, in 9/8 the first three beats might be on one level, then the other groups of beats are conducted at successively higher levels instead of all on the same horizontal plane.
I haven't implemented this as a feature in Bounce Metronome yet. It could be done if there was enough interest.
Another idea which perhaps I might do some day is to add an option to record the actual conducting movements of a conductor and play those back in Bounce Metronome. See http://robertinventor.com/bmwiki/Bounce_Metronome_Pro_Wish_List#Get_Conducting_Pattern_from_a_Movie
Up Beat Up - not the way conductors do it
The last option Up Beat Up is just for fun. Normally conductors do raise the baton for the up beat, it's true. But normally the "ictus" - the moment the up beat starts - is considered to be the moment when the baton starts to go up rather than the moment when it reaches the top.
See e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Pk-33R2HM
for the position of the ictus in e.g. 3/4
But for this "Up Beat Up" option - just for fun - the up beat STARTS when the baton reaches the UP position.
It is almost impossible to show a distinct moment of time visually at the end of the upward movement of the baton if you conduct by hand because the hand naturally slows down as it goes up.
To show an "ictus" at the top of the up-beat you would have to make a bouncing flick downwards instead of upwards, which is an unnatural thing to do (it's the opposite to the way gravity works).
It is just here for fun :-)
Also because some people think this is how you conduct, so by including it as an example and explaining that that's not how it isn't done, helps to make that clear.
Next: Theremin's Rhythmicon (Harmonic Polyrhythms)
Previous: Harmonic Polyrhythm Cycles like 4:3 + 7:8 + ...
Controls Common to Many Windows
