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Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 11:28 am
by Judex
Yeah, I read David's post about why PGS decided to go with 4/2 - but I also saw a post above by someone who gave up on the program/app/whatever because of it. As I said, I'm looking forward to the end of it - being comfortable with what they switch to later on is an advantage for those who are already comfortable with it. By now I'm used to it, but I do wonder how it feels going the other way. My nephew in the 4th grade is starting trumpet with Tradition of Excellence, and they're hitting the kids with eighth notes (slurred and tongued) from the start, and with trumpet, you'd think there was enough of a challenge just gettig a note to sound, let alone a specified note, let alone at a specified time. (He seems to be thriving, not sure about the rest of the family.)

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:45 pm
by sw1tch73ch
The Trumpet plays one note at a time, so the more advanced notation can come quick. We're usually worried about coordinating two notes at least and by the end six or more at a time.

And I still agree; I think we could have started with 4/4 time. Playground Sessions team didn't think so. We disagree on that point (me and Playground Sessions team), and they're the gurus, if you will, so I concede to their judgement at least a little. I think people who don't give it a chance are giving up too easy and missing out on good stuff. Essentially what Playground Sessions has done is write everything in 2/2 time or Cut Common Time (𝄵). At least for the Rookie level.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 6:57 pm
by Swampfox
I don't have a huge issue with it, especially since I use the backing tract to to stay in time. In the beginning everything is either on the beat, or the equivalent of 'straight eighths', so it doesn't really matter if it's 4/4 or 4/2. Somewhere around "Imagine" you need to able to come in or play on the 'and'. I just think that once something is off the count it's better represented by eighths.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:53 pm
by Judex
Right, with the backing tracks the notation is not so much a problem as an irritation. Getting all these fingers to the right notes at the right time is the problem - I feel like I just can't think quite fast enough, and when I slow the tempo down to a crawl, then my mind tends to wander... It's a wonder I make any progress at all.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 7:55 pm
by rj3711
I just started playground sessions this week and the 4/2 time signature is really throwing me for a loop. I had played flute from grade school through my senior year of high school. And after more than 25 years of not playing my brain still can't get over a whole note only being counted for 2 beats as opposed to 4 beats while the person counts out 4 to intro the start. After skimming through this thread I get that it was done to simplify the number of notes a person needs to read before really starting to play, but couldn't the same thing have been accomplished by a faster tempo and still using 4/4 timing? Isn't 4/4 one of the most common time signatures to begin with?

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:38 pm
by andrewwegierski
I understand where you're coming from. You are correct, there's a couple ways to do it.

I'd think of it as two 2/2 measures put together, or cut time. That way you're feeling the half note as the pulse.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2019 3:19 pm
by wasRoland19
I just started with playground sessions and found the 4/2 set-up difficult. I played trumpet for several years when I was young and often played the melody of songs on the piano and am now trying to start over learning piano for both hands from the beginning. I am trying to use the 4/2 time signature, but feel it would have been easier in 4/4. I am looking into other online options before I continue with playground sessions. Trying to use a two count for whole notes is just not intuitive for me.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:43 pm
by rj3711
I started in November and was in the exact same position you are now. See 2 posts above yours. It felt really strange at first, but I've gotten used to it now...it just took about a week after my post and some regular practice to adjust and internalize the pattern for 4/2 again.

I think that it is probably harder for people that have had some musical experience in the past (particularly when they are used to 4/4 timing) to get started with PGS than it is for people with no musical experience. But once I got past the initial 4/2 time signature, I do really enjoy this software. I had also tried a few of the other popular choices and really do prefer PGS. This is purely personal preference, but I feel PGS progresses as a comfortable pace that doesn't go too fast or too slow, gives great and immediate feedback on when you hit wrong notes, are playing out of time, etc. With the other systems I tried to compare, they progressed really fast and didn't really allow me to internalize/remember/learn the concept before moving on. I also didn't feel the other systems really gave enough feedback...and some even felt like if you got it close enough even one time, they moved you to the next song/concept without really feeling like you could go back and practice that item and really internalize it.

At any rate, hope this helps!

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:05 pm
by Cougot
I believe the most maddening part of using PGS is the 4/2 time signature. There is no need for it. Also, when starting off, the courses there really wasn’t a mention of time signature. I’ve also got previous experience playing clarinet and violin. I just started a course where after the first couple lessons, the instructions say, “now let’s convert some half notes into quarter notes”. But, instead the notes were still the same, and the time signature was shown to be in 4/2 but it switched to 4/4 time.

Re: Time Signature question

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:50 am
by rjprendergast
WOULD LOVE AN OPTION TO SWITCH TO 4/4! A PIANO BEGINNER WITH A MUSICAL BACKGROUND.
I'm coming back to piano after 20 years. I played piano through most of elementary school and high school (10+ years). When I moved out from my parents house, I didn't have the space or the money for a piano, so I fell away from playing.
Playground sessions is a great way to work my way back into piano, BUT 10 years of music lessons with a X/4 time signature has pretty firmly embedded in my head that a quarter note is 1 beat, a half note is 2 beats, an eight note is half a beat. I'm finding it very difficult to count in playground sessions.
I know that an experienced musician should be able to count in any time signature, but I'm back to beginner level.
As far as the scariness of too many quarter notes and eight notes, I get it. I know that intimidation feeling looking at Chopin sheet music. But I think the scary thing is really the density of notes -- NOT whether they are filled in or empty bubbles. Using digital software, you should be able to put plenty of white space between notes to make the music appear less dense.
If there is a programmer reading this, be a hero and please make Playground Sessions usable for people who have played music before! Give them 4/4! I'll be beyond rookie by the time anyone reads this, so it won't benefit me. But help out those many others who were in band, played piano, took cello lessons, played violin, etc.