Free time (music)
Encyclopedia
Free time is a type of musical meter
free from musical time and time signature
. It is used when a piece of music has no discernible beat. Instead, the rhythm is intuitive and free-flowing. There are five ways in which a piece is indicated to be in free time:
Examples of musical genres based around free time include free improvisation
, free jazz
and noise music
. Examples of music written in free time include Erik Satie's
Gnossienne No. 1
, Charles Ives'
Concord Sonata, and most of Kaikhosru Sorabji's
music. Examples of contemporary songs in free time include "Hunting Bears" by Radiohead
and "Lover, You Should've Come Over
" by Jeff Buckley
.
The usage of free time is almost absent in popular music. The Allman Brothers Band
was known for occasionally dropping into free time segments on their lengthy live jams. The most famous example can be found on "Whipping Post
" on the live album At Fillmore East
. The band drops into a lengthy free time at the 10 minute mark, before coming back into 12/8 time about 5 and half minutes later. They drop into free time again at the 17:15 mark and continue to the end of the song at about 23:00.
Another famous example is in the nearly 10 minute psychedelic Pink Floyd
composition "Interstellar Overdrive
", The opening hook of the piece is a distorted, descending guitar riff played in unison by the band. This riff eventually turns into improvisation, including modal improvisations, percussive flourishes on the Farfisa organ, and quiet interludes. The song gradually becomes almost structureless and in free-form tempo, punctuated only by strange guitar noises. Eventually, however, the entire band restates the main theme, which is repeated with decreasing tempo and more deliberate intensity. The novel use of stereo (in the second mix of the album, the original being monophonic) makes the sound oscillate between speakers towards the composition's conclusion. Live versions of the song often exceeded 20 minutes.
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
free from musical time and time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. It is used when a piece of music has no discernible beat. Instead, the rhythm is intuitive and free-flowing. There are five ways in which a piece is indicated to be in free time:
- There is simply no time signature displayed. This is common in old vocal music such as GaelicGoidelic languagesThe Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
psalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
. - There is no time signature but the direction 'Free time' is written above the stave.
- There is a time signature (usually 4/4) and the direction 'Free time' written above.
- The word FREE is written downwards across the stave. This is mostly used when the piece changes to free time after having had a time signature.
- Instead of a time signature, a large X is written on the stave.
Examples of musical genres based around free time include free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
, free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
. Examples of music written in free time include Erik Satie's
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
Gnossienne No. 1
Gnossienne
"Gnossienne" is the name given to several piano pieces by the French composer Erik Satie in the late 19th century.-Characteristics:Satie's coining of the word "gnossienne" was one of the rare occasions when a composer used a new term to indicate a new "type" of composition. Satie had and would use...
, Charles Ives'
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
Concord Sonata, and most of Kaikhosru Sorabji's
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was an English composer, music critic, pianist, and writer.-Biography:...
music. Examples of contemporary songs in free time include "Hunting Bears" by Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and "Lover, You Should've Come Over
Lover, You Should've Come Over
"Lover, You Should've Come Over" is the seventh track on Jeff Buckley's album Grace. Inspired by the ending of the relationship between Buckley and Rebecca Moore, it concerns the despondency of a young man growing older, finding that his actions represent a perspective he feels that he should have...
" by Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
.
The usage of free time is almost absent in popular music. The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
was known for occasionally dropping into free time segments on their lengthy live jams. The most famous example can be found on "Whipping Post
Whipping Post (song)
"Whipping Post" is a song by The Allman Brothers Band. Written by Gregg Allman, the five-minute studio version first appeared on their 1969 debut album The Allman Brothers Band. But the song's full power only manifested itself in concert, when it was the basis for much longer and more intense...
" on the live album At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
. The band drops into a lengthy free time at the 10 minute mark, before coming back into 12/8 time about 5 and half minutes later. They drop into free time again at the 17:15 mark and continue to the end of the song at about 23:00.
Another famous example is in the nearly 10 minute psychedelic Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
composition "Interstellar Overdrive
Interstellar Overdrive
"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...
", The opening hook of the piece is a distorted, descending guitar riff played in unison by the band. This riff eventually turns into improvisation, including modal improvisations, percussive flourishes on the Farfisa organ, and quiet interludes. The song gradually becomes almost structureless and in free-form tempo, punctuated only by strange guitar noises. Eventually, however, the entire band restates the main theme, which is repeated with decreasing tempo and more deliberate intensity. The novel use of stereo (in the second mix of the album, the original being monophonic) makes the sound oscillate between speakers towards the composition's conclusion. Live versions of the song often exceeded 20 minutes.