Just to re-state the basics, here are the usual accent patterns for common meters:
SIMPLE METERS
Simple meters include 2/4, (2/2, 2/8), 3/4 (3/2, 3/8) and 4/4 (4/2, 4/8)
2/4 meter has one accented beat and one unaccented per measure:
2/4 = 1 - 2 - |1 - 2 - |
| q q | q q |
| 1 2 | 1 2 |
4/4 meter is divided into groups of two with a large accent on the first beat of
the measure and a smaller accent on beat 3:
4/4 = 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - |
|
q q q q | q q q q
|
| 1 2 3 4
| 1 2 3 4
|
3/2, 3/4 and 3/8 meters have an accent on beat 1 and no
accents on the other beats.
3/4 = 1 - 2 - 3 - | 1 - 2 - 3 - |etc.|
| q q q
| q q q |
| 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 |
COMPOUND METERS
Compound Meters: 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 are divided into groups of 3.
6/8= 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - |
e e e e e e | e e e e
e e | e e e e
e e |
1 2 3 4 5 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
9/8 = 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 -7 - 8 - 9 - |
12/8 =1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 -7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - |, etc.
While you CAN conduct all the beats in these compound meters, they are often conducted as if they were actually
simple meters -- using only the accented beats.
6/8 can be conducted in 2,
e e e
e e e | e e e e e e
|
e
e e e e e |
1 - - 2 - - | 1 - -
2 - - | 1 - -
2 - - |
9/8 can be conducted in 3 and 12/8 can be conducted in 4. (Notice that even though the beats are
groups of 3, the accent pattern is the same as their simple meter counterparts.)
COMPLEX METERS
5/4 (5/2, 5/8), 7/8 (7/4, 7/2), 11/8 (11/2, 11/4)
Complex meters, such as 5/4, 7/8 and 11/8 and variations thereof, are usually most successful
when performed by professional musicians. It is only the RARE small, volunteer choir that is able to perform in these meters.
The accent patterns are variable and differ from piece to piece and sometimes from measure to measure. If you have the knowlege,
the well-trained singers, the time to rehearse, and love the music, go for it. Otherwise, you could probably do several
other anthems in the time it takes to learn one complex metered piece.
