How do I play in 2/2?

Question

To me, playing guitar in 2/2 seems to sound the same as playing in 4/4. What is the real difference, besides the fact that in 2/2 a half note gets one beat?

I am too used to giving two beats to a half note. I am having trouble tapping my foot once for half notes. Right now, I can only play music in 2/2 if I read it as if it is 4/4. Any advice?

Answer 1

haha the person above me helped you alot, but only if youre into complicated stuff.  2/2 is essentially the same as 4/4 (but don't tell a music teacher that!) however, it just differs if youre the conductor.  what youre doing is fine.  it might differ if youre a drummer, because of the accents, for example you might hit the ride on different beats etc.  as a guitarist, you don't really need to change anything from 4/4.

good luck, email for questions.  seriously i get lonely sometiems.  haha jk that sounds creepy

Answer 2

Time signatures can be a pain... especially learning to play in new ones!  And 2/2 is so close to 4/4- it's just familiar enough to be frustrating! LOL

Try this:  with out your music for a moment, tap a slow steady beat (like quarter note = 100).  Now count outloud like you're in 4/4... [1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &].  Your foot hits the floor on the down beat, the "&" is when your foot is up.  Do this for a few repetitions.  Now don't change the tempo, but count it in double time... [1 2 3 4].  Beats 1 and 3 are on the floor, beats 2 and 4 are when your foot is up.  Do this a few times, and again, don't change tempo, but change the words you're saying and count it in 2... [1 & 2 &].  I know it seems remedial, and you may feel a little silly saying it outloud, but it will cement it into your brain and allow you to "feel" it more comfortably.

Next, pull out your music.  Write in the downbeats and upbeats for the first 8 measures... just use little arrows.  Count it in whichever way you are comfortable while you write in your downbeats, but make sure it is accurate.  (Remember that the half note gets the beat, quarter notes will feel like 8th notes, and 8th notes will feel like 16ths.)

Now, for those 8 measures, take it slow.  Use a metronome and make sure to tap your foot.  Don't play it yet... sing it.  Don't worry about notes- you're just concerned with the rhythm.  Make sure your foot is going with your markings.  If you are getting lost, slow it down some more and try again.  Sing it until you start to feel it more naturally... then try to play it.  When you're comfortable playing it, start turning up the metronome and working towards the actual tempo of the piece.

Try and subdivide it as [1 & 2 &]... you can subdivide it as [1 2 3 4], but as you get faster, you will start to get lost.  The point is to get you feeling 2... not 4.

Although admittedly, I sometimes still count 2 in 4... but that can REALLY throw you if there is a complicated rhythm as it makes accurate subdivision almost impossible.

One other exercise to try (maybe to warm up before you play your piece)... pick the scale of the key your music is in.  Then, create a pattern... half note, quarter, quarter, 8th 8th 8th 8th, half, repeat.  So pretend it's in "C"... [C & D e] [Fgab C &]... try and count it to yourself in 2 (or even write it out!), with the metronome.  (I hope that made sense! haha)

Anyways, I hope this helped a little... there's not much else I can tell you accept it just takes a lot of practice and repetition.  Good luck, and have fun! :)

EDIT:  (LOL, Megaman- we should email! Haha) So yeah, Megaman's right in that it really is a glorified 4, but if the tempo is fast, it can get REALLY hard to count and subdivide in 4... if you're playing nothing but half and quarter notes- 4 is fine.  If you are playing anything more complicated, and if it's fast, you should try to do it in a 2 feel.

Answer 3

just think a half note is a quarter, a whole note a half note so just pretty much multiply everything by two. 2/2 is pretty much the same as 4/4 so u would hear no difference in playing only on paper