so I was wondering if <big> ANYONE </big> out there knew what time signature the song 'Conversations' by Spyro Gyra was in. Thanks sooo much in advance!

I just looked through all the Spyro Gyra Sheet music I've accumulated over the years, and I don't have that song in my collection.

However, I was able to listen to it -- and I think the whole thing is in 4/4 time. It might feel like an odd time signature because they keep changing the tempo and sometimes the feel. Also, they accent certain off-beats and de-emphasize the first beat of the bar in spots. I think this might make you want to move the 1st beat of the bar to the accent, when really, you need to just keep counting in 4/4 time -- the first beat of the bar will land exactly where it's supposed to be and it will feel like 4/4 time again.

Don't you love City Kids as an album? It still reminds me of my second year of university, my first exposure to Marcus Miller the bassist, and all the great friends I had at the time. When I was barely cutting my teeth on electric bass I learned how to play the opening bass line on the song City Kids and it felt so cool.

Thanks for sending me back a couple decades with your post!

As The Moogman said in another thread "The Power of Spyro Gyra"...

You're right, bwardmusic, it's in 4/4 the whole time, but what DOES change is the groove. There aren't too many songs that you can pull that off in either, but Tom is just an amazing song writer. Conversations (preferably the version on Access All Areas) is one of my favorites by him. My all-time favorite would have to be Freetime.

I feel a flashback coming on...

I used to record songs from the radio when I was 13 (this would have been 1990, right when I was getting into jazz) and a local jazz station played Freetime. I ran out of tape and never got who wrote the song. I'd say for a good 5 years I was clueless who wrote it, then I started getting into Spyro Gyra. At that time, you couldn't get a lot of the older CD's because MCA quit pressing them, so I only had the newer CD's. Finally Amherst started printing the old ones again, and I went to Best Buy and saw three new CD's I had never seen before (City Kids, Carnaval, and Freetime). I looked at the back of the Freetime album and the first track (the title track) was the same length as the song I had on that tape. I thought, "wouldn't it be crazy if that song was by Spyro Gyra the whole time." That was the longest trip home from Best Buy ever. I got home, held my breath, and when those first 6 bass notes played, I jumped around my basement like I had just won the powerball.

To me, finding music that speaks to you the way Spyro Gyra does is worth so much more than money.

I had the same experience -- there was a tune I heard a high school band playing at the Canadian Stage Band Festival where my high school jazz combo was competing. I was about 16 at the time. I loved the song. I could never find anyone who knew who did it after that -- band after band, I'd sing the melody, and no one knew.

Then, a few years ago, the sax player we took on came to one of our practices saying "I'd like to do this tune" -- called "My Mama told Me so". There it was -- sheet music, chords, lead sheet, and my whole band playing it as funky as we could get.

As a wise man onece said All things come to "s/he" who waits!!

In what time is South American Sojourn? Great grove.

4/4 played with the Clave/Tumbao feel.

Interesting. But then I'm not a musician. I always thought it sounded like the bass groove or bass melody down underneath was almost in a different time sig or maybe it's 1/2 time? Gives it that Latin feel.

Many times, in Latin music, the bass is leading the rhythm as opposed to the drums because many times there is only percussion. Tumbao is slightly ahead of the 1 & 3. Those who don't understand or can't 'hear' different types of rhythms think it's a different time signature.

Yeah Dave!! Show em' your latin skills bro!!!

hehehe...!!

Hey brother Eril! Guess who I spoke to last weekend?? There was an HS alumni BBQ (which I missed) and my sister calls me and tells me he's there and wanted to say hi. I have his number. He also lives in 'Kat' country!

Sorry folks, Eril knows who I'm talking about.

Speaking of "Conversations"... I just found this gem on youtube. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnp9zWEY-yM

Wow!
Thanks, Rick.