Our Song by Taylor Swift - 2/4 or 4/4

music theory
1

I’ve been transcribing Our ong so I can share it with my students (so many little girls wanna play like Tay Tay) and I’m stuck wondering if it is in 4/4 or 2/4

Naturally it feels like either, or both. But chord changes happen every 2 beats - half a bar. And there are a couple of instances where there are an extra 2 beats at the end of a section, so the easiest way to transcribe that is one bar of 2/4 and then right back to 4/4 (or a bar of 6/4 I guess). But would it not make more sense just to keep the entire song in 2/4. There is only one section (the end of the chorus) that is in ‘true’ 4/4 but the rest would best fit 2/4 IMHO

Any reason why I’m wrong? Is there something I’m misunderstanding about ‘proper’ timing theory?

Cheers as always

2

Harmonic rhythm doesn’t dictate meter. We don’t say a song is in 8/4 just because the chords are held for 8 beats instead of 4. Meter is mostly about accents.

Technically every song in 4/4 that has equal accents on 1 and 3 (e.g. a kick drum on 1 and 3) could also be transcribed in 2/4. That being said I think it’s really difficult to make the argument that a pop song was actually written in 2/4.

In this particular instance I would definitely go with 4/4 and the occasional measure of 2/4, which isn’t actually that uncommon in pop music. In my opinion simple pop music like this should always be transcribed in 4/4, unless it’s in 6/8.

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3

well that pretty much sums what I kind of expected. Almost all of my musical knowledge is from experience and assumption. I’ve no real training so I’m always second guessing my assumptions.

however in this case i will argue that after much pondering back and forth i decided to transcribe it at 2/4 as it makes it easier to explain to the little ones. Rather than discuss half measures for chord changes and odd jumps to 2/4 to fill the pauses. It just seems cleaner from a measure counting perspective.

thanks for your input as always

4

Sure, I guess in that context it’s totally fine to use 2/4, especially since you’re working with children. Just please don’t use that song as an example of 2/4 in a lesson about meter, as it’s really not a good example of what 2/4 is.

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5

Cool thanks man.

That really begs the question, then;
What IS a good example of what 2/4 is?

6

Honestly, considering your students’ musical preferences, I wouldn’t even bother adressing 2/4 as a stand-alone meter, as it’s just not a thing in popular music. 2/4 is mostly found in marches, polka and sometimes classical music.

I can’t think of any good examples from classical music off the top of my head, but any polka or march tune should do the trick if you’re looking for a demonstration. I can’t make any recommendations in that regard though, as I don’t listen to those styles at all :sweat_smile:

I honestly think 2/4 is mostly a dead meter that’s not really relevant in today’s music world.

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