The suggestion that Sufjan doesn't realize the time signature he's writing is really just silly. With his proficiency in odd time signatures (7/4 in "Dear Mr. Supercomputer", 5/4 in the first movement of "Come on, Feel the Illinoise", alternating 5/4:6/4 in "Tallest Man, Broadest Shoulders", 9/4 in "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!", etc.), it's most certainly a stylistic device he employs with specific intent. I honestly doubt he just plays a riff on one of his instruments and "rolls with it", especially considering the cooperation of people other than himself.
Also, Dreamer, it's not hard to tell what time signature a song is in if you keep a good running beat in your head as you listen to it. Then you simply count the beats as they come. As for its significance... An unusual time signature, especially when it's part of a passage consisting mostly of common time, usually has an accentuating effect. In No Man's Land, the extra beat added by the 5/4 measure in each phrase is almost exclusively reserved for the flute run. This serves to set it off from the rest of the phrase and signify a transition to a new one.
The suggestion that Sufjan doesn't realize the time signature he's writing is really just silly. With his proficiency in odd time signatures (7/4 in "Dear Mr. Supercomputer", 5/4 in the first movement of "Come on, Feel the Illinoise", alternating 5/4:6/4 in "Tallest Man, Broadest Shoulders", 9/4 in "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!", etc.), it's most certainly a stylistic device he employs with specific intent. I honestly doubt he just plays a riff on one of his instruments and "rolls with it", especially considering the cooperation of people other than himself.
Also, Dreamer, it's not hard to tell what time signature a song is in if you keep a good running beat in your head as you listen to it. Then you simply count the beats as they come. As for its significance... An unusual time signature, especially when it's part of a passage consisting mostly of common time, usually has an accentuating effect. In No Man's Land, the extra beat added by the 5/4 measure in each phrase is almost exclusively reserved for the flute run. This serves to set it off from the rest of the phrase and signify a transition to a new one.
@Czechnmymail Have you figured out the time sig on Concerning The UFO Sighting? Can\'t do that in your head. musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp
@Czechnmymail Have you figured out the time sig on Concerning The UFO Sighting? Can\'t do that in your head. musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp