with the exception of dance on,prince always used 4/4 time signiture.
he started experimenting with the addition of john blackwell.
how come prince was always playing the same 4/4 till 2001.
was that because of funk or lack of skills ?

make sure you listen to Eye No.

Err, is this a joke? I'd say nearly 90% of pop music is 4/4. And "Dance On" is also 4/4!

if it ain't broke...

Most music in popular culture is done to a 4/4 time signature.

do u lie?

"In A Large Room With No Light"

So what if he writes his music in Common Time? Most music IS in Common Time. That's why 4/4 is called COMMON Time. It has nothing to do with skills or funk. It's just the most common time signature to write songs in. Musicians, help me out here!

"Power Fantastic"

r1ghteousone said:

Good call, this beautiful piece is in 3/4

prince has also used triple time in his work, notably in his blues flavoured work i.e 'The question of U' is set set in the time signiture of 12/8

parts of 'diamonds & pearls' change from common time (4/4) into 2/4 ("offer u my") into 5/4 during the cadence "Lovvvvve".


So, he does change, he just real slick!

hIsMiRRoR said:

Unless it's Drum and Bass or classical music you are correct. It's really not a big deal. Unless we are saying P is all 4 on 4...well that's not true..almost everyone uses it. I don't even think it's thought of that much. Certainly P is working in 1/64's 1/32 1/16 and 1/8th's as well...but those are all part of 4/4. Certainly, his music is more complex to be constrained to just 4/4. And you can fit in all kinds of stuff inbetween those beats as to not make it sound like 4/4.

One also has to remember that when drum machines came out all they did was 4/4 time. He adjusted them of course to work the way he wanted them to. Most computers, machines etc start out 4/4 and it's up to you to rework them.

Prince mostly using 4/4 is not a big deal what so ever.

superspaceboy said:

The roland cr78 (1979) and the linndrum (1982) both did more than 4/4.

cbastriani said:

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. I remember playing with those type of things back in the day...and not seeing them do all that much.

And then there's "Under The Cherry Moon" which is in 6/8 time. I'm sure there are more if I took the time out to research it. To say he never used anything other than a 4/4 time signature until 2001 isn't true.

Temptation is in 12/8
What about 'International Lover', 'The Ride'? 'Paisley Park' even has a shuffle feel to it.
What exactly do you mean 4/4 time? Maybe John's energetic style makes it seem like Prince never ventured off into other time signatures but clearly he did.

So does this mean you can waltz to Power Fantastic? I'll try it in the morming and let ya'll know....Okay I just did it, it can be done, it feels a little off though.

Insatiable isn't in 4/4 either.

How about NEWS??