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A question about time signatures in Styx songs.

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Iacób View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iacób Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: A question about time signatures in Styx songs.
    Posted: September 29 2019 at 13:04
I would greatly appreciate it, if any of you could tell me the time signatures in every Styx song up to Pieces of Eight.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Catcher10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 13:23
Wow, every song?? I would contact Rick Beato on his YT channel. The guy is excellent at explaining song structures, one of the best out there.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iacób Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 13:34
Well at least every song from the albums Styx 2, Man of Miracles, Equinix, Crystal Ball, Grand Illusion, and Pieces of Eight. Thanks for the suggestion.

Edited by Iacób - September 29 2019 at 13:41
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Catcher10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 13:49
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Finnforest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 13:51
Damn. I need to do a Styx binge. Such a great band. But don't stop at Pieces. Cornerstone is great. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ForestFriend Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 15:13
Well, Come Sail Away is in 4/4 all the way through; there's a start for you! I'm not too familiar with Styx, but I've never really known them for experimenting with a lot of time signatures. It's a bit of a tall order to ask for an analysis of every single song within a certain time period - unless you're talking to a drummer in a Styx tribute band, I don't think many people are going to be that dedicated to the music of Styx to have an answer for you. You might get better results if you count along yourself and ask for help regarding specific songs that you're unsure of.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iacób Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2019 at 15:48
Yeah I guess I'll have to go figure this out for myself. Thanks for the replies, I'm gonna go listen to Cornerstone right now.

Edited by Iacób - September 29 2019 at 15:48
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 30 2019 at 05:36
My guess is that Styx rarely wrote songs other than 4/4, though maybe the first Styx album (their proggiest)  could hold some surprises
 
I mean I could be wrong about this, but I suspect that the Panozzo brothers and  the band as a whole were probably not able (at least consciously) to play in any other rhythms... Or maybe didn't care to.
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 30 2019 at 07:04
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

My guess is that Styx rarely wrote songs other than 4/4, though maybe the first Styx album (their proggiest)  could hold some surprises
 
I mean I could be wrong about this, but I suspect that the Panozzo brothers and  the band as a whole were probably not able (at least consciously) to play in any other rhythms... Or maybe didn't care to.
 
 
 
I think you're right Hugues. I listened to Cornerstone (well about half of it as I couldn't stand any more) and there was no sign of anything as complicated as a 3/4,  let alone anything as proggy as a 9/8. Far too AOR for that.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Davesax1965 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 30 2019 at 09:16
If you're asking.... you can't hear it. If you can't hear it, you'll have problems playing it. ;-)

Seriously. Count it out. You can learn how to count time signatures or you can ask what signature every tune you're going to play is in. The former method is actually easier, in the long run. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iacób Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 30 2019 at 09:42
Yeah I can do it, just not very well. But I thank I've been able to figure out songs, I believe that the chorus in Superstars is 3/4 then 4/4 or 7/4, and the same in the verse for Rock & Roll Feeling

Edited by Iacób - September 30 2019 at 09:48
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote craigtnt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2024 at 19:40
Styx has actually done a number of songs in time signatures other than 4/4. Starting with “A Day” on Styx II that starts in 4/4 and the first solo section (guitar duo)is in 6/8 then the keyboard solo is 5/8…
Fooling Yourself from The Grand Illusion starts with a strong 6/8 keyboard intro and the verses and chorus are in 4/4 but the keyboard solo is in 7/4, the end of the solo is in 4/4 and then it goes back into the chorus but the ending does the intro again in 6/8 then breaks into a strict 3/8 or 12/8.
Come Sail Away does stay in 4/4 during the surreal keyboard solo, but it’s not a typical 4/4 it’s more like a 3/4 3/4 2/4 feel which adds up to 2 measures of 4/4.
Sing for the Day is in 6/8 with some very tough keyboard work.
Pieces of 8, the song, sounds like it changes a lot but it really stays in 4/4, but they just change the feel of what the feel basically cutting it in half but if you tap the same beat from the start, it stays the whole time.
Cornerstone has an interesting intro with Borrowed Time, but it’s just accents that make it seem like it goes 3 3 2 which is a typical accent pattern.
Paradise Theatre: Snowblind is in 6/8… kind of a bluesy “2”.   Rocking the Paradise does have that 123 123 123 123 123 123 hit hit hit…. Hit booom whatcha doing…. But it’s still just 4/4.
Kilroy Was Here had “Haven’t We Been Here Before” in 3/4, rare for Styx
I don’t think Styx was ever after purposely creating songs in anything other than 4/4. I believe they just wrote what sounded good to them. Tommy Shaw had a tendency to like 6/8 even with his stuff after Styx’s main run through 1983z

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