6-4 Observations
6|4 is honestly a fascinating time signature, as despite its relative lack of use even amongst metric connoisseurs, it boasts an immense versatility combined with an ease of use when it comes to making its phrases sound natural to the 4|4-acclimated audience.
My first attempts to think of slanted groupings like the 5|4 clavé or 4|4 tresillo lead to my discovery that 6|4 is, as I would put it: isochronal to a hilarious degree. Like how 9|8 can either be seen as an even or odd meter depending on how you phrase it, 6|4 is like a chameleon between the worlds of simple-time 2-counting and compound-time 3-counting.
Taking for example the appeal of the tresillo pattern used in 4|4, the uneven, forward-momentum stirring groupings of 3 eighths, 3 eighths, 2 eighths can be brought into the composition in the first place because of the natural conflict within the fact that neither 4 nor 8 can be evenly divided into 3. The last group is shorter than the other two, and creates a sense of slanted drive into the next bar.
Six (and its resulting 12 eighth notes), however, has a natural sense of mathematic harmony with both two and three. Six can be cut into 3 groups of two or 2 groups of three, and twelve can be cut into 3 fours or 4 threes. A bar of 6|4 can be made to sound perfectly simple or perfectly compound, with no notes left over in either case.
This amusingly results in a rather unexpected problem. When trying to think of phrases that generate forward momentum into the next bar, one needs to get more creative with their groupings than usual, as 6|4's versatile harmony is very even-tempered by default. Luckily a certain song had already given me my first idea:
Patterns in 6|4
The 'Chaos' rhythm: 12 divided into 3-3-2-2-2
About the closest thing you can get to a clavé pattern in 6|4, the 'Chaos' rhythm--as I've named it for its place within the panicked mixed meter opening to the song of the same name from the ULTRAKILL soundtrack--is actually just an actual 5|4 clavé with an extra quarter note at the end. Two dotted quarters, three regular quarters. 2 threes, 3 twos.
Within context, this rhythm works so well for Chaos because it is one part among many all doing the job of making sure the song has no real place to rest for long. The opening is meant to be panic-inducing and constantly switching gears. But even outside of this context, I feel like this rhythm does do the same job as the clavé or tresillo: a forward-driving switch from a more gliding compound sound to a straighter simple pulse.
Despite my incisive name for it, I'd definitely recommend it as an important entry in a 6|4 lexicon. I'd even give a shot seeing what you can do with it in a more typical 12|8 tune!
[REMINDER TO SELF TO MENTION ANALOGUE IN 3|4 AND 6|8]
Other Patterns I'll Write About Later
Dotted whole note:
Quadruple compound:
Half, half, quarter, quarter:
Half-tempo waltz:
Whole notes over the bar line:
Dotted halves:
