How to notate a time signature that alternates every few measures?

Question

I was playing an original song in 4/4 but noticed if I instead played the first 3 bars as 3/4 and kept the last 4 chords one per beat in a bar of 4/4, it seemed more interesting. How would this time signature be written... and how unusual is it in popular music? This is the bones of an acoustic guitar singer-songwriter song and I'm a bit worried it might be a pig to sing!

Answer 1

Write the starting time signature along key of the piece, in measure one. When you are ready to change time signatures -- from 4/4 to 3/4, for instance -- write that at the beginning of the next measure.

Answer 2

Hey, jamming to this in my head and you're right in does sound more interesting. You could switch up time signature every three then one measure, but if you are looking for a simpler yet uncommon route to convey it in sheet music, you could use the time signature of 13/4.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

You can change the time signature at any time by just writing in the sheet music. This is done in classical music and choral music. Please let the drummer and base player know. Please remember that there should be some purpose to the change such as lyrics that drive the change, see the Beatles, or you are telling some musical story. You should not change just confuse the bass player or the listener.

John