4/4 Time and Heartbeats

[Guest Game of Chance]

So I had this moment of clarity when I realized that the human heart beats in 4/4 time. This (for those of you that aren't musicians) is pretty much the standard time in most modern music. I wonder if the reason why 4/4 time is used so much is because of the fact that it correlates to the natural rhythyms of the body?

Anyone else thought about this?

[n0Mad]

Yeah, I've thought about that before. I've also thought about the fact that we have a base 10 number system because we have 10 fingers, but the ancient Aztecs used a base 8 number system because thumbs aren't fingers. That's my theory anyway, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was dead accurate.

[Ginevra]

Not trying to threadjack but since Spook brought it up . . .

When I was in Germany, we were taught that the Germans (and most Europeans) count the thumb as #1, the index finger is #2, the middle finger is #3, etc. So if you go into a restaurant and hold up your index finger, you're asking for two of whatever you're ordering.

[MarsDustDoug]

on the 4/4 heartbeat thing...

there is a GREAT style of electronic music called GOA created in Goa india (if you go to CC you know atleast one goa/psy group called Juno Reactor. they play God Is God often at CC and Luna). Goa was originally written at about 140-150 bpm which as it turns out is the average heartrate of a human dancing moderately. This asnt done by coincidence either hehe

Juno Reactor and Astral Projection are two favs of mine and the sub-genre of psy is pretty damn good too... get some Skazi, Wizzy Noise, Infected Mushroom, or Hallucinogen.

sorry thread-jacked a bit myself

[phee]

120 bpm is supposed to a very natural heart rate.... over 160bpm in music is said to be unhealthy.... which is why deathmetal sounds so abbrasive

[MarsDustDoug]

hehe i have been to a few hardcore parties up in Toronto and down here in Detroit where the gabber has reached well over 220 bpm. It does begin to sound like mush but damn what a build-up!