A: These time signatures are called "compound time signatures" because they give the feeling of two kinds of meter at the same time. When you listen to music in 6/8 time, you can hear the beats going by in threes, like "123 - 456." It sounds like lots of little groups of three beats. There is also another effect -- of two beats, as though beat 1 and 4 were very strong and the other beats were very weak, like "ONE, two, three - FOUR, five, six." This feels like two longer, slower beats. So, 6/8 time feels like triple time (in threes) and duple time (in twos) at the same time.
The effect of 9/8 time is similar. You can hear three little groups of three beats going by, or three longer, slower beats going by: "ONE, two, three - FOUR, five, six - SEVEN, eight, nine."
Q: I can accompany a singer pretty well, but I can't do very interesting instrumentation, because I find it difficult to move my hands around. What can I do to improve this?
A: Independence of the hands! A common concern for pianists of all levels. How can we improve the independence of the hands? Here are some suggestions:
Start by playing a style of music in which one hand is relatively quiet, and the other hand is more active. Then you can learn independence gradually.
Spend some time playing a style of music in which both hands are very active, such as very easy baroque music. A good source for this type of music is the "Anna Magdalena Bach" book. Any sheet music store can help you find it.
Practice your music hands apart as well as hands together, so that you can get a clear idea of what each hand should be doing.
Practice your music very slowly, hands together, with a metronome.
Practice your music very slowly, hands together, without a metronome.
Another approach to gaining more independence of the hands is to work on improvisation. If you are accomanying a singer and you can find a recording of a pianist accompanying a singer singing the same song, it is very beneficial to try to emulate what you hear on the recording. Alternatively, you could listen to recordings of accompanists who accompany in a general style that you would like to emulate.
Improving independence of the hands is a long-term process. Give it time, and work on it all the time.
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