Unfinished measure

[kay-lister]

I know that if the first measure in a piece of music does not contain all of the beats, that the last measure completes the count.

[unknown-user]

Although that is technically the rule, you’ll periodically find it ignored. I’ve never heard of anyone intentionally ignoring it, however, so I’d just assume it’s a misprint.

~Sam

[carl-swanson]

How interesting. I never knew that the last measure of a piece, any piece, was supposed to make up the missing beats of the first measure. What’s the point of that? So the last measure is also an incomplete measure?

[tony-morosco]

I think this is one of those rules where it is a rule because it is generally the way it is done, rather than being a hard and fast rule. Outside of classical music I don’t think many people pay too much attention to this rule.

In fact most notation software doesn’t even attempt to force you into this convention as they tend to do with most other conventions.

The reason for

[sherry-lenox]

Crusic and anacrusic. I think it has something to do with that.

Kay, Somewhere Over the Rainbow starts on the beat, but the phrase “Some day I’ll wish….doesn’t start on the beat.

Maybe that’s why your piece was written out as it was. I’m not quite sure what you mean by “leaving the first measure incomplete” Could you describe how many beats are in the first measure?

[sherry-lenox]

Carl, I think the reason may just be the imposing of mathematical values onto music. It makes everything mathematically tidy if all the measures tally up to the time signature. Just my guess.

[Sid Humphreys]

Actually, there is an intro to the original music rarely ever heard. I wonder if that is where the missing beats are located?
Sid

[patricia-jaeger]

Probably because over time, many compositions such as songs, would have more verses than one, it would make great sense for

[jessica-wolff]

Nope, sounds like Nash, but it’s Gelett Burgess. He followed up some years later with

Ah yes, I wrote the “Purple Cow.”

I’m sorry now I wrote it.

But I can tell you anyhow,

I’ll kill you if you quote it!

I’m sorry now Iw

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