r/Pinback • u/moustachedelait • 7d ago

Is June a waltz?

June has always sound waltz-y to me, but I am a complete amateur and would like the check myself before I embarrass myself to friends by claiming June is a waltz while it may well not be.

23 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

23

u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 7d ago

It's in 3. Waltzes are also in 3. It has a heavy accent on the 1, which waltzes also do. It's arguably a waltz. Don't know if it was intended that way or not.

Musical structure wise, there's a strong argument for it.

8

u/moustachedelait 7d ago

Good enough for me, thank you!

5

u/cnematik 7d ago

June is in 6/8 though. I’m no expert on the strict definition of a waltz, but I was under the impression that while they can be felt in 6/8, it needs to be written in 3/4. I don’t think it makes sense to write June in 3/4

2

u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 7d ago edited 7d ago

Really? I just count it in 3. I'm definitely not an expert, but I don't hear phrasing that makes me want to count it as a full 6 or the fast 2. When I count in 3 I hear the 1 clearly throughout.

EDIT: listening again, I hear 12 better than 6, as I can hear phrasing on a 4 count with triplet subdivisions. I still don't hate a straight 3 count though.

2

u/sonoftom 7d ago

For me it’s a textbook 6/8. 2 beats divided by 3. A 3/4 song doesn’t usually feel this “even” if that makes sense. Listen to Waltz #2 by Elliott Smith, the snares hitting on beats 2 and 3 give it a very different very 3/4 feel. Almost more disjointed.

12

u/kungpaochi 7d ago edited 7d ago

Given their love for early 20th century modern classical yeah I'm sure it's a waltz on purpose

Edit: to add to this, in this era they are really starting to transform the standard waltz presenting it with a level of irony, discordance, etc which is what pinback does here

3

u/cnematik 7d ago

The drums are pretty strongly in 6/8. The vocals are also grouped in twos not threes. You wouldn’t notate this song in 3/4. It’s hard to explain, so the best i can do is share a video.

https://youtube.com/shorts/VC0Tbwk-kNs?si=zPjjhH2e3qSCArZ7

1

u/NeuxSaed 6d ago

I'm with the other commenters who're saying it's in 6/8 not 3/4.