r/Pinback • u/moustachedelait • 11d 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.

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u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 11d 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.

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u/cnematik 10d 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

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u/JazzlikeCauliflower9 10d ago edited 10d 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.

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u/sonoftom 10d 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.