Is there a name for a beat/tempo that can be interpreted as being in two different times
I am not a musician, I don't read music and I don't actually play any instruments. However (and sorry if this sounds stupid) I'm a very good dancer and believe I have a good ear and feeling for tempo and beat.
However, when I listen to certain songs, I notice that there is a beat/tempo that changes the moment another instrument joins in, or the vocalist starts to sing.
The two pieces of music I notice this on all of the time is the intro to 'All my life' by the Foo Fighters and the change over from the verse into the chorus section of 'Forever came today' by Diana Ross and the Supremes.
I have no idea how to describe it correctly (hence my posting here) but in the Diana Ross song, I can only describe it as a slow beat that doesn't change tempo as it goes into the chorus, but it suddenly sounds as though the tempo goes to the same speed as 'Can't hurry love' (also by Diana Ross (or Phil Collins)).
I'm not really expecting anything from the query, but it just sits in the back of my mind and somebody may also think about it, but know what it's called (if anything).
Thanks in advance,
Pete J.
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Hi and welcome to the music stack exchange. The term that best describes the phenomenon to which your question refers is misinterpretation.
Examining the songs that you reference, both the beat and the tempo are fairly straightforward... There is nothing out of the ordinary as far as how the beat or tempo can be quantified; at least according to music theory. There are simple time signatures with uniform tempos used throughout each of the respective songs, as is the most common rhythmic form used in almost all pop-music.
There is a term that refers to the usage of concurrent tempos in songs, Polytempo. This question here on the music stack exchange nicely describes the difference between this term and Polyrhythm and Polymeter... Also, see this question for a better understanding of the differences between beat, tempo and time signature.
It's worth stating here that it is potentially 'easy' to misinterpret the rhythms of songs that contain complex time signatures or mixed meters... or any song that doesn't conform to the most common duple/quadruple and triple meters. In the sense that these sort of rhythms do not tend to be 'dance-y' for the most part.
However, none of these terms fit the songs that you reference, after analysis.
Finally, perhaps it is easy to conflate beats or tempos when there is simply less to reference within a song... As you state in the comments, it isn't until the singing begins in the intro to 'All My Life' that the rhythm 'corrects itself' for you. In 'Forever Came Today,' the percussion drops-out a bit only to return with a big flourish to emphasize the dynamic change from the verse to the chorus.
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