Too many beats in a bar for the time signature?!

[fuel925]

I just started learning Tchaikovskys October piece. The piece is in 4/4, however take bar 1 for example... in the RH you have 3 minims and a crotchet, which obviously ='s more than 4 crotchets in a bar! Can someone please explain

[tompilk]

I just started learning Tchaikovskys October piece. The piece is in 4/4, however take bar 1 for example... in the RH you have 3 minims and a crotchet, which obviously ='s more than 4 crotchets in a bar! Can someone please explain

ive never heard or seen it... get an mp3 and see what it does...
can't help any more than that really,
Tom

[fuel925]

ive never heard or seen it... get an mp3 and see what it does...
can't help any more than that really,
Tom

I know how it sounds, and I can play it (its simple ) but im just curious.

[abell88]

Can you post a scan?

[alwaystheangel]

This is sort of a chorlae style so the top part is the melody and you have to bring that out.  If you look more closely there is a rest above the FA chord and then the hight F is played and held while you play the GA chord which you hold while you play the high E.  You see this alot in baroque like Bach and some Handel.  Because these are more Chorale like.
I don't know how well I'm actually explaining this but hopefully this helps you out.  I'm also scanning it in so other people may be better suited to the actual explanation.
[img=https://img71.imageshack.us/img71/4531/october0011ad.th.jpg]

[cfortunato]

The first bar IS 4/4.  What they are doing is placing two staves on a single staff, which is confusing you.  The bottom part is two half-notes; the top part is a quarter-rest, a half-note and a quarter-note.  It does this for the first 4 bars.

[allthumbs]

Look at the direction of the stems.

[letters]

its as if there are two voice parts on the same stave. Probably if you looked at some choral works you'd see the same thing.