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As a drummer I really like odd time signatures, for example the Pat Metheny Group song entitled "First Circle" is in 22/8... For fun, try memorizing and clappin

As a drummer I really like odd time signatures, for example the Pat Metheny Group song entitled "First Circle" is in 22/8... For fun, try memorizing and clapping the pattern at the opening of the piece. http://www.halfstepup.com/articles/odd-time-signatures-in-composition http://www.halfstepup.com/articles/odd-time-signatures-in-co... http://youtu.be/4YeoIn5-mSs http://youtu.be/4YeoIn5-mSs

daeken 13y ago
I'm also a big fan of odd time signatures, especially those that change. A great example of this is Dream Theater's "The Dance Of Eternity": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ftRhsvvfBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ftRhsvvfBw In ~6 minutes, there are 104 time signature changes, largely between 3/2, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 7/4. Another great one is Radiohead's "Pyramid Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKQPqs-cqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKQPqs-cqc It's in (3+3+4+3+3)/16 (depending on how you interpret it), and it's one of the hardest songs to count, as the last note is swung and deceptive. But it's a great composition.
- fractalsea 13y ago
  I remember Sale to the Moon, also by Radiohead, as being particularly strange. It changes from bar to bar.
  - plaguuuuuu 13y ago
    from memory, one beat gets chopped off the end each repetition, or something like that.
- psychometry 13y ago
  Pyramid Song is in 4/4. If you only listen to the piano part, then you might think it's odd, but when written in 4/4 the notes are just dotted quarter notes and half notes. The drum part is more revealing of the 4/4 time signature. http://cloud.freehandmusic.netdna-cdn.com/preview/530x4/warner/pyramsg.png http://cloud.freehandmusic.netdna-cdn.com/preview/530x4/warn...
  - daeken 13y ago
    This doesn't really follow, to me. If you count out the piano part, you get the groups of 3 pretty quickly, then the group of 4 that sits in the middle is immediately apparent. Counting the drums, to my ear, gives (5+4+4+3)/4, not 4/4. But admittedly, those could be counted differently. I definitely disagree completely that this song is in 4/4, though the exact groupings can be tough to determine.
    - psychometry 13y ago
      I assure you, it's in 4/4. I've transcribed and arranged this song myself. Also, that screenshot is from the official Amnesiac sheet music book.
camus2 13y ago
big fan of Tool drummer here so yeah, loving weird signatures.
- daeken 13y ago
  Most of Tool's most interesting drum parts (to me, at least) aren't really weird time signatures, just weird polyrhythms. The Grudge is a fun one.
stanleydrew 13y ago
Dave Brubeck's Time Out has some well-known examples of interesting time signatures. My favorite is Kathy's Waltz [1]. The second half of the song includes a section in which the drummer maintains a 3/4 waltz beat while Dave improvises over top, seamlessly moving between the 3/4 waltz and a 4/4 swing. I don't know of any other similar performances, but would be interested if anybody can recommend some. [1] https://play.spotify.com/track/6qNWmjlMAW503WLZLfjUba https://play.spotify.com/track/6qNWmjlMAW503WLZLfjUba [Edit] Having just listened to it a second time, it's actually more interesting. The drummer is playing a kind of 6/8 but using the hi-hat on every other beat. The bass player is placing notes on beats 1 and 4, and Paul Desmond and Dave are improvising on top. I'd be interested in others' assessment of what's happening in that second part of the song though.
NDizzle 13y ago
Drummer that likes odd time signatures? Here's some Zappa for you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uXANvaK1I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uXANvaK1I
plaguuuuuu 13y ago
that piece is pretty awesome. rather more difficult to figure out than the terminator theme with all the syncopation and what not. I've always loved odd time sigs. I recently got turned on to Indian classical tabla music, which is utterly ridiculous.. I'd say the gap in complexity vs the above is comparable to 22/8 vs 4/4.
yk_42 13y ago
First Circle is one of the best (and hardest) songs that my former jazz orchestra played - I was on drums. We used a score from UNC, I believe. You're right that the time signature is effectively 22/8. Our charts were written in 12/8+10/8 alternating (22 beats) but there were 4 bars of 12/8 and one of 8/8 at the end of the verses. I think the solo sections were mostly 12/8. The song works best if the whole band feels the accented rhythms, rather than explicitly counting everything. But when it comes together, it is a powerful piece of music.
philwelch 13y ago
The song "Hey Ya!" by Outkast is in 11/4 time. There's no shortage of prog rock and prog metal in unusual time signatures but for a catchy hit song to have such a quirky rhythm was unusual.
eCa 13y ago
This is pretty odd: http://youtube.com/watch?v=69md7aLuo2I http://youtube.com/watch?v=69md7aLuo2I (Pete Zeldman/Enigma)

daeken 13y ago

I'm also a big fan of odd time signatures, especially those that change. A great example of this is Dream Theater's "The Dance Of Eternity": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ftRhsvvfBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ftRhsvvfBw In ~6 minutes, there are 104 time signature changes, largely between 3/2, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 7/4. Another great one is Radiohead's "Pyramid Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKQPqs-cqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKQPqs-cqc It's in (3+3+4+3+3)/16 (depending on how you interpret it), and it's one of the hardest songs to count, as the last note is swung and deceptive. But it's a great composition.

fractalsea 13y ago
I remember Sale to the Moon, also by Radiohead, as being particularly strange. It changes from bar to bar.
- plaguuuuuu 13y ago
  from memory, one beat gets chopped off the end each repetition, or something like that.
psychometry 13y ago
Pyramid Song is in 4/4. If you only listen to the piano part, then you might think it's odd, but when written in 4/4 the notes are just dotted quarter notes and half notes. The drum part is more revealing of the 4/4 time signature. http://cloud.freehandmusic.netdna-cdn.com/preview/530x4/warner/pyramsg.png http://cloud.freehandmusic.netdna-cdn.com/preview/530x4/warn...
- daeken 13y ago
  This doesn't really follow, to me. If you count out the piano part, you get the groups of 3 pretty quickly, then the group of 4 that sits in the middle is immediately apparent. Counting the drums, to my ear, gives (5+4+4+3)/4, not 4/4. But admittedly, those could be counted differently. I definitely disagree completely that this song is in 4/4, though the exact groupings can be tough to determine.
  - psychometry 13y ago
    I assure you, it's in 4/4. I've transcribed and arranged this song myself. Also, that screenshot is from the official Amnesiac sheet music book.

camus2 13y ago

big fan of Tool drummer here so yeah, loving weird signatures.

daeken 13y ago
Most of Tool's most interesting drum parts (to me, at least) aren't really weird time signatures, just weird polyrhythms. The Grudge is a fun one.

stanleydrew 13y ago

Dave Brubeck's Time Out has some well-known examples of interesting time signatures. My favorite is Kathy's Waltz [1]. The second half of the song includes a section in which the drummer maintains a 3/4 waltz beat while Dave improvises over top, seamlessly moving between the 3/4 waltz and a 4/4 swing. I don't know of any other similar performances, but would be interested if anybody can recommend some. [1] https://play.spotify.com/track/6qNWmjlMAW503WLZLfjUba https://play.spotify.com/track/6qNWmjlMAW503WLZLfjUba [Edit] Having just listened to it a second time, it's actually more interesting. The drummer is playing a kind of 6/8 but using the hi-hat on every other beat. The bass player is placing notes on beats 1 and 4, and Paul Desmond and Dave are improvising on top. I'd be interested in others' assessment of what's happening in that second part of the song though.

NDizzle 13y ago

Drummer that likes odd time signatures? Here's some Zappa for you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uXANvaK1I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uXANvaK1I

plaguuuuuu 13y ago

that piece is pretty awesome. rather more difficult to figure out than the terminator theme with all the syncopation and what not. I've always loved odd time sigs. I recently got turned on to Indian classical tabla music, which is utterly ridiculous.. I'd say the gap in complexity vs the above is comparable to 22/8 vs 4/4.

yk_42 13y ago

First Circle is one of the best (and hardest) songs that my former jazz orchestra played - I was on drums. We used a score from UNC, I believe. You're right that the time signature is effectively 22/8. Our charts were written in 12/8+10/8 alternating (22 beats) but there were 4 bars of 12/8 and one of 8/8 at the end of the verses. I think the solo sections were mostly 12/8. The song works best if the whole band feels the accented rhythms, rather than explicitly counting everything. But when it comes together, it is a powerful piece of music.

philwelch 13y ago

The song "Hey Ya!" by Outkast is in 11/4 time. There's no shortage of prog rock and prog metal in unusual time signatures but for a catchy hit song to have such a quirky rhythm was unusual.

eCa 13y ago

This is pretty odd: http://youtube.com/watch?v=69md7aLuo2I http://youtube.com/watch?v=69md7aLuo2I (Pete Zeldman/Enigma)