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Get your prog on with off-kilter rhythms. Odd Meters| April, 2007You may have heard of music in odd meter or odd time signatures. What does this mean? Let’s first go over some basic definitions. Meter is the way time is measured and organized in a piece of music. To be more specific, it’s an overall, regular pattern of emphasizing and de-emphasizing certain beats in a composition. The time signature communicates information on a composition’s meter by telling us two things: How many beats are in each bar of music, and what note value gets one beat. Let’s look at 4/4 time: The first 4 (the top one, when you’re looking at written sheet music) indicates four beats per measure. The second (bottom) 4 tells us that a quarter-note gets one beat. Most pop, rock, dance, hip-hop, and country music is in 4/4 time. Odd meters feature an odd number of beats per measure. Perhaps the most-used odd time signature is 3/4 time. This is the time signature used for the waltz style, and is found in almost all styles, including classical, jazz, country, rock, and pop (mostly ballads). “Here’s A Man” by Spock’s Beard rocks along in 5/4 time. The feel of this song is based on a funk rock groove in 4/4, but with an added beat at the end of each measure. This imbalance of the beat adds a slight tension to the feel of the music. Have a listen. Do you agree? Listening is the first key to getting a feel for odd meters. Count along in your head. You’ll notice where the strong beats are, and where the weaker beats fall. |
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