One of the hallmarks of prog rock is the use of intricate rhythms and unusual meters (a.k.a. time signatures). For those of you who are just getting into exploring this kind of music, I’m happy
One of the hallmarks of prog rock is the use of intricate rhythms and unusual meters (a.k.a. time signatures). For those of you who are just getting into exploring this kind of music, I’m happy to say that, if you can groove well in the common meters 4/4, 2/4 and 3/4, then you can, with a little mental training, groove in any time signature. All odd-metered grooves result from various combinations, or multiples, of twos and threes. Think about it: 5 can be divided into 2+3 or 3+2; 7 equals 2+2+3 (4+3), 2+3+2, 3+2+2 (3+4); nine equals 5+4, 4+5, 3+3+3, and so forth. Laying down a groove in any odd meter requires locking into the count and coming up with an appropriate repetitive chordal or single-note rhythm figure. Here are some cool ways to do that.
FIVES
3/4 and 3/8 aside, the first truly odd meters are 5/8 (five eighth notes per measure, or bar) and 5/4 (five quarter notes per bar). Zoning in on 5/8, Ex. 1a features accents on the first, third, and fifth eighth notes of every consecutive five-note group. Count each beat as shown, but only tap your foot on the non-parenthesized beats. (The same methodology will be used to illustrate counts and foot taps throughout this lesson.) Note how your foot has to double up and tap two eighths in a row going from beat five back to beat one of the next bar. This may or may not be applied any time you’re jumping from a three-note grouping to a two-note grouping.
Try both methods on Examples 1b and 1c, which break the 5/8 grouping into 2+3 and 3+2, respectively. Ex. 1d presents a famous rhythmic motif, albeit way too fast in double time. Superimpose