{"id":219,"date":"2016-09-28T08:50:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T15:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/?p=219"},"modified":"2016-11-30T13:40:01","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T20:40:01","slug":"odd-meters-78-anyone-by-stewart-hendrickson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/2016\/09\/28\/odd-meters-78-anyone-by-stewart-hendrickson\/","title":{"rendered":"Odd Meters, 7\/8 Anyone? by Stewart Hendrickson"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/Rhythm-7-8.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"184\" border=\"0\" \/><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Recently some Irish musicians have been composing tunes in odd meters such as 7\/8. One example of this is the &#8220;Road To Barga&#8221; (starts at about 1:47 on the video) by Cillian Vallely of the Irish band Lunasa.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Uj4fEuVIE5o\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>After a bit of difficulty, I learned this tune, and like to play it on fiddle at jams\u00a0 (hear me play it)<\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-219-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/roadtobarga.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/roadtobarga.mp3\">http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/roadtobarga.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>The response I get is very interesting. Guitar players want to play along, but they get thoroughly confused with the rhythm, hopelessly out of beat, or just plain give up.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>When I explain that it is in 7\/8 time they still can&#8217;t get it. It&#8217;s played as \/123 12 12\/ or in pulses of \/P3 P2 P2\/ where P3 is three beats and P2 two beats. Any Greek musician would have no trouble with this as it is the common of the popular Greek line dance.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DtRf8wC9ZQc\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>But even my musician friends who are into drumming have difficulty beating out this rhythm. Listen to Cat Stevens&#8217; Ruby Love &#8211; it&#8217;s the same 123 12 12 beat.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ErZlGWDEtUE\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The best way to experience and learn these odd meters is not by counting, but by listening to the music and learning the dances. For example, the Greek Kalamantianos is characterized by three dance counts \u2013 long, short, short (P3, P2, P2). Listen to the pulses in the music and move your feet accordingly. After a while the rhythm will feel natural and you will \u201cget it.\u201d Another way is to just repeat the words &#8220;Jaffa cake choclate biscuit, jaffa cake choclate biscuit&#8221; to the music.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wvul9U03Bvg\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The Greeks have been playing music in 7\/8 and other odd meters for hundreds (even thousands) of years, as have Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Balkan musicians. But Americans are only used to hearing and playing music in 2\/4, 3\/4, and 4\/4 time. Even 3\/4 or waltz time is difficult for some.<\/p>\n<p>Time signatures define the pulse or timing of a musical piece. The upper number defines the number of beats in a measure while the lower number indicates the note which receives one beat.<\/p>\n<p>Common meters are 2\/4 and 4\/4 where there are two or four beats to the measure and each quarter note gets one beat, and 3\/4 with three beats to the measure. Some simple compound meters are 6\/8, 9\/8, or 12\/8, which can be divided into two, three, or four groups of three beats respectively (each eighth-note receiving one beat). For example 6\/8 is counted \/123 123\/ and is the common rhythm for an Irish jig, 9\/8 is counted \/123 123 123\/ in a slip jig, and 12\/8 is counted \/123 123 123 123\/ in a slide.<\/p>\n<p>Odd meters are defined by complex signatures which do not divide easily into groups of two, three, or four beats. Some examples of odd meters would be 5\/8, 7\/8, and 11\/8. These might be counted as \/12 123\/, \/123 12 12\/, or \/123 123 123 12\/ respectively. Each group of\u00a0 beats represents a rhythmic pulse.<\/p>\n<p>Igor Stravinsky was one of the first to introduce odd meters into western classical music in his \u201cFirebird Suite\u201d and \u201cThe Rite of Spring\u201d.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kd1xYKGnOEw\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5IXMpUhuBMs\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The jarring rhythms in particular were not well received by western ears. Stravinsky wrote of his 1913 premiere in Paris of \u201cThe Rite of Spring\u201d: &#8220;At the performance, mild protests against the music could be heard, from the beginning. Then when the curtain opened &#8230; the storm broke&#8230;I was unprepared for the explosion&#8230;I left the hall in a rage&#8230;I have never again been that angry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.davebrubeck.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dave Brubeck<\/a> shook up the jazz world in 1959 by his use of odd meters. Tired of hearing most jazz in common 4\/4 time, he started to experiment in polyrhythms. After returning from a trip to Turkey in 1958, he produced an album of all original compositions in a variety of time signatures. This album \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Time-Out-Dave-Brubeck-Quartet\/dp\/B000002AGN\" target=\"_blank\">Time Out<\/a>\u201d was almost rejected by Columbia Records for its challenging use of unusual meters. But the third cut, \u201cTake Five,\u201d soon became the biggest-selling jazz single of all time. It is in 5\/4 time with the following piano intro:<img src=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/takefive-sm.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It could also be signed as 10\/8, in which case it would be counted \/123 123 12 12\/. See and hear it played by the Dave Brubeck Quartet:<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PHdU5sHigYQ\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>On the same album, Blue Rondo a la Turk\u201d has a time signature of 9\/8 and is counted \/12 12 12 123\/ rather than the usual \/123 123 123\/.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j9GgmGLPbWU\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Another Brubeck composition \u201cEleven Four\u201d is signed as 11\/4 (naturally!) and counted \/123 12 123 123\/. Some of Brubeck\u2019s best music is available on the two-CD remastered album \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/At-Carnegie-Hall-DAVE-BRUBECK\/dp\/B00005AWMW\" target=\"_blank\">The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Time-Further-Out-Dave-Brubeck\/dp\/B000002AAL\" target=\"_blank\">Time Further Out<\/a>,\u201d his follow-up to \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Time-Out-Dave-Brubeck-Quartet\/dp\/B000002AGN\" target=\"_blank\">Time Out<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Math_rock\" target=\"_blank\">Math rock<\/a>, a style of rock music that emerged in the late 1980s, frequently uses odd meters such as 7\/8, 11\/8, or 13\/8, or features constantly changing meters based on various groupings of 2 and 3.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iY1we7AX3m0\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Then there\u2019s Frank Zappa&#8217;s &#8220;Toads of the Short Forest&#8221;, where Frank says: On stage now, drummer A is playing in 7\/8, drummer B is playing in 3\/4, the organ player is in 5\/8, the bass in 3\/4, and the sax player is blowing his nose.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/acpOO0kvfn4\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Listen to this tune, The Journey, composed and played by Debbie Scott in the Shetland Islands.<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-219-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/Journey(ShetlandTune).mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/Journey(ShetlandTune).mp3\">http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/audiofiles\/Journey(ShetlandTune).mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>It begins with a complex rhythm. <a href=\"http:\/\/stewarthendrickson.com\/tunes\/Journey%28Shetland%29.pdf\">The score<\/a> is marked 4\/4 time, but it could be written as 8\/8 time in which alternating measures are counted \/123 12 123\/ and \/12 12 12 12\/ (first and second measures respectively). This gives a very pleasing rhythmic bounce to the tune.<\/p>\n<p>A <em>crooked tune<\/em> is a musical piece with added or dropped beats, which disrupt the usual rhythm. Some &#8220;old-time&#8221; fiddle tunes are <em>crooked<\/em>; they sound quirky because this is the way an old player may have felt the tune &#8211; instinctively rather than technically correct. Here&#8217;s an example.<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/63y2HebJTOI\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>A more formal <em>crooked tune<\/em> is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jmu.edu\/orgs\/fab\/Classes\/zweifacher.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Zweifacher<\/a> &#8211; a German or Bavarian dance which alternates between waltz and pivot turns. Watch a Zweifacher performance at Oktoberfest, and the German trad-band &#8220;Deitsch&#8221; playing the &#8220;Wirtshaus-Zwiefacher&#8221; (the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stewarthendrickson.com\/tunes\/Wirtshaus-Zwiefacher.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">musical score<\/a> has measures in both 2\/4 and 3\/4 time).<\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9SEQU_aQ60M\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xg05IrMxS3E\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Odd meters bring with them a whole new world of musical enjoyment and cultural understanding.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stewart Hendrickson &#8211; revised from The Victory Review, Nov. 2006<\/em>,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Recently some Irish musicians have been composing tunes in odd meters such as 7\/8. One example of this is the &#8220;Road To Barga&#8221; (starts at about 1:47 on the video) by Cillian Vallely of the Irish band Lunasa. After a bit of difficulty, I learned this tune, and like to play it on fiddle &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/2016\/09\/28\/odd-meters-78-anyone-by-stewart-hendrickson\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Odd Meters, 7\/8 Anyone? by Stewart Hendrickson&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,3],"tags":[9,8],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions\/483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}