Time signatures

AntonHunter

Just thought some of you might enjoy these playlists I put together to help me/my students with unusual(ish) time signatures. My idea being that we are surrounded by 4/4 whether we like it or not, and so I've put these lists together to immerse the ears in a different time feel, hopefully breaking some deeply ingrained habits.

Or something. Either ways, there's some interesting juxtapositions when you group by time signature!

So, here's a playlist I made to try and get used to songs in 7: 
https://open.spotify.com/user/1181444983/playlist/7Ft6Y9riuZr0wXUL4yJ9qN?si=JFo2bakNTNuIppdv9H46lQ

...and one for 5: 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2UcW0puf83d3GgQ3s2iN29?si=FuNwIwnpQ5yCAbfUI-oJOQ

Let me know your thoughts, and any omissions! My criteria is that is basically has to be in that same time feel the whole way through, so you can have the playlist on in the background and learn by osmosis.

viz

Wow those are good lists! Please add Rachmaninov Isle of the Dead and Tchaikovsky 6th symphony 2nd movement to 5/4. And give them a listen, they’re amazing

AntonHunter

Will get onto it tomorrow, cheers!

blobb

Egg - Seven is a Jolly Good Time.

Stuckfast

5/4

Led Zep -- Four Sticks (if I remember right?)

The Faces -- Fly in the Ointment

7/4

The Triffids -- Blackeyed Susan

AntonHunter

Cheers all.

@stuckfast - that Led Zep one has a bunch of 6/8 bars thrown in unfortunately. The Face track is great though! I've never heard it, the guitar tones on it are killer. Added that and the Triffids tune.

@blobb - sounds cool, but there's loads of different time signatures in there, and the verses are in 4/4.

@viz - That Rachmaninov is HEAVY! Moves into 3/4 for big chunks of it though, so doesn't fit the criteria I've set myself alas. Thanks for the introduction though, and I've added the Tchaikovsky.

Stuckfast

There are also quite a few English folk songs that are in 5/4 (as much as they are in any one time signature). Here's a recording that is fairly straightforwardly 5/4:

proggy

Living in the past - Jethro Tull is a good 5/4 song.

vasselmeyer

I know it's now what you are looking for but in my last band everyone could select one "obscure" track to throw into our set. Our drummer choose "Happiness is a Warm Gun" from the White Album.

Of course, I'm familiar with the song but had never really listened to it. Bloody hell... it's all over the place. It sounds to me as if there are sections of 4/4, 6/4, 6/8 and possibly even 7/4. There is also a bar of 9 in there somewhere. Anyway, I knew that with a couple of rehearsals a month we'd NEVER get it right so it never made the cut.

viz

AntonHunter said:

Cheers all.


@viz - That Rachmaninov is HEAVY! Moves into 3/4 for big chunks of it though, so doesn't fit the criteria I've set myself alas. 

It’s excellent isn’t it, and I love the fact that some bars have emphasis on 1 and 3 and others on 1 and 4, to give the effect of pulling hard on the oars. 

AntonHunter

Nice one, I've added that Martin Carthy tune @Stuckfast. And that Jethro Tull one is already on there, I didn't know it before I started looking for songs in 5, but it's cool @proggy!

Thanks for the input everyone.

viz said:

It’s excellent isn’t it, and I love the fact that some bars have emphasis on 1 and 3 and others on 1 and 4, to give the effect of pulling hard on the oars.  Totally. I need to spend more time with this music for sure.

RedRabbit

AntonHunter said:

Cheers all.

@stuckfast - that Led Zep one has a bunch of 6/8 bars thrown in unfortunately. The Face track is great though! I've never heard it, the guitar tones on it are killer. Added that and the Triffids tune.

@blobb - sounds cool, but there's loads of different time signatures in there, and the verses are in 4/4.

@viz - That Rachmaninov is HEAVY! Moves into 3/4 for big chunks of it though, so doesn't fit the criteria I've set myself alas. Thanks for the introduction though, and I've added the Tchaikovsky.

Wasn't going to mention this as I didn't think it really mattered but as you've kind of brought it up yourself...

You've got Money in the 7/4 playlist but I'm fairly sure the guitar solo is in 4/4 (going off memory - can't listen at the moment).

proggy

AntonHunter said:

Nice one, I've added that Martin Carthy tune @Stuckfast. And that Jethro Tull one is already on there, I didn't know it before I started looking for songs in 5, but it's cool @proggy!

Thanks for the input everyone.

viz said:

It’s excellent isn’t it, and I love the fact that some bars have emphasis on 1 and 3 and others on 1 and 4, to give the effect of pulling hard on the oars. 

Totally. I need to spend more time with this music for sure.
Sorry @AntonHunter , I didn't notice.

AntonHunter

RedRabbit said:

AntonHunter said:

Cheers all.

@stuckfast - that Led Zep one has a bunch of 6/8 bars thrown in unfortunately. The Face track is great though! I've never heard it, the guitar tones on it are killer. Added that and the Triffids tune.

@blobb - sounds cool, but there's loads of different time signatures in there, and the verses are in 4/4.

@viz - That Rachmaninov is HEAVY! Moves into 3/4 for big chunks of it though, so doesn't fit the criteria I've set myself alas. Thanks for the introduction though, and I've added the Tchaikovsky.

Wasn't going to mention this as I didn't think it really mattered but as you've kind of brought it up yourself...

You've got Money in the 7/4 playlist but I'm fairly sure the guitar solo is in 4/4 (going off memory - can't listen at the moment).

Ah! Dammit! 

It's gone now. You're dead right, and that's laziness on my part just assuming and not checking. 

I wonder how much of a hypocrite I've been with the rest too :-/ 

west

party in simons pants is cool the main riff is in 17/8 ..... 

HAL9000

These are hard times...

DiscoStu

Oo nice playlists!

MagicPigDetective

Outshined & Spoonman by Soundgarden, the verses are in 7/4 

HAL9000

RedRabbit said:

You've got Money in the 7/4 playlist but I'm fairly sure the guitar solo is in 4/4 (going off memory - can't listen at the moment).

Not only the guitar solo, but also the turnaround.

HAL9000

Can't view your Spotify lists so you may well already have it, but Mars from The Planets Suite (Gustav Holst) is in 5/4.

jdgm