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Most pop songs are written in what is known as 4/4 time, meaning the quarter note is equal to one beat and there are 4 beats in every bar of music. Because of this, when a band plays in concert, you’ll often here a drummer count 1, 2, 3, 4 before starting a song. He (or she) is not only reminding the band members that the song is in 4/4, but also giving them an idea of the speed with which the quarter note moves through time, or what musicians call a measure. Interestingly, 4/4 isn’t really the natural rhythm our bodies move in. The heartbeat, which moves in a very fast 6/8 (or 3/4) goes lub-dub-silence, lub-dub silence, etc. It’s more like a waltz on speed. You can listen to what I mean here and count along with the heartbeat in a very fast 123, 123, 123 etc. like you are counting out a waltz rhythm gone nutso.
Despite this, almost every dance song, especially the big hits, are written in 4/4. It’s so common and so ingrained in our bodies, many people have trouble dancing to any beat that’s not written in 4/4. For that matter, many musicians have trouble counting or playing in any time signature other than 4/4.
I’m reminded of an old joke told in high school band rooms across the country. A bass player in the school jazz band is having trouble nailing the bass line of a certain song written in 7/8 time and the drummer says to him, “Man, can’t you play in 7?!” The bassist responds, “Sure I can, watch: One, two, three, four, five, six, se, ven.” (He just counted 8/8, or 4/4.)
But here are some rather well-known songs that most people can at least sing along with, if not play. I’ve indicated their time signatures. See if you can count them out along with the music. I’ve helped you out with the first one, halfway through the clip counting it along with the tune.
1. “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin - The main riff is written in an alternating 4/4 and 7/8 beat. Other parts of the song are in the standard 4/4.
2. “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead - It’s in 10/4, or you could count two bars of 5/4.
3. “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel – This one is in 7/4 and pretty easy to count all the way through. You could also count a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 3/4.
4. “March Of The Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails - is rockin’ in 7/8 al the way through.
5. “Money” by Pink Floyd - Most of the song is in 7/4. Again, try counting alternating 4 and 3 if you have trouble with 7.
6. “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles - While the chorus is in 4/4, the verse is mostly in 7/4, with a bar of 4/4 thrown in between verses.
7. What’s especially interesting about the Led Zeppelin song, and which proves part of the point of this post, is how the band Fort Minor sampled this in their song “Dolla” and had to eliminate the part of the riff that is in 7/8, or rejigger it in some places to fit into 4/4. (I don’t think I’ve ever heard a rap song written in an odd time signature.)
Check out past On Music posts here >>
Jethro Tull: Living in the Past, 5/4
Was quite a hit in 1969. Actually the beat feels so natural you barely pay attention to the out-of-the-pop-norm time.
So I guess the song is actually quite easy to dance to.
posted by dogma00 on 7-28-2008 at 8:29 am
(The first two clips are the same…)
posted by tea on 7-28-2008 at 8:32 am
“For that matter, many musicians have trouble counting or playing in any time signature other than 4/4.”
Do they? What are their teachers doing? In my experience, 3/4 and 6/8 are incredibly common, and any musician who doesn’t play them fairly often is ignoring a vast repertoire of really good stuff. The musicians I know usually only have trouble when it comes to those prime numbers - music in 7 or 5 beats per bar. Sometimes they get tripped up by things in 4/2 or 8/2, but that’s much easier to deal with and something you get used to pretty quick if you play early music.
If you want a tricky song for time, try Pentangle’s Light Flight. The introduction is in 3/4 (it might be 6/8 as simple rather than compound time though), but the majority of the song is in alternating bars of 5/8 and 7/8. There’s another 3/4 interlude in the middle just to keep you on your toes.
The easiest way to deal with most things in 5/8 is to count 1-2-3 1-2, because the stress is usually on the first and fourth beats in the bar (sometimes it’s 1-2 1-2-3 though). For 7/8, just extend: 1-2-3 1-2 1-2. They both create a lovely, slightly jerky stress pattern that certainly demands the musicians stay awake and lends itself well to energetic tunes.
posted by MaW on 7-28-2008 at 8:33 am
The 3/4 heart rate bit adds new meaning to Jimmy Buffett’s “living and dying in three-quarter time….” Cool beans!
~Bethy
posted by Bethy on 7-28-2008 at 8:34 am
thanks tea! fixed the code. should work now.
posted by David K. Israel on 7-28-2008 at 9:45 am
Not exactly an “odd” time signature, but “The Whole World” by Outkast is in 6/8 time which is odd for a rap song.
posted by Jimmy J on 7-28-2008 at 9:51 am
Radiohead also did “15 step” which is in 5/4 and “2+2=5″ which is in 7/4. Great article :D
posted by Josiah on 7-28-2008 at 12:06 pm
I totally agree with MaW. I am a musician (classical, if you must know), and 3/4 time is incredibly common. All waltzes are in 3/4 time. 2/2 (or cut time) is also common, especially in marches, even though it is just a faster version of 4/4. Some of my favorite pieces to play are in 6/8 or 3/4 time.
posted by Amy on 7-28-2008 at 1:58 pm
Being musically disinclined, I don’t know what beat this next song is in, but the way that it unfolds always confounds me as far as how to dance to it…”Make Yourself” by Incubus…great song, though :)
posted by Brandy on 7-28-2008 at 4:04 pm
I think the Beastie Boys used that same Zeppelin riff in ‘She’s Crafty’, but only the 4/4 part.
posted by Jim on 7-28-2008 at 5:26 pm
I would totally do it if I could afford to leave my job for a few months to kick some polar bear ass
posted by zeeol on 7-28-2008 at 5:26 pm
Check out Changes by Yes form the 90125 album.
posted by OrigamiSlayer on 7-28-2008 at 6:47 pm
Paul Desmond’s classic jazz tune “Take Five” is in 5/4 to no surprise. Most people would recognize the version off of Dave Brubeck’s ‘Time Out’ album.
posted by Rich on 7-28-2008 at 10:28 pm
I am a musician as well, and I must agree, anyone past marching band better be able to play in odd signatures, otherwise they should hang up their instrument. I play in a metal band that writes complicated rhythms, seemingly endless time breaks and meter changes into our music, so this is kind of my cup of tea. If you want the weirdest timed stuff ever, listen to Schoenberg. If you want some oddly timed rap music, there is a great MC called Saul Williams that is a genius. Or if the electro style is your bag, there’s always Aphex Twin/Richard D. James brilliant work.
(Stepping down from my soapbox)
Nathan.
posted by nathan on 7-28-2008 at 11:13 pm
Actually, every fourth measure of “March of the Pigs” is in common time (8/8 or 4/4 or whatever the kids are calling it these days). It’s easy to follow in the sample.
Incidentally, I recently heard a wretched smooth jazz version of “Take Five” which had an extra beat thrown in to render it 6/8. Blech.
posted by El Tigre on 7-29-2008 at 1:26 am
“One and Only” by the Barenaked Ladies starts out with the lead singer in 4/4 time and the rhythms beating out a 3/4 beat. It took me a while to figure out why the beginning sounded so weird until I counted it out. I actually had to listen to it again before posting because my brain couldn’t put the two rhythms together.
I remember singing a Gregorian chant ‘Ubi Caritas” in choir that changed time signatures every two bars or so to imitate speaking patterns. It’s one of my favorite pieces even though it was a pain to learn lol.
posted by heather on 7-29-2008 at 2:46 am
The internet ate my post! rar! D:
posted by heather on 7-29-2008 at 2:57 am