Writing in Odd time signatures

[StuGe]

I just wrote some stuff in 7/8 that's pretty metal. (I'm in drop A too)
I was just wondering; how many of you guys bother with trying to write in other time signatures than 4/4?
And if you have any recordings that i could listen to, sharing would be much appreciated.

ty in advance,
StuGe.

 

[Cynic]

Actually, almost every thing that I write is in asymmetrical meters. lol

 

[Cabinet]

I don't write much, but when I do it's almost always something odd, unless what I'm hearing decides something in 4/4 might sound good, depends on the whole flow of the song

 

[Customisbetter]

I only write in 1/4.

 

[Daken1134]

odd time stuff is a blast but it can be a bitch if you think about it too hard. i usually dont think of the time signature till after ive written something and alot of times i dont count in the given signature. alot of the stuff i write ends up being in 7/8 or 11/8 but i never count it like that i take the adrian belew train of thought and count everything in 4's. hopefully il be able to get some good recordings up of the guys im playing with currently, they are ALL about odd times.

 

[theo]

15/16 is a lot of fun for riffing.. although I guess thats essentially the same as 5/8 isn't it

 

[crg]

if i play a riff and its good its good, it doesnt matter to much on the signature. i never really try to write in an odd sig on purpose a few times iv written stuff that is odd and had to change it cos its a bitch trying to teach people through songs when they cant get time changes.

 

[Kavnar]

Most of the stuff is in different time signatures, but I always write to a 4/4 click track so it always resolves itself after so many bars. I used to have to really spend time trying to think about how to write things that weren't 4/4, but then it just became second nature. I'll find myself improvising a solo in a different time signature to the rhythm. Don't have any recordings, but I have some advice...

Just keep at it, because IMO a lot of music is caged into the boundaries of 4/4 and many genres don't want to explore anything else.

Good luck man, and it'd be great to hear some of your riffs and stuff if you get them recorded.

 

[Jaaaaamie]

Yah I try to try keep everything to 4/4 unless the riff has to be separated from another so it's easier to keep track on. Otherwise, I don't really like the click track going out of control and doing half beats or whatever, just sorta confuses things when it can be avoided.

 

[StuGe]

Thanks for all the advice guys
Sometimes i intentionally write in an odd time signature, other times it just appears out of no-where when i'm noodlin'.
@Daken, i look forward to hearing these recordings.
@Theo, haha, i'll have to try 15/16. I'm planning to try writing in 5/8 tomorrow.
And Kavnar, thanks for the tip of writing to a 4/4 click
that should tidy up my structure nicely.
I wish i could write something as complex and beautiful as Schism - Tool.

 

[vampiregenocide]

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, I could be writing in odd time signatures without knowing. I like writing weird shit, but mosly 4/4 I think.

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

I never go out of my way to try, but it usually ends up happening.

 

[statics]

I get asked this alot.
Once you get into it, it becomes natural. I have to actively try to write in 4/4, because by default I think in crazy time sigs and polyrhythms now.

I guess start by making an effort to write in asymmetric time signatures. It'll become second nature pretty quick. Check this out for some fairly mild shifts;

Chronographs

 

[statics]

15/16 is a lot of fun for riffing.. although I guess thats essentially the same as 5/8 isn't it

No it's not the same. 5/8 is the essentially the same as 10/16, but your metronome is counting double the speed.

 

[shortens]

Usually i have no idea about time signatures but our drummer always counts 4/4 on the hi hat and snare anyways so it doesn't really matter...

 

[NaYoN]

I'm Turkish so I'm really familiar with 9/8, 7/8 and 5/4. It's really easy for me and I often write in those signatures.

One thing I dislike and think of as a cheap technique is a 7/8 bar followed by a 9/8 bar, or vice versa. That's just two 8/8/ bars with minor noodlings!

 

[Andromalia]

Most of the stuff I tend to do naturally is 6/8. I don't recall doing odd stuff consciously.

 

[Guamskyy]

I have no idea how to write in a different time signature!

 

[Cabinet]

I have no idea how to write in a different time signature!

Oh dude it gets really fun when you learn how, assuming I do it correctly because no one ever explained how.

With 4/4 you have 4 quarter notes. So you count it 1, 2, 3, 4. Now if you have 5/4 all you do is add one more quarter note in the measure. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The same goes for 6/4, 7/4 etc

Now if you put the 8 at the bottom of lets say, 6/8, you don't count it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 but 1 & 2 & 3 &. So 6/8 is twice as fast as 6/4.

I think

 

[C2Aye]

For me it depends. Sometimes I write a riff I think sounds cool and then discover it's in some wierd time signature although I can usually tell when I'm playing in 7/8, 5/8, etc.

Sometime I plan to write in a certain time signature.

I enjoy putting different time signatures together like 5/8 and 6/8 or sometimes it's just random, like 7/8, 3/4, 23/16 or something like that.

Or polyrhythms. In one of my songs, I played 5/4 over 12/8 which just sounds weird. Mixing common and compound time creates a rather odd effect