Odd meters
Meters of 5, 7 or 11 units that feel like uneven groups of twos and threes, and how to count them without getting lost.
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Content under musical review. It may contain inaccuracies.
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Meters of 5, 7 or 11 units that feel like uneven groups of twos and threes, and how to count them without getting lost.
Advanced
An odd meter (or irregular meter) can't be split into equal groups of two or three. A 7/8 bar doesn't feel like seven identical beats, but like uneven groups: for example 2 + 2 + 3. The trick to playing them is to stop counting to seven and feel those groups instead.
A 5/4 bar grouped as 3 + 2. The low note marks the start of each group:
A 7/8 bar grouped as 2 + 2 + 3:
Notice how the last group, the one of three, feels a bit "longer": that limp is the meter's character.
| Meter | Common groupings | Beats you feel |
|---|---|---|
| 5/4 | 3 + 2 or 2 + 3 | 2 (one long, one short) |
| 5/8 | 3 + 2 or 2 + 3 | 2 |
| 7/8 | 2 + 2 + 3, 3 + 2 + 2, 2 + 3 + 2 | 3 |
| 11/8 | 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 and others | 4 |
The eighth notes always last the same; what changes is the length of each beat. A two-eighth beat is shorter than a three-eighth one. This kind of meter is called additive, and in Balkan and Turkish music it's known as aksak ("limping").
The metronome groups odd eighth-note meters automatically. Listen to it in 7/8 and count out loud "1 2, 1 2, 1 2 3". Then play the open E string on the first eighth of each group.
7/8 grouped on the metronome 5/4 on the metronomeThen try this original idea: in 7/8, play low E on the first group, G on the second and A on the third, the three-eighth one. Loop it until it feels natural.
Before you play in an odd meter, speak the syllables of each group: "ta-ka" for two and "ta-ki-ta" for three. A 2 + 2 + 3 bar of 7/8 becomes "ta-ka ta-ka ta-ki-ta". Repeat it with the metronome until the cycle runs without thinking, and only then add the guitar.
Rhythm & accompanimentRhythm readingRead and play note values and rests accurately against the pulse.The same time signature can hide different groupings. That's why many composers write the grouping over the bar, such as "2+2+3/8", or show it through the beaming of the eighths. Justin London explains that the ear needs beats of similar length to feel a meter; beats of two and three eighths are close enough to be heard as uneven beats rather than a tempo change.
Meters like 11/8 or 13/8 are often heard as combinations of simpler ones: 11/8 can feel like a bar of 6/8 followed by one of 5/8.