Odd Time Signature Transition

C

Crispykids

Junior Member
Hey whats going on people I was wondering if anyone had practice tips for switching from 4/4 time to odd time signatures

An example would be bands like the Fall of Troy and Mars Volta

Lemme know
 
Counting out loud helps a bunch. I played a song called Japanese Impressions. In one section every other measure was a different time signature. Counting out loud helps for practicing.
 
Boomka said:
If there is no change of tempo or metric modulation, keep track of your 8th notes. Odd signtures can usually be broken into groups of 2 and 3 eighth notes. Find the accents and work from there.
Click to expand...

And therefore practicing different groupings of 16th notes for example over different time signatures is great preparation for this. Of course start with 4/4 first. You can quickly get the feel for odd meters and subdivisions that way.
 
Boomka said:
Odd signtures can usually be broken into groups of 2 and 3 eighth notes. Find the accents and work from there.
Click to expand...

Yup.

Most of the time, if I'm doing an odd time thing, I feel the groups of 2's and 3's more than the time signature itself.

Sometimes, however, it's easier to sing the melody in your head and just "feel" the bar lines.
 
Another idea that kind of goes along with what was said is that since 4/4 is your easiest time signature, when you are changing to another one, start to think of 4/4 as 8/8 or 16/16as the song calls for. That way, your mind will already be thinking that way.

IE, if you are going from 4/4 to 7/8, you can either count
1 2 3 4 1234567, which makes the pulse feel like it changes, or
123456781234567, so it's all the same pulse.

Add that to the advice above, and you can end up going from
1 2 3 4 1234567 to
123412341212123
 
Building on the other posters' suggestions: Usually when transitioning between time signatures (again assuming that the tempo doesn't change), I pick a limb to keep the eighth-note rhythm/tempo. The most obvious limb is your ride/hi-hat hand, but depending on what you are playing, the bass foot or even the hi-hat foot can do this. On some of my band's originals where we did time changes, this is how I kept us all on the same tempo.

For doing cover songs that have odd time changeups, I generally memorize the entire song (all instruments) and its flow and sing it back in my head. If your memory isn't up to the task you can practice with an iPod or CD until you get it down pat.

The key is the feel. Usually no matter how abrupt or significant the time signature change, there should be a rhythmic or tempo carryover between the two times, preserving the flow and feel of the song. Preserve that at all costs.
 
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