I’ve been messing around a lot with odd-time signatures in my music lately, and that’s gotten me thinking about how I count and feel them when I play.
When one plays in 4, it’s common to change how one feels the beat, i.e. double-time, half-time, etc. This depends on the groove itself and what makes one more comfortable. For example, once the music starts getting too fast, it’s easier to count in half-time, which usually leads to a more relaxed feel for the musician.
But when you move into odd-times, like 5 or 7, things get tricky because the bars don’t subdivide neatly.
The way I’ve been counting them up till now is by sub-dividing them into groups of 2 and 3, which I think is pretty common. For example in my song We’ll Always Have Siberia, I’m counting 2+3…basically two beats, with the second one being a little longer.
The problem with this, is that the rhythm itself has a very strong momentum and I tend to rush. A lot.
So i started experimenting with counting it in different ways. First, you can count it in quarter notes, which means that what was 2 bars of 5/8 becomes one bar of 5/4.
The advantage here is that your counting straight quarter notes, so it’s easier to keep a solid tempo. You could even go further and count in half notes, which means you have to go through 4 bars of 5/8 before landing back on the 1.
This one is bit trickier, but once you get the hang of it you can really get into the groove. Plus, it really helps when playing in faster tempos.
So basically these are just different ways of feeling and subdividing the rhythm. I’m practicing switching between the different feels while playing to a metronome to really get it internalized. Fun times!
I love playing guitar, I really do. But there’s one aspect of it which I don’t find very exciting, and that’s the thought of changing strings.