5/8? 7/8? 11/16? (How to count odd meters)

[@frankg3rd1]

Im 57....spent a year and half in college for music....have a thousand gigs under my belt. You my friend were born to teach. You take complex matters and techniques and make them easily understood. Thank you !

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words!

[@VanFigs-or2bu]

wow, that was cool. Simple and clean explanation, no BS, and awesome demo at the end

[@404SMACKA]

I find one of the hardest things to teach people about music, if they have no formal education, is time signatures. A friend wanted to learn to DJ... well I told him to make transitions you will need to understand BPM, key signatures and time signatures to truly be able to master the craft. I'm going to share this video with some people.

[@fendybendy6466]

Watching your video one time completely taught me how to count odd time sigs!!!! I wanted to learn Jesus Molinas Night of Tunisia on bass but was getting tripped up by all the time sig changes, and now three days after starting to learn the song and watching your video, i can completely keep count and play the song! Thank you so much.

[@alexrockwellmusic]

That's awesome to hear!

[@Cr125rmxr]

This was well produced and easy to understand, thank you for putting this tutorial together! I have always struggled to break away from 4/4 and this is incredibly helpful!

[@HenriqueTozzi]

The groove at the end was so impressive!

[@bitmau5]

This video just came across my feed and you, my friend, just simplified 20+ years of drumming for me. How this didn't go viral is beyond me. This method is impossible to unlearn. Thanks for giving me the red pill for more complex time signatures. I'm going to go dust off some old albums and get to work!

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Good to hear! Get sheddin'!

[@Axacqk]

One of the main reasons this isn't going viral is that this teaching is drowned out by dozens of videos that explain odd time COMPLETELY WRONG, like "just run a 4/4 metronome in your head and every x bars it will align". I routinely see otherwise accomplished Grammy-winning drummers preach this nonsense.

[@floydmacintire]

Amazing video !!!! Thank you very much for the lesson !!

[@Mamaadjaan]

Man.. You deserve more.. Im a persian instrument player.. No one of the persian instrument players will watch you're video for explaining rythm bicouse who explain is have to use a persian instrument it is easier i mean for us.. But you're great man you're great

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@eltonwild5648]

Well explained!

[@francishayden7845]

I used to run in 5/4 time - 3 paces breathing in and 2 out. It was the right rate to be sustainable and it kept shifting from left to right so it prevented my gate becoming lopsided. (Sometimes I would shift down into 4/4 to go up hills)

[@alexrockwellmusic]

What a great idea. If I didn't completely detest running, I would probably do something similar.

[@brkencircuits]

Nice video Alex! Definitely an Al Di Meola vibe at the end.

[@MrFuzzleupagus]

Thank you! This is very helpful!

[@Dr_Adar]

That was awesome!

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Thanks!

[@xcarlines6072]

Really helpful, thank you!

[@alexrockwellmusic]

you got it

[@YourEvents]

Tank YOU ❤❤❤❤❤

[@prahadrumsofficial]

This needs wayyyy more views, I'm working on some Iron Maiden drum tabs right now and this is the best explanation on KZbin I've found

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@jonr5886]

Heard your Taki Taki thing at 4:40 and immediately thought 46&2.

[@dooksan]

Brilliant! Thanks for the help! Very cool! and I subscribed.

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Thanks a lot!

[@wb1065]

Just stopped in for a quick odd time lesson applied to the drums actually but really enjoyed it, thanks 👍

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Nice, glad to hear it!

[@soundsarchaic1438]

Nice explanation! I always think in complex time signatures - but am horrible at writing it out! Also - I need that shirt!

[@alexrockwellmusic]

The key is getting the beaming right!

[@dooksan]

Yes, the shirt should be for sale.

[@oddekazakogo]

Hey Alex, do you think that 123 - 123 - 123 - 123 - 12 - 12 would be 4/4? Or is it alternating between 9/8 and 7/8

[@alexrockwellmusic]

You would need more context to determine the better label. But it could be heard has 4/4 or 8/8 (8/8 is sometimes applied to uneven divisions of 4/4). It could also alternate between 9/8 and 7/8, or 9/16 and 7/16, depending on whether you're calling each count an eighth note or a sixteenth note. They can be juxtaposed too. Say a guitar and bass are playing the groupings you wrote out, and a drum set is playing a straight-ahead 4/4 groove behind it. You'd have a bit of both at the same time. If I were writing something with that grouping, I would explore each possibility in the music. It would make for interesting rhythmic development.

[@magnusruben9646]

Saved my ass. Thank you

[@MCM686]

Where can get that shirt of yours? Great video content n btw

[@alexrockwellmusic]

No idea, it was a gift

[@Girthtacious]

I don’t even count my shit out. I just play what I think sounds cool. Some guy at a music store was like “are you playing in 11/16” and I was like “I got no idea dude” and he was like “that’s impressive” and now I’m here 😂

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Trust me on this, you should still spend some time counting stuff out. It'll be better for your time feel in the long run.

[@Axacqk]

Finally! "Group and groove", not the "run a 4/4 metronome in your head and it will align every x bars" nonsense taught by so many "experts" on YT.

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Yeah, that advice is only helpful in specific situations. It doesn't get you to the point where you can confidently tackle any asymmetric meter.

[@Axacqk]

@alexrockwellmusic I'm unsure about "asymmetric" as a term though. Some Balkan rhythms like (4+3+4+3+4)/16 are wonderfully symmetric. I prefer "additive" or "aksak".

[@alexrockwellmusic]

Maybe there's a more adequate term, but I've understood it to be an acceptable term for meters in which not all beats are of equal length.

[@jamesw9559]

I want that shirt

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

Guitar sounds like Meshuggah and Alan Holdsworth

[@alexrockwellmusic]

What a mix

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

@@alexrockwellmusic Lolll. Yeah the guitarist from Meshuggah's solos are inspired by that jazz legend.