Radiohead - Pyramid Song ( rhythmic map )

Awesome rhythmic movement for an awesome song.
You can count it in 4/4 оr 8/4 or 4 3/4 + 4/4. In fact, count it however the hell you want. This video's purpose was to give a simple guideline to everyone who was entirely lost in this rhythm and couldn't find any structure. Be nice, don't get angry.

[@GloPhase]

I never in a million years would've guessed this song was 4/4.

[@kpman644]

One could argue it alternates between 4/4 and 2/4

[@thomasc2680]

It’s aaaaa sloppppppy 4/4

[@Froboy1100]

It's a 2 bar 4/4 clave rhythm that is repeated over and over and over. It is straight 4/4 all the way through the disjointed feel comes from the chord progression rather than the rhythm

[@jcarreon234]

@@Froboy1100 I know it’s a clave and repeated, but it does give a disjointed feel not just because of the chord progression. The accents on the chords trick your brain into not knowing where one is to an untrained ear. Sometimes the chord will change on two rather than 1 and sometimes even on the last beat in the bar. The swing time also adds to the disjointed feel with the pianos multiple pauses because of the dotted quarter notes.

[@addyreislyn5269]

the best way to count it is 3-3-4-3-3

[@danielwillits2173]

“Just cos you wheel it, doesn’t mean it’s there”

[@jonahvenable1394]

Daniel Willits underrated comment

[@carlosmiguel-ld4rz]

there there ;)

[@silvvr.]

Jonah Venable Just like Let Down am I right???

[@colormePOOR]

The drummer is ridiculous and very underrated.

[@aisforamerica2185]

Phil Selway

[@craggerrs]

^^

[@cristianjbc4073]

Muy god el Phil 😎

[@SABDBL]

Yeah i agree phil selway is an underrated drunmer

[@cv7316]

For those that are still confused how the piano part fits into this time signature: 1) Set the playback speed to 2x. 2) Disregard the drums. The piano's downbeat falls on "6" in the circle.

[@PearlGods]

It’s swung, and it makes no sense at first without drums because there’s no defined rhythm to go off of.

[@ferouihamza]

category:Science & Technology

[@jcbdwsn]

Doesn't get hit for copyright hm hm

[@nottherealpaulsmith]

i think it'd be more accurate to describe it as 8/8 because of the uneven timing, it's possibly the only song out there that can be accurately described using 8/8 time

[@rlyehdate]

This song is so beautiful... You can feel it like it's not a 4/4 but it is...

[@diegopozas1694]

3/4 + 3/4 + 3/4 + 3/4 + 4/4. BECAUSE IT'S A PYRAMID.

[@the08charlie]

3/4 + 3/4 + 4/4 + 3/4 + 3/4 🔺🔻⃣🔺🔻

[@noelgeddes3634]

Finally someone( as well as me) has figured this out.

[@srsjackson]

Not exactly, it is still in 4/4, but the 3-3-4-3-3 sequence represents eighth notes that fit into two 4/4 bars of the main piano theme. This sequence repeats throughout the song. So it is: 4th dotted (3) + 4th dotted (3) + two 4ths (4) + 4th dotted (3) + 4th dotted (3). A pyramid.

[@esunisen3862]

3-3-4-3-3 = bossa nova pattern

[@pablodebiddlybo3771]

Drummer is an absolute beast

[@sweetsimon]

EVERY RADIOHEAD SONG IS WRITTEN IN 4/4 TIME. JOHNNY & THOM HAVE TOLD ME THIS PERSONALLY. *FACT*

[@elpedro7910]

Did you ask after a concert or something?

[@oscargarcia8204]

this i such an underrated album

[@bjrnvindabildtrup9337]

This is such a good tool for learning music

[@kenellis2035]

Regardless of all the comments here, the important thing to remember is that “TWO AND TWO....ALWAYS MAKES A FIVE!!” (2+2=5)

[@Furiiiiouz]

still in 4/4

[@Detc0n]

+Furiiiiouz lol

[@KjellSoenksen]

well sometime a 3/4 (after 3x) or a 5/4 (5xtimes) or whatever is a 4/4. but bars a set to make it count easy and accentuate. There is no repetition after 4 bars, so it's misleading then

[@yusuftary1553]

Wow, I've been trying to work out the accents/time sig in my head for ages and never been able to do it. Great to see it visually and now I get it. Thank you!

[@RedCarRecords]

This helps a lot. Thank you! 🙏

[@littlemilton]

I loooooove this video. Thank you!

[@PanicOffice]

oh jebus! FINALLY! Thank you!

[@brucebraca9409]

you're an absolute genius

[@ga1ien]

Thank you. awesome!

[@morganh36]

That's great! Thanks!

[@2000benedikt]

I personally think the best way to think of the song is 5/4+3/4

[@scottcreek942]

wow... i'm amazed

[@user-ls7ox4cy8j]

Jesus. This is ridiculous

[@noelgeddes3634]

Everyone. Listen. about how to count this song. Clues in the title. It's a pyramid. A pyramid has 5 sides. 4 sides with 3 corners and 1 side with 4. So count. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3 4. Trust me I' m right.

[@ukkovuorela4196]

Sheet music says 4/4 and its the easiest way so why make it hard

[@adriaandoelman2577]

@@ukkovuorela4196 because that’s your personal opinion.

[@ukkovuorela4196]

@@adriaandoelman2577 nah

[@KjellSoenksen]

for me it's 16/4 cause only then the repetition kicks in. That's what bars are about. And thom always start on the 1 with a new line. Thank you for the great visualization map here. Fantastic song

[@wizard1370]

Brilliant.

[@MrDivagation]

Now do this to some Meshuggah song.

[@Maxxabstract]

Future breed machine 🙏🙏😂😂🤘🤘

[@santimuya]

great!

[@izzyhzzy]

Like how this map is also a pyramid if you're looking straight down at the centre from above

[@JohnKeffer]

Here's my cover of this song - kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2K8lHuvoNJ2itE ...and yes, it's in 4/4. You can call it 8/4 or 16/4 but really it's just 4/4 even though the pattern resolves every 16 beats.

[@Dewingo]

cool!

[@ayeslpirninsev]

Pretty interesting

[@SA-gf3th]

It's just cool

[@josheavila]

Have anyone tried counting one bar of 3/4 when it begins, then it goes a bar of 2/4, then 2 bars of 3/4, then a bar of 2/4 and close the circle with a 3/4, this pattern follows the piano beat. Thanks for the video dude!

[@Naitsirk808]

Finally! Good work! Now can we move on, please?

[@Maxxabstract]

F no! 😂😂 or better yet...To what? But i best like... you sure can💯👋

[@jaimesandoval7435]

4x 3/4 + 4/4 ... 3 - 3 - 3 - 4 ... triangle + triangle + triangle + square = PYRAMID

[@tpete096]

the sheet music says 4/4

[@paraquemolestarseenp]

wow

[@nastika888]

dud this is wonderfull, why u stop? thanks

[@lautarobaez1053]

Maybe the "right" way to count would be: 3, 4, 1, 2. If you look at the numbers at some point the're 1234 or backwards 4321 like a pyramid

[@vintagerumors]

5/4-4/4-4/4-3/4

[@ChEkAlOtIcH3]

4/4?! Damn

[@JonathonNeville]

What software is this?

[@dimomez]

It's not a specific software, I made this in After Effects long time ago for a project at uni. Visualizing the rhythm in circles like that was just an attempt to "notate" it differently; completely subjective as well.

[@L33M_0]

3+3+4+3+3

[@kinhamid9665]

=5

[@robotmonkeyhead4740]

I think this rhythm map is off. Hear me out. The drums are playing 3 beats per ride hit. Listen to the loop in this vid, and tap 3 fingers per ride hit. You'll hear it clear as day, especially during the full set roll at the end of the loop. The beat is not swung, instead it's 3 counts on each quarter note. ride: 1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+--1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+-- So the way the piano and ride synch up, actually looks like this: ride: 1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+--1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+-- piano: F# F# G A A A G G G G I believe this is the actual drum patter, as opposed to what's shown in the video, starting at about 12.5 seconds in: ride: 1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+--1--+--+--2--+--+--3--+--+--4--+--+--5--+--+--6--+--+--7--+--+--8--+--+-- snare: --------------------!------------------------------------!-----------------------!------------------------------------!-----------------------------------!--------------------!---!-------!---!--- kick: 0------------------------------0--0------------------------------0--0-----------------------0------------------------------0--0----------------------------------0----------------------- piano: F# F# G A A A G G G G ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's what I think confuses the fuck out of everyone: The ride cymbal is the only real 'metronome' to latch onto when you're listening for the count. So when you start counting it, once you discover that what sounded like an impossibly complicated time signature is actually just 16 ride hits, it becomes very tempting to assume it's 4/4 on every level all the way down. Thus taming the unruly beast. Unfortunately it's not that simple. Each ride cymbal actually marks the 1 in a 3 count (not a swung 2). So if there are a total of 16 ride hits in the riff cycle, there are 48 beats total, not 32. Again, if you count the full set rolls you can hear very easily that it's in groups of 3 hits. A good analogy here would be a high speed metal song that for all intents and purposes is in 4/4. Until you start to study the kick drum, and find out that past the 16th notes it's actually really quick triplets. (Removing that 4th beat actually allows them to speed the song up slightly). And that's basically what you have hear, minus the rumbling speed thirst. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[@azizlewis]

Wow im impressed how long it must of taken you to write this, solid argument

[@hikurangi]

if it could be in four, it's probably in four. this is a two bar pattern in four. Common time. Good night.

[@charliesands776]

Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa its in four but the reason it doesn't seem so because it contains an additive rhythm which means it doesn't resolve equally as it should do so it takes a few bars to resolve itself

[@Citiesinmotionplayer]

These comments are so cancer omg. You can write it in 16/8, 8/4, 8/8, 4/4, even 256/128 if you really feel like doing that. It all sounds the same.

[@deniz10110]

It doesn't matter if it sounds the same. In musical phrasing and in the term of practicality they are much different. Please don't.

[@sacredgeometry]

Deniz is 100% right. You could write english with the punctuation in the wrong place and still understand the semantics. That doesnt mean you are helping the reader.

[@grantmalone]

In 4/4 it also needs to marked as swung. Better written in 12/8 and divided into triplets for this diagram. As it is the snare hits and fills are in the wrong place.

[@rikatan]

English written with different punctuation can still be understood, but isn't considered correct, in that you are displaying a different message and the reader corrects it in their mind. Colons, commas and other punctuation marks don't simply exist for show, they express pauses in speech and differences in inflection. Kim Philipp is completely correct in saying that music can be expressed in a variety of time signatures without actually affecting the sound of the original piece. Your comparison between English and music is just wrong.

[@kenellis2035]

Don’t upset the “music theorists”....they have nothing else to live for.

[@JamesDeziel]

why do I suspect every comment insisting it's not in 4/4 are actually drummers?

[@Tocaraca]

I'm a drummer and it definitely is 4/4

[@Maxxabstract]

@@Tocaraca it’s DEF in, whatever you say it is, you split INFINITY

[@amadeus2499]

it's in 8/4... move on - all you have to do is listen to the quarter note, denoted by the ride.

[@Colinireland1992]

Absolute cringejaks: THIS SONG IS THE MOST COMPLEX AND IMPRESSIVE SOUND IN THE EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSE 😮😮😮

[@pyrefly7575]

Shits so weird

[@stefanlombardi]

Wow so wrong the song is 3 bars of 1/4 two bars of 3/4 one bar of 6/4 and and two bars of 2/4. get it right.

[@RansomedSin]

It's whatever you say it is.

[@noelgeddes3634]

Wrong. Clues in the title. It's a pyramid. A pyramid has 5 sides. 4 sides with 3 corners and 1 side with 4. So count. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3 4. Trust me I' m right.

[@ukkovuorela4196]

4/4

[@Maxxabstract]

Oh you fkers beat me to that joke have you 😭😭. I just dropped that whateve u say it is/infinity bit like 3 minutes ago. Get to the LAST reply thread this video has ordered... and you clever bastards had it in the baggg yrs ago lol. Bravo 👏 :)

[@esunisen3862]

Ever heard of bossa nova ? Because pyramid song is based on this.

[@JesusClunge]

It's not 4/4!!! The song is 4 bars of 3/4 and 1 bar of 4/4!!!!

[@dimomez]

+Heyzeuschrist S Hey, well yeah that's fair enough. Although 4 sets of 3/4 + 4/4 again adds to 16 before the whole cycle is finished. In other words, we can divide it to however we please to make sense of it. Either with with what you suggested or two sets of what David Stapleton proposed below in the comments. I just made the video for the ones who are completely lost in the rhythm and can't find any structure :)

[@Citiesinmotionplayer]

+Heyzeuschrist S Ever heard of dotted notes and tied notes? They're great.

[@yunabiyikli3696]

I think you're right in regard of four triangles and a square makes a pyramid.

[@wgo523]

It's definitely both. Or either. Or neither. You can write a waltz in 4/4 just by making everything triplets. The rhythm of this song is interesting, and people have correctly transcribed it different ways.

[@JamesDeziel]

Stop yelling even the drummer of Radiohead says it's all the whole song from start to end in 4/4

[@nicolaslopez1972]

This video is SO WRONG about everything. Completely misses the song.