The Odd Meter Appreciation Page

What is odd meter, you ask? Well, it can be rather difficult to explain, but I'll try my best. You see, pretty much every piece of music has what is known as a time signature. A time signature is what defines the type of rhythmic structure that the music has. A time signature is composed of two numbers, one on the top and one on the bottom, like this:

Music is generally divided up into convenient little segments called measures, also known as bars. In a time signature, the number on the top tells you how many beats there are per measure, and the one on the bottom tells you what type of note comprises one beat. In the case of 4/4 timing, there are four beats per measure and a quarter note (represented by the "4" on the bottom) receives one beat.

Most music has either a four or three-based time signature. Music with a four-based time signature is referred to as a march, and music with a three-based time signature is referred to as a waltz. Interestingly, some songs actually shift from one meter to another. The song "Iris" by The Goo-Goo Dolls is a good example. If you listen closely, you can tell where the time signature changes. The verse and chorus are in a three-based time signature, yet the music switches into 4/4 timing for the guitar solo! It's quite wonderful. Another good example of a song with more than one time signature is the theme from the television drama ER. Here is a MIDI file of the theme from ER which I found on the 'net somewhere. When you hear the second gunshot, the timing has changed from 3/4 to 4/4. By the way, I think that this is definitely one of the very best MIDIs that I have ever heard.

Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself. What you're probably wondering by now (if you've managed to care long enough to get to this point) is what odd meter is. A song with an odd meter is one whose time signature is not four or three-based, but is instead based on some other number such as five or seven. Although odd meter is somewhat of an acquired taste (as my mom puts it, "why would anyone ever want to listen to that?!"), if it's done right, you might not even notice at first that it is in odd meter. The theme from Mission Impossible is in 5/4 timing, for example, and the song "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes has a segment which comes in now and then toward the end which is in 5/4 timing. And probably the best song I have ever heard which is in 5/4 comes from an unlikely source: SimCity 3000. Yes, that's right. The sequel to the popular SimCity 2000 has good music. Now, don't get me wrong. I like the SimCity 2000 music, but that was MIDI. This is real. And the 5/4 song I am referring to is called "Central Park Sunday." If you would like to listen to it, you can click on one of the RealAudio files below if you have a RealAudio player. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait for them to load completely, since I apparently can't get them to be streaming on this server:

Strangely enough, this is another song in SimCity 3000 that is in 5/4, and that song is called "New Terrain." But it doesn't end there. Oh no. Though the SimCity 3000 song "Window Washer's Dream" is in 4/4, there is a little percussion loop that pops in and out during the song that's in 5/4. And the SimCity 3000 song "Concrete Jungle" is in 13/16, which is definitely the oddest meter I have ever heard in a song. To experience this strange and fascinating use of time signatures, click on one of the RealAudio files below:

If you would like to hear some of my own odd meter works, you can listen to any of the MIDI files below. Unfortunately, these are ALL unfinished works, but nevertheless they are my own creations and I love them like children:

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