7/4 & King Gizzard - Let’s Talk About It

Once they missed a beat, they only missed a beat

LINKS & CREDITS

Here's a link to a really good explainer video on odd time signatures including 7/4 & 7/8 :
“Understanding and Using Odd Time Signatures - 6 Examples” by Jake Lizzio for Signals Music Studio:
(The videos by Jake Lizzio are actually the best. If you're interested in music stuff and curious to fill some gaps in your knowledge, check him out. This channel can't get enough praise imo.)

Septuple Meter on Wikipedia:
Btw There’s one King Gizzard song on this list and it’s The River, which doesn’t even use sevens :P

“17 Essential Songs In 7/4” article by Christopher R. Weingarten:

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Todd Terje - Alfonso Muskedunder
(it's a cool song in septuple meter that i cut from the video cuz i didn't have anything interesting to say about it)

“Because It’s There” (A review of Sufjan Stevens’ ‘The Avalanche’) by Jessica Hopper:

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KING GIZZARD VIDS featured in Part 3
credits and links
in order of first appearance

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | Live in Sydney | Full Concert’ - by Moshcam
(Robot Stop* (featured twice), Mr. Beat)

‘binky doesn't understand microtones’ by the one and only king gizzard and the shitpost wizard
(Flying Microtonal Banana)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)’ - by KEXP
(The Wheel, Crumbling Castle, Deserted Dunes Welcome Weary Feet* (featured twice), The Fourth Colour)

‘King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Cranes, Planes, Migraines (Bass Cover with Play Along Tabs)’ - by Amedeo S
(Cranes, Planes & Migraines)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Live at Cabaret Vert(25.08.2016) HD’ - by angelsilva54
(Evil Death Roll, Invisible Face, Road Train)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “The Lord Of Lightning” 04/17/17 - CONAN on TBS’ - by Team Coco
(Lord of Lightning* [featured twice])

‘King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard - The Great Chain of Being live - Adelaide 2018’ - by Joni S
(The Great Chain of Being)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)’ - by KEXP
(Altered Beast III, Altered Beast IV)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Han-Tyumi & The Murder Of The Universe’ - by Flightless Records
(Murder of the Universe)

‘King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Rolling Stoned (Bass Cover with Tabs & Chords)’ by Amadeo S
(Rolling Stoned)

‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - live at Lowlands 2018’ - by 3voor12
(Digital Black, Vomit Coffin)

Tracks included without video:
Horology, A Journey to (S)Hell, D-Day

Tracks that do have 7/4, 7/8 but weren't included in this project for no particular reason:
Han-Tyumi The Confused Cyborg
The Floating Fire

TIMESTAMPS

Part 1 - Some Context: 0:00
Part 2 - The Open Door: 5:50
Part 3 - King Gizz 7/4 and 7/8 Supercut: 10:43
Outro: 16:48

[AnthonyScottKern]

There’s also 7 members in the band. It was meant to be.

[pal]

King Gizzard make such good use of odd time signatures that you hardly even notice it half the time... It's seriously impressive.

[dillonseiler]

Wow, I never knew they used 7/4 and 7/8 so much. Its amazing how natural it feels in so many of their songs like Lord of Lightning and The Wheel. Heck they make a 7/4 and 7/8 polyrythym feel completely natural in the Fourth Color

[sdjztfw]

8 /4 = thanks for the video
7 / 4 = thanks for the

[adenowirus]

YouTube: A video with bunch of King Gizzard songs in it

Me: "Ah shit, here we go again"

[mylo]

There’s something so satisfying about 7/4, like you think it’s gonna be off beat something but it always works, I love it

[gravygravyjosh]

7 really works for fast paced jams and moshes because you have to follow every beat, if you chill and try to bop to the 2nd beat you'll miss beat 1. So its kinda punishing and encourages more movement in crowds. There's a push/pull to it. The more chill, progy/jazzy instances are less intense/physical so it feels more like a mental exercise, which I like too

[stephenkamienski]

just speculating, but I think the influence of non-western music, where odd time is more present, definitely played a role. they've always drawn influence from world music and i think definitely immersed themselves in middle eastern music when prepping for the microtonal banana album, and probably internalized a lot of those rhythms which bled into the songwriting.

[GreenLeaf]

7/8 and 7/4 has always felt hypnotic and psychedelic at least to me. its a beat that when done right it swings right back into itself, which may sound "lopsided" to some but personally i love it.

[TheJamesDittemore]

That Wikipedia article is a horrible representation of songs in 7. Rush, Tool, and Dream Theater have way more songs in 7 than the Grateful Dead

[Zedigan]

7/4 and 7/8 is like running on a treadmill at full speed with a bed of sharp barbed wire behind you. It FORCES you to keep your head bobbing and grooving. It's falling down the stairs with style. You cannot miss a beat when it sounds like a missed beat.
Great video, subbed!

[daroachdoggjr]

I found this video around a year ago. It was my first introduction to king gizz and I couldn’t be more grateful. King gizz is now my absolute favorite band. Thank you, kind stranger, for inadvertently showing me such wonderful music

[movimentodoscacos]

I love the way they use it in Mr. Beat, alternating with the 8/8

[Pepelivingston]

4/4 song: *exists*
The Fourth Colour: HOLD MY BEER

[tiputanicastillo]

If you want to hear more songs in 7 you should listen to a lot of 70s prog rock

[Reversed]

i think they use especially 7/4 so much because it feels natural when combined with their often (i feel like any way) kraut rock type rhythms (like e.g. in evil death roll) where the kick and hat are in a pretty straight, consistent pattern, resulting in a more groovy but still kraut-rock style beat.


honestly i think they don't get enough credit for the insane rhythms in polygondwanaland, especially in crumbling castle, the 7 against 6 in and 5 against 4 ( i think) in the transitions are absolutely nuts

[tysontyrrell]

I've been trying to understand why it is I like strange tunes and bands like King Gizz. Then when you mentioned the Dead it all started to make sense. Thank you for DROPPING THE NUCLEAR FUSION for my mind

[mistymorning]

Great video.


The Gizz are masters of song writing. They make odd time signatures sound so good and flow so well with each instrument, especially on Polygondwanaland with complex polyrythms and beautiful melodies.

[TheAnthraxBiology]

Tbh it's actually really common. Jazz and classical musicians love it, psych rock and prog rock uses it a lot too. So as time signatures outside of the regulars, it's pretty common. Only 2/2, 2/4, 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 are really common. And even then 3/4, 2/2, and 6/8 would be more common in traditional dance music. 5/4 is one that jazz and classical musicians mess with. It's also common in Balkan dance music. However, The River by King Gizz is the first time I've ever heard a pattern like that with it...it's REALLY creative.


I've found that in a lot of their 7/4 songs they construct riffs that play on all 7 beats. It's not always the case but they do it a lot. Whereas The River makes it harder to pick out its 5/4 time because they don't play on each beat.


And most composers I know tend to take on odd time signatures a lot just because...well when you've practiced for thousands and thousands of hours, 4/4 and 3/4 are just...boring. They're predictable. You feel like you're falling into a formula and it's harder to set yourself apart from others. I also felt like I was stagnating in my abilities to play my instruments, and I wasn't being as creative when coming up with riffs or themes. Time signatures are a restriction. Restrictions can breed creativity. So if you give yourself a restriction that's less common, you stand out more.

[sabinejordan]

I love this video. It explains so much. Would love to see an updated version of this video that includes any new 7/4 or 7/8 songs. I think KG is my most favorite band of all time.