How To FEEL The 7/8 And 7/4 Time Signatures (And Write Groovy Music With Them)

Some time ago I published a video on how 5/4 is the grooviest odd-time signature.

Well, I had to eat my words. One commenter on that video pointed out a fantastic piece in 7/8 that is even groovier... I can just say 'wow'.

It does not happen often that I'm surprised in matters of music... but this hit me like a ton of bricks.

It's a pity that many musicians think that 7/8 and 7/4 are unusable time signatures for most styles (except maybe for progressive rock/metal) when in fact using them - in any style - is much easier than you think.

Also, since time signatures based on 7 are uncommon (at least for the time being...), just by using them you create distinctive music instantly and stand out from the crow of people writing in 4/4.

So, for our video series on different time signatures, this week we see all the 7-based time signatures and how to apply them in practice.

Get ready to groove to some non-standard rhythms! And if you are skeptical that 7/8 can be used in music that makes you want to dance... just watch this video and I hope it will surprise you how it did to me

If you like this video, share, like, comment & don't forget to subscribe for more content!

FOLLOW ME:

[marioa.cabutomedina]

In Prokofiev's piano sonata op. 83, the third movement is written in 7/8 with the 2+3+2 gropuing.

[johncooperwilde]

This channel is essential not just for improving my music but for feeding my curiosity. Thank you so much ❤️

[dsaxman]

Don Ellis' "Turkish Bath" is written in 7/4 with the 1-2/1-2-3/1-2 feel and is how it's noted in my chart.

[babylemonade]

I love how you can make 7/8 time swing. Probably my favourite odd time signature and one of the most common

[Snavels]

Don Ellis was the absolute master of the odd signature. Strawberry Soup has to be my favorite work from him, but imo that's more art than dance music (although Ellis would probably have loved if you danced to it).

He collaborated a lot with Hank Levy who wrote Whiplash (probably his most famous piece) and "A New Kind of Country" for his album 'Shock Treatment' which has this excerpt I love: "At the Cheetah, the Kaleidoscope, or the Carousel, kids are dancing frantically under stroboscopic lights to the big electric sounds of a jazz orchestra. Only get this: They're dancing in 7/4!"

5:35 Whiplash here is another great example of this, in the segments written in 14/8, Levy opted to have it change:
2+2+3+3+2+2 | 3+3+2+2+2+2 | 3+3+2+2+2+2 | 2+2+3+3+2+2 :||

[dragonthesharkyt]

6:37 I was trying to learn 7empest by TOOL: the solo section in the middle follows a 7/8 alternating pattern. I figured it as 2+2+2+2+3+3+3+2+2 (or 4+4+9+4 - whichever way you count it, it adds up to 21). And, obviously, the guitar intro follows a different pattern entirely, using a 3+2+3+2+3+2+3+3 (or a 5+5+5+6 - again, adds up to 21). Fun fact

[antimatter]

Quick and dirty rule is if the change happens on the down beat it's x/4. If it happens on the up beat then it's x/8. So since Money changes on the down beat it's in 7/4. Gilmore even stated that he was initially wrong calling it 7/8 and that it was in fact 7/4. He wrote it so I'm gonna agree with him.

[wyattstevens]

4:05 Dave Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance" (probably makes more sense to count the beats as 8th notes because tempo) uses the *exact same* setup! The bass is the only thing playing *on* the beat, unless Brubeck has any sustained notes over the bar line.

[etobicokeguitarschool]

9/8 is another really cool one for you to explore too. My band has a section of a song where it's primarily 4/4, then there's a bar of 9/8 at the end, so it tricks the listener with a sudden extra half-beat. It also works as a neat little accent to signify the end of the current repetition and the beginning of the next!

[HerrLohmann]

wantutri, wantutri, wantu, wantu, wantutri ....

[woodlicerule]

first song i can think of in 7/8 that is divided into 2+3+2 is “cranes planes and migranes” (very fun bassline for any bassists out there). this video was super helpful though and this can be done with any time signature which is so handy! i think you unlocked something huge for me

[aylbdrmadison]

I think of them this way (in order of importance):
1) Tempo. You generally want your fastest notes to be 32nds and your slowest notes to be whole notes.
2) Accents. This could easily be #1 as well, I think it's possibly because of this that people are so divided about it because people think of accents differently. Not unlike our spoken accents.
3) Ease of reading. Standard notation especially can become a mess if you don't even consider this.

As for _Money, _ there's no "wrong" way. I count is as either 7/8 or when I want to amuse myself I'll count it in 4/4 + 3/4.

[crdt]

5:00 a good example of the 1-2 1-2-3 1-2 rhythm is in TOOL's "Invincible" segmenting the melody in such a way makes it so much easier to process and enjoy

[pulykamell]

To me, "Money" seems most intuitively notated as 7/4, and I've always thought of it as 7/4, especially since it's swung. I think of it as a quarter note pulse with swung eighths, which, at least in my experience, is more usual and conventional than 7/8 with swung 16ths. I mean, you can think of it that way, sure, but in terms of reading the music, 7/4 makes the most sense to me and would look the most familiar.

[ME_EV]

I've asked two friends that are internationally renown opera singers for something about music theory. What they sent me to was drekky. I listened to a ditty on MainePublic, and said I wonder what rhythm that was and found this YouTube! Finally someone that is explaining what I have always wanted explained! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! Thank YOU!

[TerryVogelaar]

The song Pisces by Jinjer starts with what I would argue to be 7/4. However, the guitar tabs I found notate it as 3/4 and 4/4 (so they change the time signature every bar). Why do people prefer that? To me, it is much less confusing to just use 7/4 until it really changes to 3/4.

[briansgore]

(7/4) Shoreline is a very exciting song by Broken Social Scene.

[epserps]

I watch this lessons and never get tired. Bravissimo, professore.

[Chris.]

I've always thought of these time signatures as 4+3, as if it's a full bar (or two) of four beats with one "missing" at the end

[boro]

Another great video!!! I like how Gavin Harrison explained 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 like this: Ta-ka-Ta-ka-Ta-ka-ka (where claps fall into ka, and because we are not counting, but instead we use the syllables it seems easier to follow- in my opinion). I've just subscribed to the channel, keep up the great work your doing!!!! :)