Time Signatures

It's great to see Spastic Ink being mentioned! That's probably the craziest band ever...
And that 65/64 thing is WILD.

Anyway, about the 7/4 vs 7/8 thing, I think that Money is a good example on a 7/4 track, where you easily count to seven, and that's it. Niacin's Elbow Grease, on the other hand, is a very typical 7/8 track. You get the feeling that each measure is shorter than a common 4/4, while in Money, you somehow get the impression that it is less than TWO 4/4 bars. When you can feel a regular beat that's probably quavers, that's when it's a /4 time. As has already been mentioned, /8 sigs are when the beat is, er, 'cut' somewhere.

Worth mentioning is that 9/8 isn't always a 3/4 with triplet feeling. Ozric Tentacles' Coily is in 9/8, but rather than being divided into groups of three, it has a 4+5 feeling, which almost makes it feel like a 'cut' 5/4. And, regarding 5/4 and 9/8, the first section of Dream Theater's Erotomania consists of three 5/4 bars and one bar of 9/8.
 I would also consider Birds of Fire a 9/8 track, since it becomes easier to read the notes on a sheet if the X/ i lesser. Makes it easier to see the grouings, and to find the 1st beat, and stuff like that.

If you want to hear a good and quite distinct example on polyrythmics, try listening to Planet X' Ground Zero. 5/8 vs. 7/8.

As for /16 rythms, well, it might get a little tricky. When you count semiquavers, and you 'cut' (gah! These musical terms are so annoying - why doesn't everybody speak Swedish?? ) them, that's when you've got a /16 rythm. I don't have any better examples in my head, so I'll take Interlude in Milan by Planet X. The drum beat has the feeling of a 7/8, but, 'cut'. 13/8! The rest of the band plays a more intricate semiquaver melody over the almost-7/8, though, which makes it more difficult to hear what sig the song is in. The groupings are something like 5+5+3; the second group of notes comes offbeat, but the last three makes it match the drums.
15/16's are often similar to the 7/8, just a bit closer to the 4/4 (although not easier to play..) but they can also be grouped in odd ways. Planet X again: In Moonbabies, after the intro in 11/4 comes a quite hysterical small section that's grouped as 4+5+3+3. 15/16 without sounding like a cut 4/4. After that comes a 7/4 part, and after that comes the coolest one, an 11/16 that's just weird.
 Great band!

bityear wrote: And that 65/64 thing is WILD.

It annoys the hell out of me whenever I listen to it! It's just that tiny bit later than I expect. Good stuff though

Certif1ed: the "official" (I think) OKC book transcribes Paranoid Android in 7/8 in those sections, that's the way I've always thought of it too.

At this point, I'd like to throw this into the discussion:

http://www.vai.com/LittleBlackDots/tempomental.html

Just for people who think they've seen all there is to rhythm ...

Progbear wrote: bityear wrote: Worth mentioning is that 9/8 isn't always a 3/4 with triplet feeling. I think the most famous example of syncopated 9/8 is Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo A La Turk”, which follows a 2+2+2+3 pattern. Shifting two groups of three into three groups of two like that is called “hemiola”. You hear it a lot more often in 12/8, and is basically the same idea as the alternating bars of 6/8 and 3/4 I gave earlier.

let us not forget part VI of Supper's Ready: Apocalypse in 9/8, which of course is in 9/8 time with not a triplet, but a 4+5 feel.

Also, the main riff tool's 'Scism' is, as far as I can tell, alternating measures of 5/8 and 7/8, but those aren't really 12/8 because 12/8 usually sounds like 4/4 with triplets.  the main riff of 'Lateralus' is 3 separate measures of different time signatures: 9/8, 8/8, 7/8.

Agreed Cert.

I have seen a lot of solutions explained by many famous drummers in order to find the groove. Portnoy uses a mathematical approach and breaks down the beats into smaller parts to make the signature manageable (as mentioned by Cert an others above), Bozzio says that he hums a familiar bassline from his Zappa days that is in the required time signature. I guess it comes down to finding a way that good for you and lots and lots of lovely practice.

For me, I do the dull thing and count my way through the beats and hang on for grim death to the 'one'.

bityear wrote: If you want to hear a good and quite distinct example on polyrythmics, try listening to Planet X' Ground Zero. 5/8 vs. 7/8.

I remember specifically a concert band piece I played that had revolving 7/8 and 5/8 signatures. It was pretty kick ass.

Love 'em.