Lessons  Rock & Pop  Level 4

Odd Meters in Rock

5/4, 7/8, 9/8, 13/8 — when rock leaves 4/4 behind

Duration: 30 min Focus: Time & Feel
Prerequisites

Rock in odd meters isn't fusion in odd meters. The phrasing has to remain recognisable — there's still a backbeat, still a riff, still a chorus. The drummer's job is to let an asymmetric meter feel like a groove rather than a math exercise. Pink Floyd's "Money" is in 7/4 but it never sounds like an experiment; Tool's "Schism" cycles through multiple odd meters and still feels like a song.

The technique is the same as it is in fusion odd meters: feel the meter as groupings, not as a count. 5/4 = 3+2. 7/8 = 2+2+3. 9/8 = 2+2+2+3. 13/8 = 4+4+3+2 or 3+3+3+2+2 depending on the band. Once the grouping is internalized, the meter stops being odd and starts being shaped.

Metric Modulation

The fourth exercise introduces metric modulation — a tempo-mathematical shift where a subdivision in one meter becomes the new beat in another. The 8ths of a 4/4 bar at ♩=100 become the quarter notes of a new section at ♩=200. Done well, it sounds like the band has changed gears smoothly. Done badly, it sounds like a car crash. We'll do a simple version: 4/4 to 5/4 with the quarter note staying constant.

Exercises

1 — 5/4 Rock Groove (3+2 like "Money")

5/4 · ♩ = 100
Feel five as 3 + 2, counting 1-2-3 / 1-2 out loud. Snares land on beat 2 (inside the three-group) and beat 4 (the start of the two-group). The three-group settles; the two-group lifts you back to the top. When the count disappears, it's a groove.

2 — 7/8 Rock Groove (2+2+3)

7/8 · 8th = 200
Seven 8ths per bar, grouped 2 + 2 + 3. Snare on the 3rd 8th (start of the second group) and on the 7th 8th (end of the long group). Kick on the 1st and 5th. Count 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6-7. Don't speed through the long group — the 3 at the end is what makes the meter feel like 7 instead of like a clipped 8.

3 — 9/8 Rock Groove (2+2+2+3)

9/8 · 8th = 200
Nine 8ths grouped 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 — three short groups, then one long. Snare on the 3rd, 5th, and 9th 8ths. Count 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8-9. The bar has the same shape as 4/4 plus an extra 8th tacked onto the end. Many prog tracks use 9/8 as exactly that: 4/4 with a hiccup.

4 — Metric Modulation: The 4/4 Bar

4/4 · ♩ = 100 (the 5/4 bar is Exercise 1)
Bar 1 of the modulation — a regular 4/4 rock bar at ♩=100. After this bar, the quarter note remains the same but the meter shifts to 5/4 (use Exercise 1 for the 5/4 bar). Practice these two exercises back-to-back as a single 9-beat phrase: four quarters of 4/4, then five quarters of 5/4. The metronome never changes; only the bar length does. That is metric modulation in its simplest form.
Move on when
  • 5/4 (3+2) rock groove holds at ♩=100 for 2 minutes without losing the grouping
  • 7/8 (2+2+3) rock groove keeps the long group at the end clearly distinct from the two short groups
  • 9/8 (2+2+2+3) loops without the bar collapsing into 8/8 or 10/8
  • Metric modulation between 4/4 and 5/4 lands cleanly on the bar with no hesitation
Listening 3 records

Listen for it

  1. 01

    Nick Mason Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon

    "Money" runs in 7/4, and the seven-beat loop of coins and cash register lays that length out over the opening bars. The song drops to 4/4 for the guitar solo, so play those two sections back to back to hear what the extra beats were doing.

  2. 02

    Danny Carey Tool — Lateralus

    "Schism" opens with two bars of 5/4 and a bar of 4/4, then settles into bars that alternate 5/8 and 7/8. The meter keeps shifting after that, so count one 5 and one 7 to feel the pair, then follow the bass line instead of the count.

  3. 03

    Neil Peart Rush — Moving Pictures

    The "Tom Sawyer" mid-section rides 7/8 without losing the head-nod. Count it once, then stop counting and feel where it turns around.

Where Next

Prog Metal Time Feels →