Songs that change Time Signature

this video is sponsored by tommen most songs will stay in the same time signature the same meter throughout their entire duration meaning that every bar will have the same consistent number of beats in them but songs can change time signature during their duration they might change between sections or they might even change in the middle of a phrase for example the iconic harpsichord line from golden brown is largely in three four time however at the end of each line we get one bar of four four giving the music a wonky off-kilter sound [Music] the verse of forced art by radiohead routinely shifts back and forth from 4 4 and 3 4 resulting in its erratic hypnotic sounds [Music] outcast is built on this pattern of three bars of four four one bar of two four and then two more bars or four [Music] four the bar of 2 4 here or what you could call a half bar gives the groove a curious unusual edge but without upsetting the pulse of the song so people can still dance to it if this was a bar of 3 4 for example rather than 2 4 i doubt the song would be such a wedding disco staple [Music] some songs change meta so often that it's not really useful for us to say oh that song's in 4-4 or that's always in 3-4 instead we might say that that song uses a mixed meter a great example of this mixed meter is the chorus of kate bush's classic track wuthering heights we get two bars of 4 4 followed by a bar of 2 4 and then this happens again followed by an additional bar or 4 4. [Music] [Music] [Music] many beatles songs use mixed meter for example blackbird is predominantly in the time signature of 4-4 however paul often drops these single bars of 2 4 and 3 4 into it singing in the dead of nights take these songs and learn to see all your life you're only waiting for this moment to be free [Music] all of the examples we've looked at so far have switched between either 2 4 3 4 and 4 4. but what about something a little bit more odd four sticks by led zeppelin is largely in the time signature of five eight however routinely switches to six eight time for a couple of bars before returning to the 5 8 time [Music] a song that simply stayed in the odd time signature of 5 8 would sound odd and off balance enough but by then cutting in bars of 6'8 into the 5 8 time it really doubles down on that exotic uneven flow tommen is an amazing one-stop shop for all of your musical gear needs they not only have a massive range of equipment but really good prices as well and i've bought many things from them before i bought that bass guitar from them which has been in the background of my videos ever since day one and i recently bought this melotron micro from them which is an amazing piece of gear i've actually created the list on tommen of gear i personally use and recommend which you can find via the link in the description and anytime you purchase something on tommen via that link you will also be directly helping the channel so there i've given you a good reason to buy that new synth or guitar that you've been pining over as i said the link to all of the gear i use and recommend is down below in the description thanks very much the majority of mountains by biffy cliro is in 4-4 time however for the verse we get this unusual 15-8 time or what you could think of as alternating bars of four four and seven eight this wonky timing in the verse not only gives it a sense of forward momentum and character but it means that when we then enter the next section and it's in straight ahead 4 4 time it's almost like we get this wave of relief as the rhythm simplifies down to a straightforward driving 4-4 time [Music] [Music] bastard by ben folds is a masterclass in mixing different meters the verse is largely in 6-4 time however occasionally cuts in a couple of bars of 4-4 to keep us on our toes the old bastard left his ties and a suit a brown box moth the pre-chorus then gives us a couple of bars of seven four you get smaller while the world gets big the more you know you know you don't know the quiz man will never fit you like the whiskey and then the chorus continues this wild meter by giving us two bars of seven four followed by two bars of six four [Music] [Music] one by metallica is largely in the titanature of three four quite an unusual choice for a rock song but the song doesn't begin in 3 4 time it instead opens in 4 4 with occasional bars of 2 4. by starting the song in 4 4 time it means that we really notice the unexpected 3-4 fill when it finally is introduced [Music] this next example is perhaps one of the most metrically erratic songs to ever get into the top ten it's turn it on again by genesis the first section is built in alternating bars of six four and seven four or what you could transcribe as thirteen four for the pre-chorus we switched to 4-4 time for a while but then for the chorus the song jumps between bars of 2 4 3 4 4 4 and 5 4 so unpredictably that it really is a perfect example of mixed meter [Music] i get so lonely [Music] as i mentioned before this song was a top 10 hit in the uk which is very impressive for a song with such an erratic meter most pop pits will sit squarely in just one meter throughout usually the straightforward danceable 4-4 time and interestingly genesis actually noticed at their concerts that the audience seemed to struggle to dance to the song's unusual timing you can't dance to it you see people trying to dance to it every now and then and they get on the offbeat and they don't know why you can't dance or clap along to it because of that time signature when we play it live you can always see the audience getting caught out happiness is a warm gun by the beatles is made up of three distinct sections each with their own distinct use of meter the opening section is largely in 4 4 time however will routinely add extra beats in resulting in brief changes in meter [Music] for the next section we fall into a fairly straightforward 3-4 meter [Music] but then soon enough we get this section which alternates between bars of 9 4 and 10 4. or alternatively you could think of this section as being in 3 4 but with occasional bars of 4 4 thrown in [Music] and then for the final section of the song the tempo is cut in half and we initially get a few uninterrupted bars of four four times [Music] however that is of course until we switch just for a little while to 3 4 time instead [Music] having a different time signature for each section of the song definitely contributes to its episodic feel the change in meter gives each section their own distinct character the beatles particularly john lennon often played with the meter of their songs dropping in random extra beats or cutting bars in half one of the best examples of this mixed meter approach is their song good morning good morning i analyzed the symmetrically manic song before in this video so do check that out i think many songwriters and composers get this idea that you're meant to default to one time signature when you write a piece of music and perhaps if you're feeling ambitious you'll plan out a section where you're gonna change to three four and then you're gonna change back to four four afterwards but i think the thing is with all of these mixed meter songs we saw today i don't think the songwriters were planning them to have a mixed meter i don't think john lennon was thinking oh yeah that bar will have five beats and that bar will have three beats and it will work like this i think instead he was just strumming away at the guitar and he naturally wounded up putting more beats in one bar than another we don't have to have a consistent meter in a song and actually as we saw today mixing the meter playing with meter having uneven bar lamps can really add character and originality to a piece of music i'll leave you today with one of my songs clap which switches between 7 4 time and 4 4. [Music] [Music] if you can think of any other examples of songs that change meta then do let me know in the comments [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: David Bennett Piano

Views: 91,911

Keywords: time signature, meter, metre, mixed meter, music theory, examples, pop songs, explained, odd time signature

Id: PWHKtkx6F00

Length: 12min 32sec (752 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 05 2022