As a Balkan (Greek but with some knowledge of Albanian, Serbian and Turkish music), 9/8 music is everywhere in my life, from traditional dances to modern pop music, commonly combined with scales, such as the Phrygian. It is very interesting to find out examples of the 9/8 in western music and see the versatility of this time signature!
As soon as you mentioned the 2-2-2-3 grouping the first song in my head was “Blue Rondo a la Turk”. If I had a dollar for every time I played that in jazz ensembles I’d still be living off that cash.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! I came here thinking of this song & hoping to relearn what it was called! As a kid I mistakenly thought it was "Take Five" for a long time because a music teacher showed them both consecutively as examples of asymmetrical time sigs & I just mixed up names & these things weren't searchable then ... but as a teen I was like wait wtf it's in 9 not 5, that has to be something else ... then like ten years later, I finally found out the correct song name, but I forgot it again ... now it's like ten years later AGAIN, & I saw this video & thought of the melody once more & hoped it would come up, so I clicked, scrolled half a dozen comments, & recognized the name as soon as I saw it! THANK YOU for relieving this itch in my brain omg!!!!!!!!! 😆 I'm gonna look it up & stick it in a bunch of playlists right now so it doesn't fall out of my head again!
I've learned the whole thing on piano by ear, and the only thing harder than playing the bassline to "Apocalypse" in time with the solo in the right hand is "spending less than ten minutes playing the last twelve measures over and over until the overtones spill out of the piano and sound like god." But they're both so satisfying.
I honestly clicked on this video just to make sure Apocalypse in 9/8 was mentioned. Very glad it was, and I ended up enjoying the rest of the video too!
Same here. It was immediately the first song I thought of, and had to click on the video to see if it would get included. And happily, it was. This is why I subscribe to this channel. I'm never disappointed by the deep cuts David will mention. I do find it funny how he groups it as 3-2-4 (which is likely correct), but my ears always hear it as 4-3-2.
@@illegal_space_alien i see how you get 4-3-2 but i prefer the 3-2-4 interpretation, it’s easier for me to count. But everyone’s different i guess. I’m glad he finally mentioned prog rock genesis because they fit in so many of his videos. The closest he’s gotten was his video on hits with metric changes or something and he mentioned turn it on again which borders on prog but is still pop. Prog pop i think
@@Blockoumi I'm also a big fan of Supper's Ready, and am delighted it was included. The pitch of the rhythm guitar is very clearly following the 3-2-4 pattern. 3-2-4 also happens to be the number grouping of a Social Security number, Social Security having been mentioned previously in the How Dare I Be So Beautiful? movement ("Social Security took care of this lad./We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower./A flower?")
And of course King Gizzard again featured in your video, Gaia is indeed a great song. "Searching..." is also one of their songs in 9/8, or at least it starts in 9/8 and then the magic happens... I think you should take a closer look at songs from Polygondwanaland, they really are perfect examples for some incredibly interesting rhythmic ideas
King Gizz has made so many songs in wierd signatures I'm not that surprised. Both Sketches of East Brunswick and Polygondwanaland are packed full of them
Hey, everyone in the comment section who's never listened to Supper's Ready all the way through-- set aside 23 minutes and do that ASAP! It's a brilliant piece of music that everyone should experience at least once.
Listening to a song like supper's ready requires multiple listens imo. The first listen is a always a bit overwhelming but the more you listen to it, the better it gets.
The genius of Apocalypse in 9/8 is Phil Collins’ playing. The bedrock ostinato rhythm comes from Collins’ kick Rutherford and Hacket. Collins then swings the rhythm and Banks keeps the melody moving over the top.
As far as I can tell Banks is also playing in 9/8. He superimposes his rhythmic variations over 9/8 time signatures The meter isn’t changing only the grouping of the notes.
I was wondering if you'd mention "Apocalypse in 9/8" here because it's always fascinated me as a piece in general. I grew up listening to progressive rock so these interesting time signatures and groupings almost sound normal to my ears. As per usual, awesome job with the outro piece!
Possibly the only time I've heard someone talk about the 4/4 keys over the 9/8 pocket in Supper's Ready. The keyboard solo is written so well, and ends up concluding after, I believe 9 measures in 4/4, or 36 beats, played over 4 measures, of the pocket, in 9/8. So both get to 36 beats, but the solo does a great job of sounding 'normal' over a very chaotic sounding pocket.
Great video - I love how many different ways 9/8 can sound, like the waltz or the funk. Supper's Ready is just a tour de force, God knows how he solo'd over that section.
In Rwandan traditional music we use this time signature a lot . All traditional dancers they know to dance 9/8 time signature . they call it *Ikizire* .
I've always loved Watermelon in Easter Hay by Frank Zappa. He uses that 9th quarternote to really make the music feel stretched out, which fits the super relaxed vibe of the song perfectly.
Kiss from a Rose by Seal does the switch between 9/8 and 6/8 in the verses too. Drags out the verses and then makes the build to the chorus all the more epic. 🙌
King Gizzard are masters of using fucked up time signatures and having it somehow still sound smooth, even if your foot tapping mysteriously constantly goes out of sync.
7/8 seems pretty common in modern choral music, so as a chorister, I get exposed to that one a lot (for instance, we just performed Gjeilo's Dark Night of the Soul yesterday - with a 1-2-1-2-1-2-3 grouping). Once you get used to that, it's not much of a leap to 9/8. And you're right, with enough exposure, it just becomes second nature. Our director says one way to think about 7/8 is like a janky waltz (3/4) with an extended third beat. Similarly, one can think of 9/8 (when grouped as 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-3) as like 4/4 with an extended 4th beat.
th-cam.com/video/SjlmnqDJvio/w-d-xo.html 😉 Other great examples for 7/8: th-cam.com/video/TBcnjx05a1s/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/klVGR0JZmcg/w-d-xo.html But unlike 9/8, 7/8 is quite unusual in music because it is a composite time signature. 9/8, however, is a compound time signature, as the beats are three dotted quarters per bar.
i'm from turkey, and it really amazes me how 9/8 is treated outside the balkans. i immediately associate any odd time grouping of 9/8 with our traditional dance songs, which sometimes makes it a bit hard to play western music written in 9/8 since there's a habit to fit the "traditional groove" into 9/8. also, a nice example of using both odd and compound grouping could be the song atmaca by laco tayfa (definitely check out their stuff), they count the main rhythm as 4, 2, 3 but switch to 3, 3, 3 in some parts and you get an eerie feeling if you're used to the odd groupings.
Always so inspiring! Too inspiring actually. Slow down man. I’m still writing a song that uses all the modes! You are the best! I stopped like three times to listen to some of these songs with new ears. 😊
I'm really loving your exploration of time signatures. I am learning so much about music (in depth) in such a short time. When I saw "9/8" my first reaction was "Nothing odd about that, it's a slip jig". Oh boy! So many different ways to use it, especially when mixed with other time signatures. "Anyone who had a heart" always resonated with me, now I know why. The music of Genesis was in many ways different to much of the music of the time, and I think a lot of that was due to the intentional use of key and time signature changes.
As an avid prog rock fan, most of this didn't throw me. Then I tried tapping some of the rhythms and realized, I gotta practice this stuff more. Lol. Great content sir! Keep it up!
A band that I like that uses Balkan time signatures is Burlap To Cashmere. They are Americans from Brooklyn, but their heritage is Greek Orthodox. Their songs (and those of Steven Delopoulos when he goes solo) end up sounding like "What if Bob Dylan / Paul Simon were Greek?" I find their music incredibly good. 🙂
Hey David, another balkan guy here in love with your videos. The balkans are a great place where you can explore odd time signatures . I am from Macedonia and almost all of our songs are writen in odd time signatures, most commonly 7/8, 9/8, 5/8 and 11/8. And the songs explore putting the triple eight note complex in different places so you change the feel of the song. Love your vids keep it up 😁
Keep using King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard as exemples! Theyre such a great group and go out of the ordinary with odd time signatures, microtones, weird instruments...
It's almost impossible to find a time signature that Van der Graff Generator haven't done. 9/8 is the ryhthm of the main theme of the song "The Sleepwalkers" from the 1975 album "Godbluff", but it defies either of the patterns you mentioned. I think it's probably better to think of it as an 18/16 that goes - as best as I can analyse - 123 123 123 123 12 12 12 - before wandering off into all sorts of other time signatures then back again. And all through the song, all four members manage to stay perfectly in time. Must be telepathy. That's just one of many reasons I love VDGG.
@@zarzaparrilla67 the whole album’s goal was to use each mode of the major scale in a song, which is why it’s a 7 song album :). But yeah I think it’s fantastic
One of my faves is Steely Dan "Your Gold Teeth II" on the Katy Lied album. Verses and choruses are mostly in 9/8. Switches around with 6s and 12s during other parts of the song. Very cool.
Awesome video David, amazing production quality & thanks for showcasing a less well known time signature so popular in Greece, Turkey & a lot of the Balkans. Thanks so much for also pointing out how Greek blues & folk songs otherwise known as "Zembekiko" are in 9/8 time commonly referred to in Greek as εννέα ογδα (ennea ogtha) ie nine eights. If anything, I'm far more surprised that more western musicians haven't yet picked up on it as it sounds awesome & very distinct, especially the non-isochronal 9/8, especially if its slowed down like Zembekiko. Extremely popular & well known examples of Greek Zembekiko songs in 9/8 time are "Athina mou - Kostantinos Argyros", "Yiati kale geitonissa & Vrehei Fotia Sti Strata Mou - Stratos Dionysiou", "To agalma - Giannis poulopoulos, "Roza & S' anazito stin Saloniki - Dimitris Mitropanos", "Nihta xelogiastra - Vasilis Karras", "Paliokairos - Paschalis Terzis", "Molyvia - Manolis Aggelopoulos", "Genethlia & Soma mou - Notis Sfakianakis", "Ti eimouna yia sena & Ela na me telioseis - Antonis Remos", "To Vouno - Loukas Dalaras", "Ta paidhia ton fanarion - Nikos Kourkoulis", "Sto keli 33 - Giorgos Margaritis", "Oi Magkes Den Yparxoun Pia - Nikos Papazoglou/Haris Alexiou" & at least 1000 other songs dating back to at least the time of rembetiko pioneer Vasilis Tsitsanis. Fun fact: the popular Greek "kalamatiano" dance is in 7/8 time although it has about 12 dance steps in non-isochronal format. For those who are curious, the Zembekiko example is "To Zembekiko Tis Evdokias - Manos Loizos"
Oh man I was so ready to pick up my phone and yell at you… but then right at the end you finally mention the greatest piece of music in prog history. Supper’s Ready is just unbelievable, and the apocalypse section is one of the greatest build-up moments in all of recorded music. Also, Soundgarden’s Never The Machine Forever is entirely in 9/8.
Another song in 9/8, also by Genesis, Riding the Scree, which by the way highlights one of best Phil Collins' drumming performances of all time (both the studio and live versions, which are quite are far from being the same). The basic rhythm is anchored around the guitar and bass, which allows the drummer to be more free. Amazing stuff.
Funny thing. My ear is not used to those odd time signatures, but in Poland we have a song that it is sung as an equivalent of "Happy birthday" - but even more often - because it's not about birthday but just wishes of long live. And its in 9/8 - and it sounds just fine for all Polish people :). It's called "Sto lat" (Hundread years). :)
One example that I can't forget is Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Vital transformation." The drummer, Billy Cobham, goes crazy for the entire song, on top of the insanity that is the groove.
There's a Kansas song called "Song For America" that has an instrumental part in 9/8, and it sounds just like Blue Rondo a la Turk. (There are also some shorter 10/8 sections in ths song... Kansas actually had several songs with odd meters)
From what I remember "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple is another well known song which uses this time signature. I'm talking about the triplety guitar in chorus.
Welcome to Greek traditional music. 7/8, 9/8, 11/8, 13/16, 15/16, you name it. Here is a tune in 15/16 by the Greek band Mode Plagal. It's called "Funky Vergina", enjoy: m.th-cam.com/video/VDaRzdU0x1k/w-d-xo.html
YES bro - came here to make the same comment! Matt’s drumming on that tune is pure chaotic control. That one fill he does that’s just him after the chorus is KILLER.
arrived here by searching for a list of 9/8 songs, not having paid much attention to the fact of 9/8 in all my previous listening and singing, but rather simply loving the music that I love. I knew about Aretha's example here, but how could I not have recognized Jesu, Joy... ? I adore them both. And, lo and behold, here are some other longtime loves of mine (the Bacharach, the Metallica moment, more). Thx for great vid. Would be good to combine with relevant dance steps. When I sing 2 2 2 3, I feel it as skip-adding a beat at the end of a 4/4 bar. Lovely, lively.
I think if it's the triplet-like feel, it's generally better to notate it as 3/4 like 1+a 2+a 3+a instead of using the 9/8 compound signature, unless it's really really slow. Same with 6/8 but 2/4. If I was trying to explain how to play something like that to another musician, they would understand that a lot more intuitively I think. I def think this goes for The Tourist, Fool For You, Jambi, and the Slip Jig stuff at least. Or for 6/8, an example is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. I think a lot of people would notate that as 6/8 (or maybe 12/8), but I wouldn't be counting 123456. I'd be going off the Snare and Bass Drum and feeling the whole thing in a bouncy 2/4 or 4/4
I like what you did with the timing of the piece at the end -- it sounded like the right hand was holding the rhythm, and the left hand was coming in late, like the opposite of ragtime.
a favourite 9/8 example of mine is Igorrr's Very Noise, it's at a pretty fast tempo with it's breakcore influence in the drums and it becomes really disorienting until it eventually falls into 4/4 by the end of the song I can think of a few examples where there are brief uses of 9/8. Snot's I Jus' Lie has a few 9/8 bars dropped in the verses, the intro of Mastodon's Aqua Dementia alternates between 5/4 and 9/8. Exit Sun by the norweigan band Shining (not the swedish one) has a section predominantly in 9/4 by the drums measure although the other instruments follow a 9/8 pattern that repeats twice in the 9/4 bar
Hey David! I dont know if I'm supposed to suggest songs here, but I think Schism by tool might be an interesting song to analyse. It switches between 9/8, 7/8, and 5/8 (if I understand correctly) Thank you for your vids, keep it up!
I want to offer some of my own perspective on "odd" rhythmic cycles, and 9-beat cycles are an excellent example for this. I'm primarily a percussionist, and I mostly play with community groups. Drummers and percussionists usually don't want to count rhythms. It's always preferable to feel the groove, or what you could call internalizing the rhythm. Over the course of many years, I've realized that even the oddest rhythms break down into sets of 2s and 3s, and then are easily internalized, not by constantly counting all the numbers, but by feeling a groove of 2s and 3s. In a 9-beat rhythm, it's just 3 sets of 3. The 3 sets are the slow pulse, and the 3 subdivisions of the slow-pulse 3s are the fast pulse. To get started playing a common 9-beat rhythm, I might silently count (phonetic spelling here) "wunnanna tuanna thrianna" etc. but within the space of a few cycles, it becomes a swingy physical groove based on triplets. Accented beats on a drum often switch between right and left handing in this cycle, especially if every "one"/ every downbeat of the cycle is accented as a strong beat. Learning to be comfortable with 9-beat rhythm--I feel-- unlocks a new level in rhythmic ability and confidence, where I am suddenly unintimidated by 5s (a 2 and a 3 or vice versa) 7s (2-2s and a 3) or 11s (3-3s plus a 2). The community gatherings where I play almost always include dancing. I have theorized that drummers would rather feel the groove than count, but with dancers it's more than a theory. Our dancers always feel their way through a 9-beat dance. It's a waltz made of cha-cha-cha, totally graceful and sexy.
Part of the bridge of Mother by Pink Floyd (specifically when David Gilmour sings “Mama’s gonna keep baby cozy and warm” the first time and “Mama’s gonna keep baby healthy and clean” the second time) is in 9/8
I'm always looking forward to the pieces you write yourself - it is such a treat and the most amazing way to round of your videos. I'm blown away each time 🤍
No comparison needed; what you're talking about is actually a Greek dance which the bulgarians adapted when they moved into the area and displaced the local indigenous Greek populations. Again the Byzantine influence is undeniable. After all "horo" is a Greek word and it means "dance".
Thank you so much, I really enjoyed it! Having some experience of Turkish (and Greek) music I have come across different variations of 9/8. 2-2-2-3 being the most common but then you also have the 3-2-2-2, 2-3-2-2 and 2-2-3-2. The Turks classify all meters as "small" or "large". 29 to the measure being small, 30 and over are large. Thanks again, all the best!
I play a lot of Irish traditional music in 9/8 time as mentioned. We call those "slip jigs" in 9/8. Those in regular 6/8 time are simply called "jigs". A lot of military matches were composed in the 19th century in 6/8 time to represent or reflect the "clippity cloppity" of horses on parade.
One thing I like to do when listening to music in 9/8 is to "switch" the meter in my head, so if it's in an odd subdivision, I try to think of it in a "traditional" 3x3 meter, and vice versa.
Turkish rhythms are way more complex than ours tend to be.I had a roommate from Turkey and he taught me how they count complex time sigs and weird tuplets. Basically everything is broken down to 2's and 3's and how and when they are put together. Like a quintpulet could have many ways to count. 3/2... 2/3... 1/3/1... 2/1/2...or 5 even pulses over the beat(which is the hardest but possible because there is no remainder for a group of 5 lol)
Again, do not confuse these rhythms as Turkish. They are not; they were part of the mainstream Byzantine Empire music. The modern Turks have the tendency to claim as theirs traditions which pre-existed in minor Asia when Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire. Although as individual people they are very affable and I have many friends in Turkey, collectively they tend to be very ethnocentric and brag about inventing and discovering things that were actually ..."borrowed" from the civilizations they conquered. I know the truth hurts but it has to be told.
Porcupine tree has 3 songs that use 9/8 that I know of. "Halo" uses 9/8 in the bridge. "Circle of Manias" is in 9/8 for most of the song. I think "I Drive the Hearse" uses 9/8 to transition back to the verse.
For the soundtrack to the film 'Powaqqatsi' Philip Glass composed an Anthem in three parts, each part in a different compound meter; Anthem part I is in 5+7/8, Anthem part II is in 6+4/8, and Anthem part III is in 9+4/8. In Anthem part III the beats are grouped 3+3+3+2+2 which creates this wonderfully epic propulsion effect; here's a video from Allo Trope which matches the score to a MIDI realisation (the other parts can also be found on their channel)... th-cam.com/video/Idwx9tcOWug/w-d-xo.html
Fascinating video, and it often makes me wonder how many pop musicians are aware when they are using "non-traditional" time signatures, or is it really just down to a beat and "feel" and they have no idea what time signature they are in?
Another example of 9/8 time would be Jeff Beck’s “Scatterbrain.” Kicks off with heavy fusion drumming by Richard Bailey (who was just 17 at the time of recording), then Beck goes off on the guitar
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As a Balkan (Greek but with some knowledge of Albanian, Serbian and Turkish music), 9/8 music is everywhere in my life, from traditional dances to modern pop music, commonly combined with scales, such as the Phrygian. It is very interesting to find out examples of the 9/8 in western music and see the versatility of this time signature!
Which timesignature is Hayya Hayya Dreamers and Tukoh Takkkka
Can you share names of Balkan pop songs with 9/8? I'd love to hear.
@@loveit8602 Many greek popular songs are in 9/8 like: Roza, S' anazito stin Saloniki and Paliokairos
@@loveit8602 th-cam.com/video/jMBBA4-qFyM/w-d-xo.html
Turkish music has a lot of songs in 9/8 like Ele Güne Karşı.
As soon as you mentioned the 2-2-2-3 grouping the first song in my head was “Blue Rondo a la Turk”. If I had a dollar for every time I played that in jazz ensembles I’d still be living off that cash.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! I came here thinking of this song & hoping to relearn what it was called! As a kid I mistakenly thought it was "Take Five" for a long time because a music teacher showed them both consecutively as examples of asymmetrical time sigs & I just mixed up names & these things weren't searchable then ... but as a teen I was like wait wtf it's in 9 not 5, that has to be something else ... then like ten years later, I finally found out the correct song name, but I forgot it again ... now it's like ten years later AGAIN, & I saw this video & thought of the melody once more & hoped it would come up, so I clicked, scrolled half a dozen comments, & recognized the name as soon as I saw it! THANK YOU for relieving this itch in my brain omg!!!!!!!!! 😆 I'm gonna look it up & stick it in a bunch of playlists right now so it doesn't fall out of my head again!
Ah yes, the famous taco - taco - taco- burrito groove
Thank you! "Apocalypse in 9/8" is an amazing piece of music, as is the whole "Supper's ready". Probably the greatest progressive rock song ever made.
Definitely a good one, also the solo section from "Song For America" by Kansas comes to mind when discussing 9/8 in classic prog.
Totally agree!! My favorite prog rock song even
100% 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
I've learned the whole thing on piano by ear, and the only thing harder than playing the bassline to "Apocalypse" in time with the solo in the right hand is "spending less than ten minutes playing the last twelve measures over and over until the overtones spill out of the piano and sound like god." But they're both so satisfying.
I honestly clicked on this video just to make sure Apocalypse in 9/8 was mentioned. Very glad it was, and I ended up enjoying the rest of the video too!
I clicked on this just for apocalypse in 9/8. Incredible song and solo
Same here. It was immediately the first song I thought of, and had to click on the video to see if it would get included. And happily, it was. This is why I subscribe to this channel. I'm never disappointed by the deep cuts David will mention. I do find it funny how he groups it as 3-2-4 (which is likely correct), but my ears always hear it as 4-3-2.
@@illegal_space_alien i see how you get 4-3-2 but i prefer the 3-2-4 interpretation, it’s easier for me to count. But everyone’s different i guess. I’m glad he finally mentioned prog rock genesis because they fit in so many of his videos. The closest he’s gotten was his video on hits with metric changes or something and he mentioned turn it on again which borders on prog but is still pop. Prog pop i think
@@Blockoumi I'm also a big fan of Supper's Ready, and am delighted it was included. The pitch of the rhythm guitar is very clearly following the 3-2-4 pattern. 3-2-4 also happens to be the number grouping of a Social Security number, Social Security having been mentioned previously in the How Dare I Be So Beautiful? movement ("Social Security took care of this lad./We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower./A flower?")
@@five-toedslothbear4051ohhhhhh, I never understood why they talked about social security. I still don't but it's cool that they reference it again
11:19
Thank you for including Supper's Ready! It's the best song ever made.
Yes it is
My thoughts exactly!! I hope this video leads more people to go listen to the song for the first time!
Then they can move on to "In That Quiet Earth," which also is 9/8.
And of course King Gizzard again featured in your video, Gaia is indeed a great song. "Searching..." is also one of their songs in 9/8, or at least it starts in 9/8 and then the magic happens... I think you should take a closer look at songs from Polygondwanaland, they really are perfect examples for some incredibly interesting rhythmic ideas
King Gizz has made so many songs in wierd signatures I'm not that surprised. Both Sketches of East Brunswick and Polygondwanaland are packed full of them
@@appleofdoom the amount of time signature changes in crumbling castle is actually insane
the time signatures on Countdown (from Sketches) change sometimes once every bar... you could probably make a whole video on just that one song
@@pastamanofficial funnily enough the time signature in Countdown actualy counts up in the verse hahahah
gaia was so crazy live!!! heard it before the album came out in sydney. one of my fav tracks
Hey, everyone in the comment section who's never listened to Supper's Ready all the way through-- set aside 23 minutes and do that ASAP! It's a brilliant piece of music that everyone should experience at least once.
I've probably heard it 1,000 times and may do another 1,000 if I live long enough.
Listening to a song like supper's ready requires multiple listens imo. The first listen is a always a bit overwhelming but the more you listen to it, the better it gets.
@@goodester6924 I totally agree with you, but it's already a hard sell to get most people to listen to a 23-minute song even once, lol
@@mintegral1719 yeah true
The genius of Apocalypse in 9/8 is Phil Collins’ playing. The bedrock ostinato rhythm comes from Collins’ kick Rutherford and Hacket. Collins then swings the rhythm and Banks keeps the melody moving over the top.
...Banks plays the melody in 4/4 actually, making the piece polyphonic. The rhythm in 9/8 is grouped 4-3-2.
@@joachimkazmaier3196 I think you mean poly rhythmic. Banks’ uses of triplets also enables him to create cross rhythms.
You mean polymetric
nah brahh he says it himself @@nickdryad
As far as I can tell Banks is also playing in 9/8. He superimposes his rhythmic variations over 9/8 time signatures The meter isn’t changing only the grouping of the notes.
I was wondering if you'd mention "Apocalypse in 9/8" here because it's always fascinated me as a piece in general. I grew up listening to progressive rock so these interesting time signatures and groupings almost sound normal to my ears. As per usual, awesome job with the outro piece!
I came here to say this. In this, 9/8 becomes 5 and 4.
I was going to leave a scathing comment if you didn't mention the Apocalypse, but there it was.
Good show!
Possibly the only time I've heard someone talk about the 4/4 keys over the 9/8 pocket in Supper's Ready. The keyboard solo is written so well, and ends up concluding after, I believe 9 measures in 4/4, or 36 beats, played over 4 measures, of the pocket, in 9/8. So both get to 36 beats, but the solo does a great job of sounding 'normal' over a very chaotic sounding pocket.
Great video - I love how many different ways 9/8 can sound, like the waltz or the funk. Supper's Ready is just a tour de force, God knows how he solo'd over that section.
The piece right at the end is stunningly beautiful, wish it were longer
Reminds me of Lena Raine's work (I love her soundtracks)
In Rwandan traditional music we use this time signature a lot . All traditional dancers they know to dance 9/8 time signature . they call it *Ikizire* .
The verse of “Question!” by System of a Down is in 9/8 time. It’s grouped essentially like 4/4 with an extra eighth note on beat 1.
Also goes into 6/8 for the pre-chorus and chorus I believe, so he definitely could have used this song as an example!
I've always loved Watermelon in Easter Hay by Frank Zappa. He uses that 9th quarternote to really make the music feel stretched out, which fits the super relaxed vibe of the song perfectly.
It's a fitting last imaginary guitar solo
@@marktyler3381 😂😊😊
YESS finally some Genesis appreciation :)
Kiss from a Rose by Seal does the switch between 9/8 and 6/8 in the verses too. Drags out the verses and then makes the build to the chorus all the more epic. 🙌
I wonder if that's a device composers use to make the music fit the lyrics.
@@andyharman3022 brain, counting and notation
so glad you shouted out Gaia by King Gizzard! that was the first song that came to my mind when i saw 9/8 in the thumbnail haha
King Gizzard are masters of using fucked up time signatures and having it somehow still sound smooth, even if your foot tapping mysteriously constantly goes out of sync.
I love them too - but come on, never heard of Genesis? 😇
Not dream theater?
if they could groove in odd time signatures and had a better drummer, they would be masters. Until then...
7/8 seems pretty common in modern choral music, so as a chorister, I get exposed to that one a lot (for instance, we just performed Gjeilo's Dark Night of the Soul yesterday - with a 1-2-1-2-1-2-3 grouping). Once you get used to that, it's not much of a leap to 9/8. And you're right, with enough exposure, it just becomes second nature. Our director says one way to think about 7/8 is like a janky waltz (3/4) with an extended third beat. Similarly, one can think of 9/8 (when grouped as 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-3) as like 4/4 with an extended 4th beat.
th-cam.com/video/SjlmnqDJvio/w-d-xo.html 😉
Other great examples for 7/8:
th-cam.com/video/TBcnjx05a1s/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/klVGR0JZmcg/w-d-xo.html
But unlike 9/8, 7/8 is quite unusual in music because it is a composite time signature. 9/8, however, is a compound time signature, as the beats are three dotted quarters per bar.
I love how dancey 7/8 can be! Anytime I think of that time sig my brain volunteers GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHISVAHA instantly lol
7/8 9/8 good job! th-cam.com/video/_DgJk7nEPb0/w-d-xo.html
i'm from turkey, and it really amazes me how 9/8 is treated outside the balkans. i immediately associate any odd time grouping of 9/8 with our traditional dance songs, which sometimes makes it a bit hard to play western music written in 9/8 since there's a habit to fit the "traditional groove" into 9/8.
also, a nice example of using both odd and compound grouping could be the song atmaca by laco tayfa (definitely check out their stuff), they count the main rhythm as 4, 2, 3 but switch to 3, 3, 3 in some parts and you get an eerie feeling if you're used to the odd groupings.
Greek Zebekiko dance is 9/8 which is very popular and it has roots from the Yunans of Asia Minor (todays West Turkey)
Always so inspiring! Too inspiring actually. Slow down man. I’m still writing a song that uses all the modes! You are the best! I stopped like three times to listen to some of these songs with new ears. 😊
I'm really loving your exploration of time signatures. I am learning so much about music (in depth) in such a short time. When I saw "9/8" my first reaction was "Nothing odd about that, it's a slip jig". Oh boy! So many different ways to use it, especially when mixed with other time signatures. "Anyone who had a heart" always resonated with me, now I know why. The music of Genesis was in many ways different to much of the music of the time, and I think a lot of that was due to the intentional use of key and time signature changes.
I would have been upset had you not mentioned Supper's Ready :)
My piano teacher used to have me warm up to a version of the Brubeck tune, and if not for you I would never have realized that. Thanks, David
i absolutely love these videos, the variety of your examples is very refreshing.
As an avid prog rock fan, most of this didn't throw me. Then I tried tapping some of the rhythms and realized, I gotta practice this stuff more. Lol.
Great content sir! Keep it up!
A band that I like that uses Balkan time signatures is Burlap To Cashmere. They are Americans from Brooklyn, but their heritage is Greek Orthodox. Their songs (and those of Steven Delopoulos when he goes solo) end up sounding like "What if Bob Dylan / Paul Simon were Greek?" I find their music incredibly good. 🙂
Clair de Lune is in my top 5 favorite classical pieces and I would have freaked out if it wasn't in the list, and behold it was.
Hey David, another balkan guy here in love with your videos. The balkans are a great place where you can explore odd time signatures . I am from Macedonia and almost all of our songs are writen in odd time signatures, most commonly 7/8, 9/8, 5/8 and 11/8. And the songs explore putting the triple eight note complex in different places so you change the feel of the song. Love your vids keep it up 😁
Macedinian and albanian music is famous for the non regular rythms. 7/8 and 11/8. Old folk song titled "Karaj me majko" is an amazing example of 11/8.
Macedonian *
Keep using King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard as exemples! Theyre such a great group and go out of the ordinary with odd time signatures, microtones, weird instruments...
Definitely the best band nowadays
Love that ending piece. Could picture someone looking out the window on a rainy day as it plays. Lovely....❤️
Great Video!!! Beautiful piece of music. You composed at the end there!
the first thing I did when I saw this upload was scrub through to make sure you talked about Supper's Ready lmao
I appreciate the way you mention eastern and turkish music david you should make more videos about eastern music
Thank you David. I always enjoy (and sometimes learn from) your videos
It's almost impossible to find a time signature that Van der Graff Generator haven't done.
9/8 is the ryhthm of the main theme of the song "The Sleepwalkers" from the 1975 album "Godbluff", but it defies either of the patterns you mentioned. I think it's probably better to think of it as an 18/16 that goes - as best as I can analyse - 123 123 123 123 12 12 12 - before wandering off into all sorts of other time signatures then back again. And all through the song, all four members manage to stay perfectly in time. Must be telepathy. That's just one of many reasons I love VDGG.
That;s a great outro piece, David. Well done, seriously. What a phenomenal ending.
King Gizzard has done another example of 9/8 in their song Gliese 710. The song is primarily in 7/8 but they go to a section after halfway going 9/8
Don't forget the song is in locrian and still sounds amazing 🤯 best band ever
@@zarzaparrilla67 the whole album’s goal was to use each mode of the major scale in a song, which is why it’s a 7 song album :). But yeah I think it’s fantastic
7/4 and 9/4 makes a lot more sense considering it is swung.
Thanks for including Gaia! One of my favorite Gizz songs ever, definitely because of the time signature
One of my faves is Steely Dan "Your Gold Teeth II" on the Katy Lied album. Verses and choruses are mostly in 9/8. Switches around with 6s and 12s during other parts of the song. Very cool.
Awesome video David, amazing production quality & thanks for showcasing a less well known time signature so popular in Greece, Turkey & a lot of the Balkans.
Thanks so much for also pointing out how Greek blues & folk songs otherwise known as "Zembekiko" are in 9/8 time commonly referred to in Greek as εννέα ογδα (ennea ogtha) ie nine eights.
If anything, I'm far more surprised that more western musicians haven't yet picked up on it as it sounds awesome & very distinct, especially the non-isochronal 9/8, especially if its slowed down like Zembekiko.
Extremely popular & well known examples of Greek Zembekiko songs in 9/8 time are "Athina mou - Kostantinos Argyros", "Yiati kale geitonissa & Vrehei Fotia Sti Strata Mou - Stratos Dionysiou", "To agalma - Giannis poulopoulos, "Roza & S' anazito stin Saloniki - Dimitris Mitropanos", "Nihta xelogiastra - Vasilis Karras", "Paliokairos - Paschalis Terzis", "Molyvia - Manolis Aggelopoulos", "Genethlia & Soma mou - Notis Sfakianakis", "Ti eimouna yia sena & Ela na me telioseis - Antonis Remos", "To Vouno - Loukas Dalaras", "Ta paidhia ton fanarion - Nikos Kourkoulis", "Sto keli 33 - Giorgos Margaritis", "Oi Magkes Den Yparxoun Pia - Nikos Papazoglou/Haris Alexiou" & at least 1000 other songs dating back to at least the time of rembetiko pioneer Vasilis Tsitsanis.
Fun fact: the popular Greek "kalamatiano" dance is in 7/8 time although it has about 12 dance steps in non-isochronal format.
For those who are curious, the Zembekiko example is "To Zembekiko Tis Evdokias - Manos Loizos"
Oh man I was so ready to pick up my phone and yell at you… but then right at the end you finally mention the greatest piece of music in prog history. Supper’s Ready is just unbelievable, and the apocalypse section is one of the greatest build-up moments in all of recorded music. Also, Soundgarden’s Never The Machine Forever is entirely in 9/8.
cool that you included the part from Supper's ready. One of my favorite songs
Another song in 9/8, also by Genesis, Riding the Scree, which by the way highlights one of best Phil Collins' drumming performances of all time (both the studio and live versions, which are quite are far from being the same). The basic rhythm is anchored around the guitar and bass, which allows the drummer to be more free. Amazing stuff.
I swear I watch these videos just as much to discover music I wasn't aware of than I do to learn about music.
Funny thing. My ear is not used to those odd time signatures, but in Poland we have a song that it is sung as an equivalent of "Happy birthday" - but even more often - because it's not about birthday but just wishes of long live. And its in 9/8 - and it sounds just fine for all Polish people :). It's called "Sto lat" (Hundread years). :)
One example that I can't forget is Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Vital transformation." The drummer, Billy Cobham, goes crazy for the entire song, on top of the insanity that is the groove.
There's a Kansas song called "Song For America" that has an instrumental part in 9/8, and it sounds just like Blue Rondo a la Turk. (There are also some shorter 10/8 sections in ths song... Kansas actually had several songs with odd meters)
From what I remember "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple is another well known song which uses this time signature. I'm talking about the triplety guitar in chorus.
Welcome to Greek traditional music. 7/8, 9/8, 11/8, 13/16, 15/16, you name it. Here is a tune in 15/16 by the Greek band Mode Plagal. It's called "Funky Vergina", enjoy: m.th-cam.com/video/VDaRzdU0x1k/w-d-xo.html
Other public domain songs in 9/8 time include "Ride of the Valkyries" and "Beautiful Dreamer".
Finally tysm for making a video about my request!!! My tension is now released
One of the coolest and most informative videos I've seen in a long time. I'm currently writing a song using 6/6... wish me luck!! 😁
Thank you thank you thank you for featuring Blue Rondo. What a fun tune it is.
FANTASTIC explanation.... It's amazing how many drummers don't know ANY of this .... Nowadays if your drummer can count to 4 - you are rockin'
I always loved drumming to Never the Machine Forever by Soundgarden for the 9/8 feel
YES bro - came here to make the same comment! Matt’s drumming on that tune is pure chaotic control. That one fill he does that’s just him after the chorus is KILLER.
arrived here by searching for a list of 9/8 songs, not having paid much attention to the fact of 9/8 in all my previous listening and singing, but rather simply loving the music that I love. I knew about Aretha's example here, but how could I not have recognized Jesu, Joy... ? I adore them both. And, lo and behold, here are some other longtime loves of mine (the Bacharach, the Metallica moment, more). Thx for great vid. Would be good to combine with relevant dance steps. When I sing 2 2 2 3, I feel it as skip-adding a beat at the end of a 4/4 bar. Lovely, lively.
I think if it's the triplet-like feel, it's generally better to notate it as 3/4 like 1+a 2+a 3+a instead of using the 9/8 compound signature, unless it's really really slow. Same with 6/8 but 2/4. If I was trying to explain how to play something like that to another musician, they would understand that a lot more intuitively I think. I def think this goes for The Tourist, Fool For You, Jambi, and the Slip Jig stuff at least. Or for 6/8, an example is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. I think a lot of people would notate that as 6/8 (or maybe 12/8), but I wouldn't be counting 123456. I'd be going off the Snare and Bass Drum and feeling the whole thing in a bouncy 2/4 or 4/4
Its rares to find such quality lessons on TH-cam, thanks for this
I like what you did with the timing of the piece at the end -- it sounded like the right hand was holding the rhythm, and the left hand was coming in late, like the opposite of ragtime.
a favourite 9/8 example of mine is Igorrr's Very Noise, it's at a pretty fast tempo with it's breakcore influence in the drums and it becomes really disorienting until it eventually falls into 4/4 by the end of the song
I can think of a few examples where there are brief uses of 9/8. Snot's I Jus' Lie has a few 9/8 bars dropped in the verses, the intro of Mastodon's Aqua Dementia alternates between 5/4 and 9/8. Exit Sun by the norweigan band Shining (not the swedish one) has a section predominantly in 9/4 by the drums measure although the other instruments follow a 9/8 pattern that repeats twice in the 9/4 bar
Great video, dude! Been a musician for most of my life, still love learning new things about music. Sooooo, you're kinda my new favorite channel. 👍🎶
Hey David!
I dont know if I'm supposed to suggest songs here, but I think Schism by tool might be an interesting song to analyse. It switches between 9/8, 7/8, and 5/8 (if I understand correctly)
Thank you for your vids, keep it up!
I want to offer some of my own perspective on "odd" rhythmic cycles, and 9-beat cycles are an excellent example for this. I'm primarily a percussionist, and I mostly play with community groups. Drummers and percussionists usually don't want to count rhythms. It's always preferable to feel the groove, or what you could call internalizing the rhythm. Over the course of many years, I've realized that even the oddest rhythms break down into sets of 2s and 3s, and then are easily internalized, not by constantly counting all the numbers, but by feeling a groove of 2s and 3s. In a 9-beat rhythm, it's just 3 sets of 3. The 3 sets are the slow pulse, and the 3 subdivisions of the slow-pulse 3s are the fast pulse. To get started playing a common 9-beat rhythm, I might silently count (phonetic spelling here) "wunnanna tuanna thrianna" etc. but within the space of a few cycles, it becomes a swingy physical groove based on triplets. Accented beats on a drum often switch between right and left handing in this cycle, especially if every "one"/ every downbeat of the cycle is accented as a strong beat. Learning to be comfortable with 9-beat rhythm--I feel-- unlocks a new level in rhythmic ability and confidence, where I am suddenly unintimidated by 5s (a 2 and a 3 or vice versa) 7s (2-2s and a 3) or 11s (3-3s plus a 2).
The community gatherings where I play almost always include dancing. I have theorized that drummers would rather feel the groove than count, but with dancers it's more than a theory. Our dancers always feel their way through a 9-beat dance. It's a waltz made of cha-cha-cha, totally graceful and sexy.
as a turkish person, 9/8 grouped as 2-2-2-3 genuinely feels as natural as 4/4 or 6/8 to me
Great video David!! The first song i thought of was "I Hung My Head" by Sting. And it's the first one you looked at!!
I think “I hung my head” can be thought as (5 + 4 as 2-3 plus 4)
I’m so glad you saved Supper’s ready for last. Was hoping you’d talk about it it’s my favorite use of the 9/8
You hit the nail on the head that “odd” time signatures are only odd to us westerners - so happy you mentioned this.
Genesis made a song called Riding The Scree which is also in 9/8.
Part of the bridge of Mother by Pink Floyd (specifically when David Gilmour sings “Mama’s gonna keep baby cozy and warm” the first time and “Mama’s gonna keep baby healthy and clean” the second time) is in 9/8
A song that also contains my personal favourite Gilmour solo.
I'm always looking forward to the pieces you write yourself - it is such a treat and the most amazing way to round of your videos. I'm blown away each time 🤍
Your videos always help me level up my compositions. Now, if only I could record them....
The Greek song at 4:22 is called Zeibekiko tis Evdokias ( eudokia's Zeibekiko) if anyone's interested
You should have added a Bulgarian "horo" in 9/8, it would've been interesting to compare it to the slower Greek and Turkish dances 😊
No comparison needed; what you're talking about is actually a Greek dance which the bulgarians adapted when they moved into the area and displaced the local indigenous Greek populations. Again the Byzantine influence is undeniable. After all "horo" is a Greek word and it means "dance".
Thank you so much, I really enjoyed it! Having some experience of Turkish (and Greek) music I have come across different variations of 9/8. 2-2-2-3 being the most common but then you also have the 3-2-2-2, 2-3-2-2 and 2-2-3-2. The Turks classify all meters as "small" or "large". 29 to the measure being small, 30 and over are large. Thanks again, all the best!
I was waiting for Supper's Ready and you brought it. :)
I play a lot of Irish traditional music in 9/8 time as mentioned. We call those "slip jigs" in 9/8.
Those in regular 6/8 time are simply called "jigs".
A lot of military matches were composed in the 19th century in 6/8 time to represent or reflect the "clippity cloppity" of horses on parade.
Rocky Road to Dublin! ☘️
One thing I like to do when listening to music in 9/8 is to "switch" the meter in my head, so if it's in an odd subdivision, I try to think of it in a "traditional" 3x3 meter, and vice versa.
Turkish rhythms are way more complex than ours tend to be.I had a roommate from Turkey and he taught me how they count complex time sigs and weird tuplets. Basically everything is broken down to 2's and 3's and how and when they are put together.
Like a quintpulet could have many ways to count. 3/2... 2/3... 1/3/1... 2/1/2...or 5 even pulses over the beat(which is the hardest but possible because there is no remainder for a group of 5 lol)
Again, do not confuse these rhythms as Turkish. They are not; they were part of the mainstream Byzantine Empire music. The modern Turks have the tendency to claim as theirs traditions which pre-existed in minor Asia when Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire. Although as individual people they are very affable and I have many friends in Turkey, collectively they tend to be very ethnocentric and brag about inventing and discovering things that were actually ..."borrowed" from the civilizations they conquered. I know the truth hurts but it has to be told.
@@panagdimi I didn't confuse them for anything ...sorry to tell you that no one culture has a claim to rhythm
Porcupine tree has 3 songs that use 9/8 that I know of. "Halo" uses 9/8 in the bridge. "Circle of Manias" is in 9/8 for most of the song. I think "I Drive the Hearse" uses 9/8 to transition back to the verse.
The verses of "The Start of Something Beautiful" als in 9/8 as well if I recall correctly.
And Gavin Harrison is so damn good at making odd meters feel regular. Or conversely, making even meters sound odd when he wants to.
@Jeff Wolinski Gavin harrison needs more credit. It was so surprising to learn for me that Bonnie the cat is 4/4, or that open car is 17/8.
12 Greek 9/8 songs
1. To roloi tha simanei (George Zampetas/Giannis Poulopoulos)
2. Mauri sintrofia (George Zampetas)
3. Einai arga (Manolos Hiotis/Maya Melaya)
4. Me paresyre to rema (Vasilis Tsitsanis)
5. Eimai aitos horis ftera (Manolis Chatzidakis/Grigoris Mpithikotsis)
6. Me to voria (Stelios Kazantzidis/ George Zampetas)
7. Se vlepo sto potiri mou (Tzeni Vanou/Mimis Plessas)
8. Agapi mou Vicky Mosholiou (George Zampetas)
9. To paliopaido Apostolos Chatzichristos
10. Mi mou xanafigeis pia (Vasilis Tsitsanis
11. Vathia sti thalassa tha peso
12. O penintaris George Zampetas
And also thousands more
For the soundtrack to the film 'Powaqqatsi' Philip Glass composed an Anthem in three parts, each part in a different compound meter; Anthem part I is in 5+7/8, Anthem part II is in 6+4/8, and Anthem part III is in 9+4/8. In Anthem part III the beats are grouped 3+3+3+2+2 which creates this wonderfully epic propulsion effect; here's a video from Allo Trope which matches the score to a MIDI realisation (the other parts can also be found on their channel)...
th-cam.com/video/Idwx9tcOWug/w-d-xo.html
Fascinating video, and it often makes me wonder how many pop musicians are aware when they are using "non-traditional" time signatures, or is it really just down to a beat and "feel" and they have no idea what time signature they are in?
Another example of 9/8 time would be Jeff Beck’s “Scatterbrain.” Kicks off with heavy fusion drumming by Richard Bailey (who was just 17 at the time of recording), then Beck goes off on the guitar
Apocalypse in 9/8 is a stroke of genius.
The first song I remember ever seeing written in 9/8 time was "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha".
YES! The second I saw "9/8" I hoped you would do something by King Gizzard. Was not dissapointed
I love that you add your own pieces at the end😎
What comes to mind is "cool cool river" by Paul Simon. Fantastic song in 9/8 and you don't even notice the odd rythm
I admire your knowledge and clarify.
Very insightful! Thank you and cheers!
Excellent, thank you for this upload.
Here in Greece 9/8 is the "default" time. Combines very well with Phrygian
Love this channel! Great vid!
Thank you!
Merhabalar Türk müziğinde çok çeşitlemesi var.
9/8=(2+2+2+3) Aksak Ritmi
9/8=(2+3+2+2) Raks Aksağı Ritmi
9/8=(3+2+2+2) Oynak Ritmi