Drums 3: Advanced (odd times, dynamics, playing with a band)

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Odd time signatures: what they are and how to count them

In simple words

Most songs count to 4 and start again, like "1, 2, 3, 4". Some songs count to 5 or 7 instead. It feels a little wobbly at first, like a swing that goes "long, short", but you can learn to feel it.

Key facts

The top number of a time signature says how many beats are in a bar. The bottom number says which note gets one beat (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note).
"Odd" (or asymmetric) meters such as 5/4, 7/4, 7/8 and 9/8 are usually felt as groups of 2s and 3s:

Meter	Common groupings	Count it
5/4	3+2 or 2+3	1 2 3, 4 5
7/8	2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2	1 2, 3 4, 5 6 7
7/4	4+3 or 3+4	1 2 3 4, 5 6 7
9/8	2+2+2+3 or 3+3+3	1 2, 3 4, 5 6, 7 8 9

Listening examples (listen only):
"Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet is in 5/4. It was recorded in 1959 for the album Time Out, with Joe Morello on drums. Paul Desmond is credited as composer.
"Money" by Pink Floyd (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973) is mostly in 7/4, with Nick Mason on drums. A two-bar 4/4 section leads into the guitar solo.
Tip: say the groupings out loud, and accent the first note of each group, until your body feels the pattern.

Step by step

Read the time signature: top number is beats per bar, bottom is the note that gets one beat.
Pick 5/4 and say it as 1 2 3, 4 5 with an accent on 1 and 4.
Pick 7/8 and say 1 2, 3 4, 5 6 7.
Tap the groups with your hands on your knees.
Listen to Take Five (5/4) and Money (mostly 7/4) and count along.
Check: you can count 5/4 and 7/8 out loud without losing the first note of each group.

Watch on YouTube

How to count 5/4 odd time signaturedrumlessonscom · YouTube · youtube.com

Odd time signatures made easyJay Fenichel · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Odd time signatures: what they are and how to count them

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:15

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Most music counts to four. Today we count to five and seven."
[Text on screen: 5/4 = 3 + 2] "Five four is usually a group of three plus a group of two. One two three, four five."
[Text on screen: 7/8 = 2 + 2 + 3] "Seven eight is often two, two, three. One two, three four, five six seven."
[Screen: album covers named on screen, no audio] "Listen to Take Five for five four, and Money by Pink Floyd for seven four."
[Host, clapping accents] "Clap the first note of each group. Once your hands feel it, the drums are easy."

Try it now

Metronome on eighth notes at 120 BPM (each click = one eighth note).

4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 2+2+3, accenting 1, 3 and 5. Count out loud.
4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 3+2+2, accenting 1, 4 and 6.
4 minutes: metronome on quarter notes at 80 BPM; clap 5/4 as 3+2, then as 2+3.
3 minutes: listen to the first minute of "Take Five" and count 1 2 3 4 5 along with it.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Drums 3: Advanced (odd times, dynamics, playing with a band)" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Odd time signatures: what they are and how to count them".

What the lesson teaches:
- The top number of a time signature says how many beats are in a bar. The bottom number says which note gets one beat (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note).
- "Odd" (or asymmetric) meters such as 5/4, 7/4, 7/8 and 9/8 are usually felt as groups of 2s and 3s:
- Meter - Common groupings - Count it
- 5/4 - 3+2 or 2+3 - 1 2 3, 4 5
- 7/8 - 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2 - 1 2, 3 4, 5 6 7
- 7/4 - 4+3 or 3+4 - 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7
- 9/8 - 2+2+2+3 or 3+3+3 - 1 2, 3 4, 5 6, 7 8 9

The exercise I'm working on:
Metronome on eighth notes at 120 BPM (each click = one eighth note). - 4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 2+2+3, accenting 1, 3 and 5. Count out loud. - 4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 3+2+2, accenting 1, 4 and 6. - 4 minutes: metronome on quarter notes at 80 BPM; clap 5/4 as 3+2, then as 2+3. - 3 minutes: listen to the first minute of "Take Five" and count 1 2 3 4 5 along with it.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Odd time signatures: what they are and how to count them" from the course "Drums 3: Advanced (odd times, dynamics, playing with a band)".

Here's what the lesson says:
Most songs count to 4 and start again, like "1, 2, 3, 4". Some songs count to 5 or 7 instead. It feels a little wobbly at first, like a swing that goes "long, short", but you can learn to feel it.

The activity:
Metronome on eighth notes at 120 BPM (each click = one eighth note). - 4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 2+2+3, accenting 1, 3 and 5. Count out loud. - 4 minutes: clap 7/8 as 3+2+2, accenting 1, 4 and 6. - 4 minutes: metronome on quarter notes at 80 BPM; clap 5/4 as 3+2, then as 2+3. - 3 minutes: listen to the first minute of "Take Five" and count 1 2 3 4 5 along with it.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

KUNC/NPR, The Story of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five": www.kunc.org/2000-11-18/the-story-of-dave-brubecks-take-five
Wikipedia, Money (Pink Floyd song): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_(Pink_Floyd_song)

My notes

I learned this

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