Hey, Reader. Hope you're doing well.

Would you like to be more competent with playing and writing ideas in different time signatures?

Well, today I want to share one of my favorite methods I discovered for doing just that!

How to make time signatures accessible

What do you usually do when you're trying to write or count something in odd time, for example, let's say 7 time?

If you’ve ever set a metronome to 7/8 and tried to count every beat, you’ll know it’s not easy. At least for me, I quickly run out of physical and mental space to keep up, especially if I’m also trying to play or write at the same time.

What I’ve learned is, the trick isn’t to force your ideas into odd time. It’s more about experimenting with what you can naturally create in odd time.

In my experience, I spent a lot of time forcing ideas, and most of it didn’t sound very good. It wasn’t until I realized that most musicians break these time signatures into smaller subdivisions, like little groups or phrases, that things started to click.

These subdivisions give you spots for accents, which help your ideas actually feel musical.

But how do you do that?

How to actually make odd time signatures work for you

So instead of seeing a signature as a whole, break it into subdivisions.

For example, take 5/8 and break it into a group of 3 and 2, and anchor your ideas around that pattern.

A great way to start 'feeling' these subdivisions is to practice strumming chords and accenting them.

For example, use this chord progression:

and practice accenting grouping pattern like so:

Fire up a metronome in 5/8 at a tempo that feels manageable and just start strumming. Before you know it, it starts to feel natural.

And in my experience, when you practice like this, odd time ideas start creeping into your writing without you even thinking about it, or sometimes, without you even noticing.

Here's a list of other subdivisions for you to practice:

Hit me up with a reply if you found this useful, or if it helps you write something!

See you next week

Best,

Steve

P.S. Stuck hunting for random chord shapes? Grab the Math Rock Harmony Starter Pack: Essential Chords & Functional Progressions