The Sort of Odd Rhythms of Alice in Chains

So I've been playing lots of Alice in Chains lately. Why you may ask? Well I am not going to say, but what I will say is this band is all about the vocals and guitar and the bass has a simple job. But what I have discovered is that they have created some interesting and feasibly accessible rhythms and at a slower tempo that gives them that unmistakable feel. If you listened to the radio in the early mid 90's I'm sure you did hear some of these tunes:

Them Bones - 7/8, 4/4
Dam That River - 6/4, 4/4
Rain When I Die - 6/4, 4/4
Sickman - 3/4, 4/4
Angry Chair - I hear 12/8, but could be considered 6/8 or 3/8 (not really odd) and there is some 4/4 in there too.
Nutshell - this is in 4/4, but it has 6 bar phrases that creates some opening to the mind, yet remains comfortably familiar.

Always lookin' for the ODDness,
BetZe13
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My Ode to Odd Time

My Ode to Odd Time

7/8 is great but not if the drummer hesitates
9/4 is never a bore with the right kind of score
17/16 can be quite obscene
but not as bad as
7/16 which has been seen to be quite mean
13/8 is not to hate as long as its played at a reasonable rate
21/4 sure is a favorite on the Zappa tour
9/16 under most circumstances remains keen
although 5/16 unfortunately is not in my rhythmic genes
but on a similar note 3/8 is difficult to coordinate
but will have your date subordinate
5/4 will have you at the door asking for more
15/16 has never been described as a serene green
and at the other end of the spectrum
6/8 qualifies as pinnate and did you know that
4/4 is never found in mathcore
9/8 can be mistakenly innately
3/4 which is never a poor chore in contrast to
3/16 which is a bit lean to be clean
11/8 is not to abbreviate or the results might annihilate
13/16 in my book remains the hook of the queen and on top of that
5/8 is my favorite warning of fate but most of all
7/4 is the one that I truly adore

I'm Odd,
-BetZe13
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Tied to the Whippin' Post

Happy November

What better way to celebrate the 11th month of the year than to be tied to the whippin' post...

Whipping Post - Allman Brothers intro is 11/8 [3332] and riff revisited 2 more times, 12/8, 3/8


Wikipedia says its in 11/4, but I think it sounds more like a 12/8 with the last note skipped - aka 11/8.

Here's another quote from Wikipedia:
As Gregg Allman later said:
"I didn't know the intro was in 11/4 time. I just saw it as three sets of three, and then two to jump on the next three sets with: it was like 1,2,3—1,2,3—1,2,3—1,2. I didn't count it as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. It was one beat short, but it didn't feel one short, because to get back to the triad, you had two steps to go up. You'd really hit those two hard, to accent them, so that would separate the threes. ... [Duane] said, 'That's good man, I didn't know that you understood 11/4.' Of course I said something intelligent like, 'What's 11/4?' Duane just said, 'Okay, dumbass, I'll try to draw it up on paper for you.'"[11]

Writing by feel, love it.

Whippin' it ODDly,
BetZe13
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Didjeridu Teaches NINE

Just when you thought you've heard it all, here comes the didjeridu in NINE. Thats right, Randy Graves wants to show you how to rock it out in many odd meters, including 9/8 - on his "Your 'Somewhat ODD' Didjeridu Companion" instructional CD. Really its not all just for that big hollow stick, it can be translated on any instrument. Here's how he teaches NINE, (for educational purposes only).

Teaching 9/8

Fast 9/8 sample

Slow 9/8 sample

Its kind of hypnotizing. Hang out for a little while and see where it takes you.

in the ninth dimension,
BetZe13
OddTimeObsessed.com Tune in

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Happy 9/16

or is it? Still after two years I have not found a song solely in 9/16. Yah, maybe there will be some bars of 9/16 here and there in some tunes but never the whole thing. The only thing I have is this crusty counterpoint MIDI style example I composed way back in the day....

BetZe13 - 9/16 Counterpoint example

but would like something a bit more... exciting.. revealing... interesting...
Can anyone think of any? Maybe I need to look in the Persian and Classical categories.. or I'll just have to write some more.

crustily,
-BetZe13
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Blue Rondo is in NINE

a la Turk that is... and yes the one by the Dave Bruebeck Quartet, blues Turkish style... yup, that's what I'm talkin' about. This is a genuine 'complicated' 9/8 - I'm starting to like this number.

Dave Bruebeck Quintet - Blue Rondo a la Turk - 9/4(4+5), 4/4

Are you diggin' like me?

da da da da, da da da da dada,
-BetZe13
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Sting in NINE

Sting and his Police State was one of my first musical fascinations. The infatuations (the music and Stewart) started in sixth grade and has since matured to a deep appreciation of his authentic approach to music. In his solo work he is daring in his meter use as a form of exploration and curiosity, not really one of technicality. The following are some of examples of Sting in NINE:

'I Hung My Head' from Mercury Falling - Sounds like a tale from a past life.

I Hung My Head 9/8

'Big Lie, Small World' from Brand New Day

Big Lie, Small World 9/4 (4+5)

From what I've experienced of his music so far it that he tends to stay in one meter throughout and not really engage in multimeter use. A Sting Schizm would be certainly appealing to my metric obsessiveness but by sticking only to one or two meters in a song the rhythm has a chance to get under your toes and perhaps by the end of the song your feet will really be feeling it. So let Sting show you that NINE deserves your attention and sooner or later you will forget who four is.

Stung in NINE,
BetZe13
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