When I hear a drummer do a really good roll that was off beat and ouside the pocket and then he comes back on beat, is this a result of mastering an off time rythym? I hear spanky doing a lot of stuff outside of a normal beat and im trying to figure out how he does it. Eric Tribett is also really good at doing this. I can go outside the pocket and do some nice stuff to turn heads but I dont know the theory behind it and I want to know. Where can I find out about odd time signatures and what they sound like? I see stuff like 13/16, 7/8, 3/4 and I have no clue what that means or how to do it. Someone Please Help!!
Okay short explaination....
First off, because a riff has an over the bar feel doesn't mean that it is in an odd time signature. The "pocket" of a song is dictated and varies based on both the time signature and the phrasing of the melody. Understanding the subdivisions (eighths, sixteenths, thirtyseconds, sixtyfourths) allows you to change the rhythmic feel to an over the bar type based on the combinations of subdivisions used in the pattern/riff/lick. This understanding also allows you to pull of metric modulations of shifting time signatures.
Time Signatures (as relates to subdivisions) ...
13/16, 7/8, 5/4, 3/4, 12/8, cut time, half time....
The top number tells you howmany notes of the bottom number value are in a measure: 13/16 means there are 13 sixteenth notes per measure or bar so you count all the way to 13 before you get to the "1" again. We are use to 4/4 time mostly where ther are 16 sixtenth notes per measure.
The bottom numbe let's you know what note value getes the beat (what note your count is based on): 7/8 means the eighth note gets the beat/count so you count 1 to 7 ever measure/bar these are your down beats. Your up beats are sixtenth notes because there are 2 sixteenth notes in every eighth note.
3/4 is a subdivide of 6/8. Iyou have a 6/8 you could count it 1-2-3-1-2-3 or properly 1-2-3-4-5-6.
12/8 can be broken into 4 groups of of 3 eigth notes. This is the basis for our 4/4 triplet feel which is the base of all American music. This unnderstanding is what gives African-American musicians there "bounce" or "swing".
Cut time (double time) cuts the note value in half or doubles its speed. 4/4 becomes 2/4 and eighth notes are played as sixteenths which give s it a speeded (modulated) feel. This is what happens when you go from a groove to a shout.
Half time is a modulation as well of the 4/4 but you seem to slow down. Instead of two back beats you have one. Instead of hitting the snare on 2 and 4 you hit it on 3 but the bass drum stays the same.
Podemski's Snare Drum Method book is a great resource for all these musical terms, symbols etc. It has great definitionans and examples. THe Table of Time in the book , Masters Studies by Joe Morello will give you a good reference for playing odd note groupings and understanding subdivisions.
