Dont limit your songwriting to 4/4 time (by Michael Gallant, September 2014)

Experimenting with different time signatures can give your songs a creative edge and
lead to better songwriting and weve got examples to prove it.
Whether youre listening to mainstream rock, pop, country, hip-hop, or dance music,
chances are youll hear one thing in common a 4/4 time signature. The reality is
that most widely-heard music is written in that familiar four-beats-per-measure, and
with good reason. Not only does counting music in four give songwriters and
producers a powerful, accessible, familiar, and ear-catching foundation to build on,
its relatively simple to create music in 4/4. This is especially true with digital
recording using Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton Live, and other software packages
particularly when pre-fabricated loops are involved.
But just because 4/4 is an easy and popular time signature in which to write, it doesnt
mean its always the best choice for you and your music. Many highly successful
songs have been written using time signatures that dont strictly adhere to the standard
one-and-TWO-and-three-and-FOUR-and vibe. Here are just a small handful of
examples of music written in different time signatures and tips on how playing
with the meter of your own music can push you to new heights and better songwriting
skills.
Fallin by Alicia Keys
An early Alicia Keys hit, Fallin grooves along in 12/8 time. If youre not familiar
with 12/8, one way to feel it, in the context of this song, is by counting ONE-twothree-TWO-two-three-THREE-two-three-FOUR-two-three along with the track.
Instead of the straight one-and-TWO-and-three-and-FOUR-and feel, subdividing each
beat into three gives the piece a sexy, bluesy foundation that supports Keys vocals as
she tells of her riveting and wrenching love affair.
If you feel like youve hit a songwriting roadblock with your own music, following
Keys example might help. Try taking one tune that youve written in 4/4 and play it
in 12/8, like Keys does here dividing each beat into three instead of two just to
mix things up. You might be surprised at how the song takes on a new character, and
how it might spark ideas for other new pieces.
The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson
This industrial metal single from Marilyn Manson may feel different from Fallin in
nearly every way but the two tracks happen to share a common time signature. In
The Beautiful People, Manson uses the same 12/8 meter as Keys, but instead of
creating a smoky and introspective groove, the time signature here contributes to an
unhinged feel of rollicking thunder. If youre a metal-head, you likely know this
already, but if not, listen to a cross-section of tracks in the genre; you may be
surprised at how many songs make great use of 12/8 and other non-4/4 time
signatures.
As an experiment, try playing and/or singing a few lines from The Beautiful People
in straight 4/4, rather than the churning 12/8 used in the recording. Again, you may be
surprised at how dramatically different the same chords, lyrics, and melody can sound
when re-interpreted with a different meter.

(For another cool example of how switching up meters can transform the feel and
meaning of a song, check out Michael Jacksons iconic original Billie Jean and then
the melancholy, time-shifted reinvention by Chris Cornell.)
Mission: Impossible theme
Originally written by Lalo Schifrin for the Mission: Impossible TV series from the
60s and 70s, this iconic theme is one of the most popular pieces ever written thats
counted in five, not four. Even if youve heard this composition a million times, listen
again paying attention to how the 5/4 time signature adds an unsettled, suspenseful,
and forward-moving vibe to the piece very much in keeping with the shows
espionage subject matter. Interestingly enough, two remakes of the piece, the 1996
motion picture reinvention by members of U2 and Limp Bizkits Take A Look
Around, which references the theme, both put it largely in 4/4 time, giving it a
distinctly different spin.
If youve never written in 5/4 before, it can be well worth experimentation.
Sometimes, composers and songwriters will split up the five by having the first three
beats on one chord and the final two of each measure on another one; listen to Paul
Desmonds classic Take 5 as an example. That said, the beats can be divided up and
emphasized however you see fit, and however best inspires you.
To get started, try coming up with a simple five-note melody, one beat per note, and
keep playing it over and over in succession, possibly free-styling lyrics on top until
something really sparks your interest; recording experiments like this always helps, as
something that might feel cheesy or ridiculous when youre spitting it out off the top
of your head could well turn out to be brilliant when listened to after the fact. Also, if
youre not comfortable playing and improvising lyrics at the same time, try recording
that same five-note phrase into GarageBand, Pro Tools, or some other piece of
recording software. Play it back on loop, improvise on top, and go from there.
Another strategy is to start with lyrics and build the music next. Try to brainstorm a
series of five-syllable phrases, piece a few together that add up to something
interesting for you, and recite them over and over, trying to give them slightly
different melodies each time. Just make sure that youre giving each syllable a single
beat and going right back to one as soon as you hit five, so you dont accidentally
slip out of the 5/4 groove. Who knows, with a little inspiration, maybe your next
album single will come to life in this meter.
All You Need Is Love by The Beatles
Though the chorus to this Beatles classic rings out in familiar 4/4 time, much of each
verse is counted in seven, which creates a very interesting effect and works
seamlessly with the lyrics and arrangements. In fact, because the verses use such an
angular and unusual time signature as 7/4, when they resolve into the anthemic 4/4
chorus, the transition sounds all the more powerful.
If this sounds like an intriguing idea, try something similar in your own music. Just
because you start a song in one time signature doesnt mean it needs to stay in the
same meter throughout. Just like the Beatles did, try using one time signature for the
verses and another for the choruses, or just for kicks, switching the entire meter of a

song halfway through. Regardless of whether or not the result will yield another All
You Need Is Love, it will take you to some interesting creative places in your
songwriting.
Two songs by Michael Gallant (the author of this article)
I used to play in a punk/pop band with a veteran guitarist who had written countless
catchy, boppy rock songs in his day. In many of his tunes we played, things would
chug along in 4/4 and then, all of a sudden, thered be an extra two beats added to the
last measure of a verse before going into the chorus. Sh*tballs, he used to call those
extra-long measures. I remembered the concept when it came to working on some of
my own material.
Check out my reimagining of Pearl Jams Go as performed by the Michael Gallant
Trio. Right at 0:58, for only one measure in the entire song, the piece transitions from
straight-up 4/4 to 5/4. Why? First, its fun the central chorus riff of the song is a
blast to jam on and I wanted to do something different with it to wake listeners up a
bit. Plus, since the riff is a straightforward and often-repeated one and as this
interpretation doesnt have vocals to propel things along I wanted to add enough
gritty variations to keep things interesting. Pretty simple.
Another example is the song Redhead Girl, which I wrote and recorded with my
band Aurical. The track swells and fades in 4/4, as many do, but right at the end of the
pre-chorus leading into the first chorus (1:17 in the song), theres a single bar of 6/4.
Why? I didnt consciously write the tune that way to stick to any sort of formula;
rather, I wanted to throw in those extra beats to throw the listener off kilter a little bit
and to signal that something new was about to happen. The song builds a seductive
and hypnotic vibe up to that point; that bar of six breaks the hypnosis a bit,
introducing the listener to the rawer lyrical content and delivery of the chorus.
In your own work, never underestimate the power of throwing in an extra beat or two
at the opportune moment to add a bit of dirt or punctuation to your music. This is
definitely not a strategy to be overused or forced where it doesnt belong but if you
feel like a section of your latest tune is a little too meandering or lackluster, try adding
a single measure of 5/4, 6/4, 7/4 or something else entirely and see what happens.
A final word - Have fun experimenting with time signatures and remember that
examples like these are just the beginning. You could challenge yourself to write an
entire album of songs in 13/8 or 11/4 and it could turn out to be a masterpiece.
Remember that, just because software and radio airplay may make 4/4 seem like the
standard time signature by which all others are measured, dont let your own
creativity get boxed in by multiples of four.
Michael Gallants debut trio album Completely received a four-star review from
DownBeat magazine and a five-star review from Critical Jazz. Learn more, download
now through iTunes, jam along with the new JamBandit app, or purchase through CD
Baby. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Gallant or on Facebook.
Article source: http://blog.discmakers.com/2014/09/dont-limit-yoursongwriting/#ixzz3MNTRDmss