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Ronan Guilfoyle |
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Creative Rhythmic Concepts for Jazz Improvisation: Sample Lessons
A sample lesson and audio clip from the book Creative Rhythmic Concepts for Jazz Improvisationby Ronan Guilfoyle (© 2000 Newpark Music).
Lesson Six: Odd Metres
Understanding odd metres.
Strictly speaking an odd metre is any metre made up of odd numbers, so a pulse of 3 beats is technically an odd metre. However when we speak of odd metres we usually mean metres of 5, 7, 11, etc. Often when musicians think about odd metres the word "odd" serves a dual purpose as it is also taken to mean "odd" as in "weird"! There is a widespread belief that some metres are somehow natural and some are unnatural. This is a complete fallacy. There are no unnatural metres, there is only what you are used to, and what you are not used to.
Why play in odd metres? Well, playing in metres other than 4 or 3 adds a whole new dimension to improvising. I'm sure you're familiar with the situation where you take a tune that you would normally play in 4 and you play it in 3 instead. You will notice how the different metre makes the tune sound different somehow and gives new life to a tune that you have grown tired of playing. The reason for this different perception of the same piece is that because the rhythmic resolutions are occurring in different places, so consequently the harmonic and melodic resolutions are also occurring in different places. This also holds true in metres other than 4 or 3.
The use of odd metres opens up a hitherto unimagined wealth of rhythmic variety because just as there are many different types of rhythmic feels in 4, equally there are just as many different feels in 7, or 5, or 11, or whatever pulse you choose. Also just as there is a bewildering choice of cross rhythms that you can play over 4, so there is an even greater choice in odd metres.
Odd metres with a swing feel
One of the obstacles to swinging in an odd metre is the fact that swing has evolved over 4/4 time, with the emphasis being on 2 and 4. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure out that emphasising 2 and 4 is going to be tricky in a metre that can't be divided by two. However despite this inescapable mathematical fact it is possible to swing outside of 4/4.
Role of the bass and drums
The bass and drums play a crucial role in this process. They must try not to kill the swing feel by religiously marking off the first beat of each bar, and yet they must maintain the rhythmic and harmonic pulse of the metre they are playing in. This is a delicate balancing act, but is in fact no different to what any good rhythm section would do in 4/4.
How the drummer spreads the cymbal rhythm when playing swing in an odd metre is of crucial importance to the success or failure of the piece. If the cymbal beat is too rigid or changes on every downbeat, the piece will not swing at all. In the next example the trio plays a blues in 11/4. Notice how the drums spreads the feel of the pulse over more than one bar and although the bass tends to play the changes fairly straight, the rhythmic embellishments used allow the pulse to breathe.
This time we play one chord per bar except in the 5th bar where two chords are played. We are in fact playing a 6 bar blues but because of the length of the 11 beat pulse it feels like a 12 bar blues.
Example 40:
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