ATTENTION DRUMMERS!!! Can you count this?...

[boydrumsonwhat]

2nd is 7/8 thats fer sure

[TheMikemike11]

its 11/16. pretty complex.

[Geoff1928]

Opening beat is 19:16

Second beat is 15:16

[ifound103]

the second rhythm he plays is 7/8, not that tricky

[philosophe26]

it's a 15/16 rythm…

[ImaFez]

what kind of drumsticks r those?

[dawizard737]

the first ten second are in 9/8, and the rest is 15/16

[blight4hire]

i cant count it but i can play it .

[h6ss4]

@blight4hire then u can count it but need patience.

[underagedpickle]

18/16 and 15/16 the first is counted with two bars of 7/16 and one of 2/8 and the other is a bar of 3/4 with 3 16th beats tied to the back.

[elvin211]

i think first is 5/4, second is additive rhythm, maybe 3+3+2

[Vaselineum]

9/7 LOLLLL????!!!! i dou knou guyz, but i've never heard of 7th note, lol. of course it's 9\8 singnature and there is no excusable reasons for a musician not to be able to define it.

[firecrotchbandits]

odd time beat

[twelge15]

Here's my 4yr anylasis.... "Mmmm. Listen to the man bang".... - Homer Simpson.

[twelge15]

I know my polyrythems and oddgroupings. But until now, I thought a crotchette was when a Rockette quits her job to work in a strip club. Do I need to join the North Texas State lab band to learn this? Or is there a book explaining Crochettes, quavers & semi quavers?

[jts024]

This is stupid. Why can't Tony just say what it is

[eltambore]

Ummmmm........ just listen to the cool beat! Stop trying to analyze the damn thing to death. T___T

[TheMethalFever]

13/16?

[RaddNiner]

i thought it started in 10 and then went into 8. no?

[LINKdrkguy]

2 and a half, i like my cofee light

[youtoeub]

4 and a half ?

[guitarsundefined]

wow reading the comments here I know nothing about drumming -____________- or music theory. I feel left out. :( wtf are you guys talking about with the 8/7's or 15/16's or quavers and semi demi quavers and crotchets and what not? somebody teach me QQ

[colourfulwithaU]

I'm not sure about the first one, but the second is definitely in 15/16. The way he plays it - stunted at the end - shows that he feels it like a 4/4, just with one sixteenth note removed. Easy.

[josh7788]

the first beat. is it a 10/8? dunno. LOL. just guessing. but it counts.

[b3n890]

does it go 5/4 then 2/4 alternating?

[DeAngeloShaw]

@AlexiLaiho227...your silly for that comment bro...come on now its 2011...get off tha whole racist shit..it dont matter who the fuck you are....if you kno music..you kno music.Purple, orange, yellow, black, white. dont matter...silly as fuck dude...

[alexanderj1986]

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + repeat

16th note gets the beat, so it's 15/16.

It seems everyone had something to say about it, but no one actually tried to count it.

[zachplaysdrums]

@alexanderj1986 Hit the nail on the head. 15/16 it is!

[stylerprofyler]

7/4 in it's most basic form of counting, easy peasy.

[therealTOTOfan]

@stylerprofyler nope its not either you count in quarters or eights its always off, so you have to divide a step down which in cause of the quarters would be eights and for eights sixteenths. counting in sixteenths that little gap left behind would make up 15/16

[AlexiLaiho227]

15/16 it is.

nbd. even in music, white people are more literate.

[ismaelnobour]

@JESUSHATEStheYANK33S  to me it's 15/16

[tsobaby95]

uh its its regular 1234 and then the time speeds up 122324567 try counting it like that i asked my music teacher about it and thats what he said

[fanman900]

this is a polyrhythm, it doesn't necessarily fit into a certain "meter" making it an irrational meter, something like 9/7 (Which i can see has been argued about in the comments already, and yes it is real)

[TheRealGospelChops]

Bravo!

[fanman900]

@TheRealGospelChops thanks mate, gotta love music theory haha

[Furiiiiouz]

@fanman900 starting @ 12 seconds thats 19/16 EVERYTHING fits into a time signature.....

[fanman900]

@Furiiiiouz i never said that it didnt have a time signature, i only said it was a polyrythm, and that it was an irrational meter, i just didnt take the time to count it exactly. dont be hatin

[tiyenin]

@fanman900

@eddiechilvers

9/7 is literally impossible. The bottom number has to be a power of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32...) because it dictates the note length (4=quarter note, 8=eighth note, etc).

Sure, a seventh of a measure is "playable" -- i.e. seventuplets exists -- but, guess what? If the TIME SIG is evenly divided into 9 subdivisions, guess what you have instead? 9/8.

PS: The time sigs are 9/8 and 15/16 respectively.

[22jpaul]

Its 7/16, not that hard

[dreadface101]

go listen to lateralus by tool ...

Thats a much cooler time signature

[xXetfbmthXx]

It all sounds like 4/4 with retarded accents...

[VicenteKidd]

7/8

[wackywankavator]

first riff 5/4, 2nd's just 4/4

[jonnyboulanger]

@wackywankavator thats what im saying 

[wackywankavator]

@jonnyboulanger

Agreed. Also, he's no Carter Beauford. And if he ain't Carter Beauford, I don't give a damn.

[DraykeFaust]

Well the counting I did made it 4 and half/4 and 3 and a half/4 LOL so I guess that would be 9/8 and 7/8? Cool math lol cool video also, nice beats I'm so donezo right now lol. Thanks :)

[WarStar0]

5/4 easy stuff XD

[marshallW89]

5/4?

[c3h4ohcooh3]

It sounds like alternating 11/16 and 7/16 bars. You could reduce it to 18/16 or 9/8, but you would have really bizarre groupings.

[droumdoum]

Hmmm I see, I see, 2 years since my last comment and there's still some first part worshippers from the church of 19/16... HAHAHAHA!!!

[jimfarey]

@droumdoum lol @ the church of 19/16 :). I tried to put an end to it by writing it out for people, but some still tell me it's wrong :(.

What are your thoughts on the fact he nods his head to the quarter note? Madness :$

[FunkmasterF18]

First beat is in 19/16. The second is in 15/16. If you count 4 quarter then 3 16th notes you get 19. To get 15 you count 3 quarter notes then 3 16th notes.

19/16: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1e+.

15/16: 1 + 2 + 3 + 1e+

[Seefy]

Yeah this comment is pretty late but I figured I'd post it to hopefully help people get the feel of the first groove. The time signature is in 9/8 as many have pointed out but this groove is a 2 bar phrase and he plays over the bar line with his 16th note grouping. If you count the groove instead as a bar of 11/16 then a bar 7/16, you end up feeling his particular groove a lot better I think. Hope this helps somebody lol.

[pearldrumspro]

this is 7/8 !!! /1-2-3 1-2 1-2:/

[idkwhattonamemyself]

That's 9/8, And it's not uncommon, just listen to "The Crunge" By led zeppelin. It has the most fucked up time change signatures of all time and it sounds almost like it's in 4/4 to the untrained ear, it's so weird.

[HoodyMc]

3/6 kurwa

[Rtehsfk]

for bulgarians this is piece of cake

[dodoheard]

9/8 ~ 15/16

The second groove's the easiest of out of the two to recognize.



[PositivelyBored]

The first portion of the beat starts with 8ths on the hihat. so it's 1+2+3. The second phrase begins with the bass drum and ends with the open hat. again 1+2+3. The feel is interesting by the note placement and missing 1/2 beat in each phrase. So, in reality it is in 5/8? However , it is 2.5 and 2.5. This is for the first beat.

[PositivelyBored]

Also correct me if I'm wrong. Personally I have a music edu and background, however I never really delved too deep into the mixed meters involving halves, etc. I think either Marco Minneman or Thomas Lang does some crazy things with it,though.

[information94]

haha everyone seems to know what theyre saying, and i have no clue what time its in. though i could tell it changed a bit

[BansheebotDecoded]

6/9

[andgar22]

@BansheebotDecoded there's no such thing as 6/9 ._.

[BansheebotDecoded]

@andgar22 Since when is it not ok for a good clean 69 joke?

[electronicbrainpan]

Nothing special. I've seen much better, and more mind boggling. This is common in IDM and Jazz.

[jonnyboulanger]

i don't want to sound like a dick, but, im getting the impression from everyone that this is hard. is it? i instantly knew how to play this when i first herd it. i know hes a world class drummer and everything but whats the deal with this vid? IM NOT CLAIMING TO BE BETTER THAN THIS GUY OR ANYTHING SO BE NICE PEOPLE.

[leakeg]

@jonnyboulanger vid proof or GTFO.

[Groovemaster2k]

@jonnyboulanger not the point of how hard it is. It's the creativity involved in it. Remember, it's music we're making, not a race as to who can play the hardest stuff. The stuff in this vid sounds cool!

[jonnyboulanger]

@Groovemaster2k yea but title says "can you count this?"

[monkeygames18]

second beat is 4/4. He starts the groove on the "a" of 4 making it seem otherwse.

[avedisdrummer989]

@monkeygames18 if you wanted to argue that the beat starts on the "a" of 4, you would have to take displacement into account. there is a full 16th note missing from the groove, making it 15/16. try bopping your head to it in 4. it doesn't time out.

[OgiDrummer]

@StickInZee Respect ,man.

[C4rbonNeon]

Wow, genius. 5/4 4/4

[zachthecrack]

5/4 and 4/4

Easy!

[keanu378]

i'm 12 now i didn't mean the first comment that is tony royster jr and he is a great drummer....my favorite is with the band asap!!!!!!!!

[drumguyrobc]

If you loop it twice it's 7/4. So it's probably 7/8.

[xXxIFORSAKENxXx]

Every one who commented on this is fucking retarted. The first groove is in 5/4 and the second one is in 4/4. Way to be good musicians. Just because he isnt playing exactly on 2 in the second groove doesnt automatically rule out 4/4.

[jts024]

@xXxIFORSAKENxXx the second groove is not 4/4

[xXxIFORSAKENxXx]

Yea it is count carefully

[tiyenin]

@xXxIFORSAKENxXx

"The first groove is in 5/4 and the second one is in 4/4."

"count carefully"

Calling you retarded would be slandering retarded people.

[jimfarey]

@xXxIFORSAKENxXx double ixnay on that, hombre. Sorry.

See the video response.

[xrobmctx]

do you count the first beat like this - 1 and 2 and 3, 1 and 2 and 3..etc? just getting into really studying this stuff

[nimajnebenneb]

The first is 13/16 i think and the second is 15/16. Not that hard when you give it a little time

[AlaskaRising]

the first one's in 5/4 and the second in 4/4

[baterathy]

omg...go study guys...nice drumr6198ish...yu more close than all!!!mathematic guys...lol

[drumr6198ish]

First sounds like a syncopated 9/8

Second is 15/16

Or they could be weird combos of like 7/8+4/4 at a fast tempo.

Or technically they could be odd groupings in 4/4 going over the barline. Looking at it that way though, it would take like 15 measures to get back on the one.

Either way they're pretty funky!

[calvinratm1]

its 4/4 i think. he just splices one sixteenth note off every measure but stays in 4/4. its like what vinnie does in 'i'm tweaked'

[GWAR420]

Well theoretically the bottom number in time signatures doesn't really matter to the listener, only to the player to let them know the value of a quarter note in relation to the song. keeping that in mind, the second beat is in 15. could be 15/8, could be 15/4, could be 15/16, it doesn't really matter cuz there is no metronome. The first one is tricky, but after listening a bunch of times, i figured out its in 21. I count 10 beats, then starts over on the & of 10. Double 10 and a half to get 21.

[GWAR420]

@GWAR420 wait i think i was stoned when i said that, it does almost sound like 10 and a half but now i'm playin it and it is in 9/8. just syncopated to make it sound wierd. cool beat tho, im gonna puzzle all my friends with it lol

[kingsomething2008]

5/4

9/8?

[stokinsteven]

4/4 time

[slappystumpy]

I think Tony should post the count

[jmr2master]

Still no one believes its "4/4"? Not even the defines common time implication is accepted?

[idaho777]

first ones 9/8 i think

second ones like 17/16

[rocoman1006]

the second part sounds like it's in 9/8

[simoxnirvana1]

4/4 ahahah

[siddycool1]

Thebestdrummer/ever

Definitely

[siddycool1]

Thebestdrummer/ever

Definitely

[RazzleSnazzle1]

First half 5/4

[Anight7mareX]

i counted that too

[ginger020991]

i meant to do thumbs up..

[Zarathustranick]

9/8 (4 + 5)

[jsalas89]

The pattern repeats in 6 counts, so you know the time signature is either 6/8 or 3/4.

[backbeatbobby]

@jsalas89 bullshit

[jsalas89]

@backbeatbobby What do i know? I'm only a drum instructor.

[jimfarey]

@jsalas89

sir, with respect. If you count the first pattern in 6 then you are superimposing 3 of your bars of 6 over 2 of Tony's bars of 9 then you are overcomplicating it by making it a longer phrase than it needs to be empirically. If you count it in your 3 then you are counting 3 groups of 3 for each of Tony's 9s, this time not making it more complex, but certainly not helping with the overall feel as the standard compound 9/X feel of 3 groups of 3 is absent here.I count slow 9 or fast11+7

[Anesudo]

6/8

[burnemdawg]

5/4 and then the next one is just a simple 4/4

[intuantu]

5/4, then 7/8. Almost sounds 4/4 cuz he rounds off the edges well.

[drummerkid904]

7/8

[hvitnov]

It seems like sort of a linear groove that is restarted on the hi-hat lift. So basically it could just be random which it sounds like to me.

Very musical though.

[somesnaredude]

The time signature is f*cking Pi...this is really not that complicated

[oscamayerdouche]

@somesnaredude hahaha nicee

[Layskrazy]

kiss/my/ass

[philateliceun]

it's a 7/8

[Darrell146]

it's just 9\8 but he plays it in subdivisions of 11\16 and 7\16.

[TheOgada13]

9/7 ???

[drummerkid904]

@TheOgada13 theres no such thing as 9/7 you moron

[RussellsParadox]

@drummerkid904 but you can modulate a meter of 4/4 to 7/8 and then add two 8th notes :D

[jimfarey]

@drummerkid904 Not entirely true really, sorry. But broadly speaking, you're right.

Note, from Wikipedia "These signatures are only of utility when juxtaposed with other signatures with varying denominators; a piece written entirely in 4/3, say, could be more legibly written out in 4/4."

Shocking that you got 12 thumbs up for a comment which was poorly researched.

[pearldrumspro]

@drummerkid904 this is 7/8 !!! /1-2-3 1-2 1-2:/

[pearldrumspro]

@drummerkid904 this is the first 5/4. and the second one 7/8 !!! /1-2-3 1-2 1-2:/

[jimfarey]

@pearldrumspro this is not correct, sorry.

@FunkmasterF18 you got the first groove wrong :). It's 18/16 as everyone keeps posting.

[eddiechilvers]

I know this is very pedantic, but there is technically 'such thing' as 9/7, not that a human could or would try to play it. You could program a computer to play it, though it would probably sound a bit random. it would be nine beats of 'a quaver tied to a demi semi quaver.' So you'd have 5 crotchets, 1 quaver and 1 demi semi quaver per bar. Which would be extremely silly.

[CrazyDaddy420]

@eddiechilvers I've had 5 crotchettes before. Hey, working girls need love too.

[tiyenin]

@eddiechilvers "there is technically 'such thing' as 9/7, not that a human could or would try to play it"

It's not about playability; it's about NOTATION. I can play in """9/7""" by hitting even beats on a hi-hat and adding a bass kick every 9th hit.

WRITING it in 9/7 would mean writing 7 eighth notes with a seventuplet over them, then two un-tied seventuplets before a new measure.

Writing it in 9/8 would just require 9 eighth notes.

They would sound exactly the same, too. One's just stupid.

[URBANLAKEMUSIC]

@eddiechilvers by the end of it man all you got is colors shapes and sounds

[st0pm0ti0n]

@drummerkid904

"theres no such thing as 9/7 you moron"

Yes there is, it's called 'irrational meter'. It's completely pointless by itself, but it's useful for making polyrhythms with prevailing time.

[killerdrummer96]

if i tried to guess, i would look dumb, soi think that i will go w/ ?/?

[Kotorious14]

1234826/064912864. somethin like that.

[jwhitley3]

4/4!!

[000rbdrums000]

the first groove he plays is in 18/16 actually ... you can also count it as one 11/16 followed by a 7/16 ; the 11/16 is divided into 4 pairs of 2/16notes and one pair of 3/16notes while the 7/16 is divided into 2 pairs of 2/16notes and one pair of 3/16 notes ...

the second groove he lays down is in 15/16 ; he just leaves out the last 16-note of a 4/4 bar... you can see this groove as 3 parts of 4/16 notes and one part of 3/16 notes

[Cactus78]

29.3/7

[CrazyDaddy420]

You're all wrong.

4.5/4 :P

[jimfarey]

@CrazyDaddy420 LOL. Thumbs up

[cbddrummer]

9/8

[tinchodr]

15/16

[jimfarey]

did u see the notes now? :)

[jmr2master]

How come no one will believe the video information that says he's playing in common time? The pulse/physical notes is not always how you get the time signature.

[dhoff23]

@jmr2master

It says he DEFIES common time...

And did you really just say that counting the physical notes are not how you get the time sig?

Um... then how DO you get it? ESP?

This IS 9/8 and 15/16. Please believe.

[jmr2master]

That is a simple question. Ask for the NOTATION!!! In modern(normal styles) you already know the basic 4/4 pattern that defines a groove because you can follow the pulse which is normally related to the tempo(of one thing or another). But what if this groove was written at something like 65 BPMs and played as 64th notes?(Keep in mind those #s are random). Sometimes randomly counting is not the answer. . .

[jimfarey]

have you looked at the notation for this piece?

[dhoff23]

@jmr2master

There's nothing random about counting, dude. When you're presented a piece like this WITHOUT notation (like hearing it live) you would use your EARS and your HEAD and COUNT to figure it out.

If a groove was written at 65 bpm and played as 64th notes... BUT HOW MANY 64ths? If you've got a piece that's in 63/64, then yeah. Otherwise, your time sig would need to be converted into simplest terms, ie 4/4.

THESE beats are 9/8 and 15/16.

BTW: Defying and Defining are different.

[jimfarey]

fair to say that not every phrase outlines the time signature. there are hundreds of examples of 3/4 or 3/x phrases implied in modulated 4/4 or other time signatures.

Until you introduce a band there's no counter reference so it's up to the player whether they decide to work on the implied pulse as the pulse or as a counter rhythm.

[jmr2master]

@dhoff23:

1) Calm down!

2) Counting the physical notes is only helpful if you plan to MAKE YOUR OWN phrase out of something you hear.*Your count phrase this as 2/4 and playing over the bar, you could phrase it as 4/4(between hi-hat splashes since the video doesn't start when royster starts playing). There are a number of ways to phrase it.

3) That is why I said the answer is simple. If you hear a pattern and learn it wrong then your will never play it right after you practice it. .

[dhoff23]

@jmr2master

I'm calm... just trying to get a point across.

The title of the video is, "ATTENTION DRUMMERS!!! Can you count this?..."

So... I counted it. It's simple. Can YOU count it?

[jmr2master]

Yeah. I'd count it as 4/4 between splashes since the video doesn't really start on the one of his playing. Or 9/8. The second I didn't count as something difference since its the same as the first but with fills in between.

[jimfarey]

I have no idea what this means??

[dhoff23]

@jmr2master

There is a big difference between 4/4 and 9/8. Four quarter notes does not equal nine eighth notes. Doesn't matter where the video started. You can hear the pattern, as he plays it through 4 or 5 times. It IS 9/8.

And the second groove he plays is actually very different. It's CLOSE to 4/4... but there is a 16th note dropped off the end of the pattern. It's 15/16.

I recommend viewing jimfarey's response video... he's notated it perfectly.

[jmr2master]

@dhoff23

Your use to counting any pattern you 'don't' know as time = tempo. You can count this in almost any time signature possible if you understand the difference between 'TIME SIGNATURE', 'TEMPO' . Once you understand this concept then you will understand why you can count this in 4/4.

[jimfarey]

@dhoff23 Wild suggestion there, sailor. Easy now... steady as she blows.

[jimfarey]

Only in the first groove does he nod his head in quarters, which would suggest it's modulated 4/4, the 2nd one he doesn't do the same movement with his nodding so I'd guess he feels the two differently

[2Boobie4]

cant count it but i can play it =]

[upyoursorelse]

nope thte first one is: 123 : 12 : 123 : 12, the second is: 1234 : 1234

[drgaga]

i thought i was in 7

[drumr4lif3]

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

[StickInZee]

the first groove is in 9/8, subdivided as 11/16 and 7/16. try this sticking: RLRLRLRLRLL / RLRLRLL. the second groove is in 15/16. you can count it out in a sticking such as 3 paradiddles plus 3 sixteentth notes. RLRRLRLLRLRRLRL. very good drummer to not only technically play it, but make it groove too!

[itsanthonyhere]

How does one go about learning how to figure that out?

[jimfarey]

You click the video response at the top? :)

[jmr2master]

I did and I got an LOL. Thanks for your interpretation!!!!

[PossessiveObsessions]

Hmm, at first listen the first beat came to opposing bars of 13/16 and 5/16. I don't know if that's right, just my first idea.

[Nuegoms]

what?

[jayco4]

Go watch virgil donati