Beginning Drum Beats : 7/8 Drum Beats

[lolcat360]

Is this the time signature used in Rush - Subdivisions?

[PostApocolyptica]

7/8 certainly is awkward.

[TheJoeyTaylor]

It doesn't flow very well...

[Koolikoo]

@slipknot930 what is the difference?

[0Brandondavis0]

Hes playing 7/8. the 8 represents you count 8th notes as your underline pulse. but instead of 1&2&3&4& you count 1234567. 8 beats per bar.

[Robertonatal1]

7/4 !!!



[CompulsiveDesigns]

@slipknot930

7/8 and 7/4 aren't really THAT different...

It's the same concept, the subdivisions will usually be the same.

[JJL00001]

This is BS.... 7/8 goes ta-ta-ta -ta-ta -ta-ta.... Listen to Macedonian songs to hear it.... Sorry pall.....

[Kardall]

@JJL00001 7/8 is a time signature. It doesn't mean that a rhythm has to sound the same every time. You can make any time signature sound like anything you want.

Look at Tool. A lot of their stuff is in 4/4, but they make entire arrangements in 4 bar groupings, so it revolves around to come back into 4/4 by the time their done the 4 bars.

You can do anything you want.

[TheDarkFrontier]

@slipknot930

No its 7/8. He's playing 1a2a3a4. 4/4 would be 1a2a3a4a. 4/4 has 8 quavers, so 7/8 is just a quaver less.

7/8 can be played as 1a2a3a4, or to get the same 6/8 type swing feel, 1aa2aa3.

[xlowpitch]

@slipknot930 if this was a 7/4 beat the BPM would be roughly 200. now, does this beat convey such a fast feeling to you? no, it doesn't. it's a 7/8 beat at ~100 BPM. learn2music.

[mikee714]

7/4 is seven 1/4 notes... and 7/8 is seven 8th notes, there is a difference minute but there is still more notes being hit in 7/8.

[TheDarkFrontier]

@mikee714

There wouldn't be more notes in 7/8. 7/8 has 8 quavers, 7/4 has 14.

[mare0tama0drums]

serbia do tokija! :D serbians are crazy people

pozzz

[Lehmann108]

i like how you count odd meters in playing the darbuka: count in 3's and 2's.

[rockme1337]

That's 7/4 .... 7/8 is 4/4 with one less eighth note.

[laurensDG]

@slipknot930 how so? he ticks hi-hat 7 times in a measure

[scottiblasto]

thats 7/4

[dShando1]

ALL OF YOU WHO WANT TO LEARN 7/8 9/8 11/8 JUST WATCH MACEDONIAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC !!!!!! Just Write Leb i sol on youtube and see best macedonian band !

[xbacklit]

Write out a drum beat in 7/8 at 8th note = 120 and play it. Now write that same beat out in 7/4 at quarter note = 120, substituting quarters for the eighth notes, eighth notes for 16th notes, etc. and play it.  Do they sound exactly the same? Yes. If you sat down and played one for your friend, would they be able to tell which was the 7/8 and which was the 7/4? Not a chance.

[RedSandStudios]

@xbacklit The difference is feel. 7/8 rhythms generally have a completely different feel, often like 1 2 1 2 1 2 3, whereas 7/4 rhythms generally are like 4/4 + 3/4.

[Dan1loBr]

@slipknot930 if he plays 7/8 and slows the tempo... can't it be considered 7/8 anyways?

[TheDarkFrontier]

@Dan1loBr

Kind of, it's like if you play a 4/4 beat in a slow-ish tempo like 64bpm in half time, it can almost feel like 6/8. But not really, because then all you're really still playing is 7/4 just slower. It's the notation that is different.

[slipknot930]

@Dan1loBr its al about how its written...but in the video he said seven beats per measure...however 7/8 is seven eighth notes per measure...not quarter notes

[Dan1loBr]

Guthrie Govan - Sevens

[russhio]

7/4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[xbacklit]

You guys all realize that the only difference between 7/4 and 7/8 is how it's notated on paper, right? There's literally no difference in how you hear it, usually. Not in this video's case, at least.

[TheDarkFrontier]

@xbacklit

There actually is. In 7/8 there is 7 quavers per bar, whereas in 7/4 there is 13.

[xlowpitch]

@TheDarkFrontier 13? what? it's 14.

[TheDarkFrontier]

@xlowpitch

I meant to put 14, my bad :)

[slipknot930]

@xbacklit its just the fact that he said 7 BEATS per measure....not 7 8th notes per measure...hes just not specific enough in this video  your right though it is all about how its writen ;)

[xbacklit]

@slipknot930 dude. the title of the video is "7/8". you know that the 8 means? 8th notes. seven eighth notes in a measure.

[Lehmann108]

@xbacklit Yes, this is true, but the feel is quite different when you play it. 7/4 and 7/8 will sound the same to most non-musicians.

[fbalien99]

this is 7/4.. if it was 7/8 the 8th note would get the beat not the quarter note

[barret2378]

@fbalien99 well hes hitting the hi-hat 7 times? Those are all 8th notes. Sorry, I am new to weird time signatures,and it can get confusing as hell sometimes

[gbirk175]

its better to count it as 1-2-1-2-1-2-3

[webgazda]

naaaah hes drumming in almost regular rhythm. check out macedonian and serbian drummers doing 7/8 :)

[JuJuHound]

@webgazda

yeah hes basically doing a normal 8 count beat but dropping the last beat. depending on how its used this can have a cool sort of "unresolved" effect in a song. like the listener feels on edge because they naturally want that last beat but they never get it. But I tend to prefer the rhythms you are referring to, where they really use the 7 count as a whole different vibe. I like alternating between 7 and 8 too.

[webgazda]

@JuJuHound yeah well this guys is knocking out simple 1-2-3-4-5-6-sev... beat. try 1-2-3-1-2-1-2 in 1 measure :) check out youtube video /watch?v=o5LJAGM_tVc its pretty simple, same as /watch?v=b9TpnK-WvFE with a bit of skipping in between beats.

or this one for the advanced :) /watch?v=EKjcyVgwpao but this is 11/8 altought it has been broken into 2 parts, both with odd measures. I have an original backing track for that one, can share it

[Lehmann108]

@webgazda Yes, counting "7" is a very awkward way of playing. I use 3's and 2's in combinations. This helps in playing some very creative fills. He's playing in 7, but he's still thinking in 8.

[MrAllkindofstuff]

@Lehmann108 well practice makes perfect and visiting, say, serbia can make you fat ;)

[webgazda]

@JuJuHound @JuJuHound yeah well this guys is knocking out simple 1-2-3-4-5-6-sev... beat. try 1-2-3-1-2-1-2 in 1 measure :) check out youtube video /watch?v=o5LJAGM_tVc its pretty simple, same as /watch?v=b9TpnK-WvFE with a bit of skipping in between beats.

or this one for the advanced :) /watch?v=EKjcyVgwpao but this is 11/8 altought it has been broken into 2 parts, both with odd measures. I have an original backing track for that one, can share it

[JuJuHound]

@webgazda Yeah I have a 1-2-1-2-1-2-3 groove that I like to fall into a lot. throw in some measures of 5 and 8, and you have a funky ass groove you can hardly follow when you hear it. I like the beat to the Incubus song Quicksand, it changes so much you can hardly anticipate the changes as a listener. I love time signatures haha

[TreyRoque]

@webgazda He kept it simple to demo the time sig. But, yes, those East Europeans can rock it!

[Anight7mareX]

I wrote a guitar riff in 7/8. My band's gonna play it at our upcoming show. It's sick. :D

[dancersok]

Thank you

[spacitydrummer4JC]

..7 is the funnest signature to play in

[SwitsMan]

try 20/4

[KaslarProductions]

try 29/8 :D

[davss5]

@KaslarProductions Where would you put the downbeat(s) on this one?!...it's so long that (with more than one downbeat) it could potentially be interpreted as an odd sig thrown in with regular sigs (e.g., three 8/8s + one 5/8)...

[KaslarProductions]

@davss5 The way I play 29/8 is three sets of 7/8 and one 8/8 on the end

[davss5]

@KaslarProductions Thanks for giving me the breakdown - so do you add at least 1 downbeat for each set?...as an interesting sidenote, since odd sigs may seem "odd-sounding" to the listener - what a possible irony it would be for the listener to get accustomed to the 7/8 (odd) sig, and then to have an easier 8/8 sig thrown into the mix (i.e., the 8/8 could sound like the odd one out)!...

[KaslarProductions]

@davss5 downbeat is most always going to be every beat number 1.

And yes that is pretty much what I was going for in this arrangement. although the way I play it, it sound even on the 8/8 part to make the audience feel comfortable at the end of the measure.

[davss5]

@KaslarProductions Thanks again...and I appreciate that you're being considerate to your audience...btw, I just listened to Dave Weckl's "Island Magic" (a great take on a 7/8)

[KaslarProductions]

@davss5 I appreciate your kindness, but I don't want you to think I am the guy in the video. I'm just a commenter. I am not even a drummer... I play bass. I study drums because thats where the heart of the time signatures are at. I dislike playing in boring 4/4 :)

[davss5]

@KaslarProductions You're welcome...I assumed you were simply commenting on the video...I respect your dissatisfaction about simple 4/4...I'm guessing you would enjoy "all over the place" drummers like Dave Weckl, Dogac Titiz, etc. (but I did witness Weckl playing an 8/8 - gasp!)...Bill Bruford (Yes: '68-'72) preferred odd sigs, too - but he was left with "working around" straight sigs in Yes songs...several 70s Genesis songs were in 7/8 (Collins' drumming was MUCH more intricate back then)

[KaslarProductions]

@davss5 yes I do infact love Dave Weckl. and of course rush a big favorite of mine. I will have to look up Dogac. I havent heard of him before.

[davss5]

@KaslarProductions I am familiar with Rush's use of odd sigs at times, and I like at least some of their tunes...I think Dogac (Titiz) is Turkish (Asia Minor) - and I have seen a favorable comment about East European drummers...I was thinking that you could play a bit of "rubato" (i.e., working around the rhythm line) if you were forced at gunpoint to play 4/4 (what kind of band would THIS be?!...hehe) - but then again the bassist tends to be part of the rhythm section...

[KaslarProductions]

i love 13..... and 17

[thomascompton800]

@spacitydrummer4JC not really

[MrAlexGTV]

@spacitydrummer4JC Agreed. It's like you change your mind but still play inside, turns the heads around man!

[Guitarmofo24]

Thanks dude really helped!!

[blattaluke]

THANk YOU!!!

[lordbacon82]

thanks!

[rgreene3]

very helpful thank you!