6/4 time in a great rock song

This topic has 6 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Mark H.

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- February 22, 2025 at 8:18 am #388547
  charjo
  Moderator
  April Wine was a popular band in Canada in the 70’s. “Say Hello” is one of the most innovative songs of the decade with it’s unique 6/4 time signature. Can you hear it?
  Can you think of any other rock songs with unusual time signatures. Surely early Yes and Genesis experimented with this.
  Most other songs I can think of alternated or had occasional bars of altered time signature, eg. The Ocean by Led Zeppelin with alternating bars of 4/4 and 7/8, loved by drum students everywhere.
  
  John
- February 22, 2025 at 8:22 am #388549
  6stringer Pete
  Moderator
  First time hearing the song. Thanks for posting.
  
  The melody of the notes is what expresses the art of music . 🙂 6stringerPete
  
  It really is all about ”melody”. The melody comes from a language from our heart. Our heart is the muscle in music harmony. The melody is the sweetness that it pumps into our musical thoughts on the fretboard. 🙂 6 stringer Pete
  
  Pete
  Active Melody
  Forum Moderator
- February 22, 2025 at 9:28 am #388558
  JoeD1
  Participant
  Never heard of the band or the song but definitely very good…thanks! Sounds like a triplet feel.
  
  Joe
  
  The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
  Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
  --Graeme Edge
- February 22, 2025 at 11:01 am #388561
  JoLa
  Participant
  Never heard the song but it’s cool. I know that Pink Floyd also experimented with odd time signatures, for example “Money” is in 7/4, and “Mother” has multiple time signatures like 5/8, 6/8, and 8/8.
  
  🎸JoLa
- February 22, 2025 at 1:08 pm #388563
  Richard G
  Participant
  Interesting band John, I’d not heard of them before. I loved the dynamic guitar solo.
  The first unusual time signature I was aware of was Dave Brubeck’s famous ‘Take Five’ recorded in 1959 and played in 5/4 time.
  This version, played by Guitar Logic, is a fascinating and crisp rendition of the original.
  
  Richard
- February 22, 2025 at 2:05 pm #388565
  Dave O
  Participant
  Cool song! Speaking of Dave Brubeck, this one below is in 6/4. And the police have a super cool song in 6/4.
  
  It's all about the journey, not the destination.
  
  https://soundcloud.com/david_ohm
  https://www.bandmix.com/drwho/
- March 17, 2025 at 12:48 am #390290
  Mark H
  Participant
  Just had to mention “The Eleven” by the Grateful Dead, from the Live Dead double album, 1969. 11/8 time I believe. Fabulous segue into it from Saint Stephen. Blew my mind at the time, and still does.
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