# Plz post your Non-4/4 tunes/snippets in this thread.



## Gothi (May 28, 2022)

Greetings
We are Tribe of Hofund, a pagan inspired electronic duo. To the case:

For all of you who are interested in other signatures than straight forward 4/4, we wonder if you would help us make an inspiration-thread with your own examples? You can post tunes as well as short examples and snippets or videos of performances.

E.g. sometimes we are amazed how modern DAWs can offer 40+ gb of prefab'ed loop to newcomers all in 4/4 with the trivial subdivision of 8 and 16.

Come one! We can count to more (or less) than four. It is but one of many time signatures. Let's explore the others.


*As to signatures allowed, note that we do not consider a shuffled 4/4 a straight forward 4/4 because the subdivision will actually be pushed toward 12 or 24 and not 8 or 16. So if you got some Jazzy or bluesy shuffle or swing, this will do. A Waltz would be lovely too. So will any polyrhythm where 4 is contrasted to other meters. Likewise if you have a tune where parts of it is in 4/4 but it alternates between other signatures, it is welcome too. However, a syncopated 4/4 is still a 4/4, so being funky won't help it turn into something else. *


We shall start by posting some examples and hope you will chime in with yours, so we can have an "alternative meter" playlist.


5/8 -> 5/4 -> 5/8


5/8


Polyrhythmic 6:4


6/8 -> 4/4 -> 6/8


7/4



Now your turn. Thanks in advance for any contributions.


Freya's peace and inspiration all of you (deep bow).

Gothi and Peter Siegmund Wildling
Tribe of Hofund
Denmark


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## Terry93D (May 28, 2022)

"Hills Combat"

1: 2/4 (pick-up bar)
2-9: alternating 11/8 and 14/8
10: 12/8
11: 7/8
12: 9/8
13-17: 12/8
18: 10/9
19: 12/8
20: 13/8
21: 11/8
22-23: 9/8
24: 10/8
25-26: 11/8
27: 14/8
28: 15/8
at this point it loops to bar 2, which is in 11/8

This makes the most use of irregular time signatures of all my pieces. I realize that many of these bars are subdividable in other ways, those time signatures, however, are how I conceptualized the piece. My inspiration was Hiroshi Tamawari's music for _Vandal Hearts_, which makes extensive use of irregular time signatures.


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## doctoremmet (May 29, 2022)

Xsample Woodwinds - Quick demo of the Bass Clarinet patch (no keyswitching)


Little demo made exclusively made with Xsample libraries. No click track used, no quantization nor any MIDI editing was done. Objective of this little composition is to demonstrate the "plonkability"




soundcloud.app.goo.gl


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## Zedcars (May 29, 2022)

This is my winning entry in the Eventide Itchycoo Challenge Remix Competition that I entered 3 years ago. Figured I’d try to do a few 7/4, 3/4 and 6/8 sigs in amongst the 4/4 to help it stand out from the rest.

(I got a couple of complaints from other entrants that the singer was out of tune and the chords were weird. You can’t please everyone I guess!)


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## Michel Simons (May 29, 2022)

Zedcars said:


> This is my winning entry in the Eventide Itchycoo Challenge Remix Competition that I entered 3 years ago. Figured I’d try to do a few 7/4, 3/4 and 6/8 sigs in amongst the 4/4 to help it stand out from the rest.
> 
> (I got a couple of complaints from other entrants that the singer was out of tune and the chords were weird. You can’t please everyone I guess!)



Damn those weird chords. 

I think it sounds great.


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## Zedcars (May 29, 2022)

Michel Simons said:


> Damn those weird chords.
> 
> I think it sounds great.


Thank you (In the middle 8 they were just major 9ths if I recall - kinda commonplace in jazz and other genres).


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## DrSgtShock (May 30, 2022)

19/16 on this one. I chose the time sig to give the piece a floating, anticipatory feeling. Similar to your piece(s) it could likely be subdivided, though.


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## el-bo (May 30, 2022)

Life is too regimented in 2's and 4's. How much better life would be if we all moved in 3's 



Here's my submission:


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## Roger Newton (May 30, 2022)

7/8


11/8 (Main)


15/8


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## Jeremy PLS (May 30, 2022)

21/8 subdivides to 5,4,5,4,3
Started out as a 21 beat long bass riff, when I added the trumpet it became a western movie theme.


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## Jeremy PLS (May 30, 2022)

4/4 5/4 7/4 Medley of 3 short pieces that seem to fit together. There are lots of tempo and rhythmic changes in this one!


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## shadowsoflight (May 30, 2022)

Wow, there's some really great stuff here! I'm going to try and give a comment to everyone before the thread gets too busy to keep up with...

@Gothi Great tracks. I hope that you keep writing with non 4/4 in this style, it fits very nicely. Have you used the Odin2 synth by the Wave Warden, by the way? I feel like you are obligated to try it, at least 

@Terry93D That sounded effortless and seamless, despite the complexity in time signatures. Very cool.

@doctoremmet Impressive that the track was done without quantization or MIDI editing. Nice showcase of some Xsample libraries.

@Zedcars I loved this track. Please let me know if you ever start a prog rock band!!! The comments about weird chords and being "out of tune" are completely a matter of taste, not correctness.

@DrSgtShock Short and sweet, good use of the time signature to create the anticipatory mood. This reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on it...

@el-bo Really cool sound and feel to your track. It's awesome that you made it with just Synthmaster Player (+ drums). FWIW, I liked the mix.

@Roger Newton All very uplifting pieces, and some very nice orchestration going on.

@Jeremy PLS The trumpet totally brings western vibes! I love how bombastic it sounds.

Here are a couple of my own examples:
A lullaby in 11/8 and 12/8: 

A theme for a desert-inspired alien race from a late 90s space shooter, in 5/4: 

@Gothi here's some psychill in 3/4: 

Finally, haven't shared this one publicly yet, Uranus from an upcoming Solar System-inspired album. First two "movements" are in 9/4: 
View attachment 06Uranus.mp3


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## Living Fossil (May 30, 2022)

Here's one in a 23/8. 
It was a fun track (i played all the guitar, bass and sax parts), but i never mixed the whole mess.
Maybe one day.


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## Roger Newton (May 31, 2022)

6/8 with 4 bars of 5/4 as an added bonus. YeeHaa!


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## The Retroblueman (May 31, 2022)

This was my Score Relief entry this year - starts in 4/4, when the "fun guys" appear at 0.36, there's a variation on the first theme in 7/8, then, when everything goes pear-shaped at 1.42, there's another variation on the theme in 15/16 - in hindsight I should probably have broken things up a bit between 2.10 and 2.40 but I think I was seeing stars by that point (I know a lot of theory but am quite new to producing music and putting it to picture):


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## Easy Pickens (May 31, 2022)

I swear this made perfect sense to me while I was recording it



Now it's virtually impenetrable to me. The main phrase is in 5/4 but about 2/3 of the time it's shoehorned into a bar of 4, then something else happens, and I would honestly have to open the project to tell you what it is. It felt so natural playing it?


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## Easy Pickens (May 31, 2022)

And on a lighter(?) note, a classic waltz time murder ballad recorded by my short-lived Tom Jones tribute band, which consisted of a bunch of my old punk rock friends and my then-teenage daughter. We got her to sing it because the lyrics were less… problematic… coming from her. 



I play the surfy guitar and programmed the drums (for expedience, and because I could not get our real-life drummer to submit to my maniacal interpretation of how to interpret the drums in 6/8).


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## jeremiahpena (Jun 1, 2022)

An electronic track from my album, Internally Fractured Rhythms, "29.16", in 29/16! I had to record the shakers one bar at a time to maintain the rhythm.



And here's a tense piece for Jurassic World Evolution for a dinosaur escape, in 11/8 (alternating 5 and 6). Intended to create a lurching feel like something stalking.


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## JJP (Jun 1, 2022)

This was for an iOS game about ten years ago. We gave the developer, who was a bit of a math nerd, a little Easter egg with this track. The game was based around variations on blackjack so we wrote the tune with a bar of 10/8 (or 5/4) followed by a bar of 11/8. 10+11=21 or blackjack. We thought it was cute.


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## Fr. hugo (Jun 1, 2022)

Simple Waltz I made for an online course in mystical theology.


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## Gothi (Jun 1, 2022)

Look what happens when you rattle in the wood; the tribes come forward with presents. Thanks so much to all of you so far. I am delighted to realise that there is so much talent around and love for alternative sigs. Thanks again.

Gothi


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## Leigh (Jun 2, 2022)

I love those combinations of 3's and 2's! Here's a clip from the 5/4 movement of an orchestra piece I'm working on.

**Leigh


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## Roger Newton (Jun 8, 2022)

Old track written in the 1980s. 6/8

Charles Ives inspired.


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## Jeremy PLS (Jun 9, 2022)

I used to play this in a band in the seventies, Ian Woolway came up with the theme.
All 13/8 with 4 bars of 10/8 to increase the tension.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve had this cheesy 12 bar sequence in C minor kicking around for years, I wondered what would happen if I increased or decreased the length of the bars. This is the result.

It starts with12 bars of the original in 4/4, just to set the scene, then 36 bars each (3 times round) of: 9/8 10/8 11/8 7/8 6/8 5/8


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## weeeeve (Jun 9, 2022)

A funk song I wrote last year as a sort of homage to Tower of Power in 7.



Steven

p.s. I meant to put the instruments used (I always appreciate seeing what other people have used on their compositions): Trumpets and Bari are NI Kontakt Factory, TBone is Session Horns Pro, Alto and Tenor are Cakewalk Dimension Pro, Drums- addictive drums, El Guitar is Electric Sunburst; Bass is Scarbee MM-bass, Organ is NI Vintage Organs.


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## Adam Takacs (Jun 9, 2022)

Another little piece in 6/8 (Soaring Strings, live singing)


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## eph221 (Jun 11, 2022)

AMATEUR video


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## weeeeve (Jun 11, 2022)

Since 6/8 is included in the non 4/4 category, here's another piece, this one in 6/8. A contemporary jazz thing, featuring classical guitar and piano.
Listen to Tuscan Stroll by Steven Laurent on #SoundCloud








Tuscan Stroll


Instrumental featuring classical guitar and piano




soundcloud.app.goo.gl





Steven
p.s. Instruments used: drums- session drums; bass- NI Kontakt Factory; Piano- NI Grandeur; Classical Guitar- NI Kontakt Factory; Trumpets, TBones, Saxes- NI Kontakt Factory; French Horns -Cinesymphony Lite; Percussion- NI Cuba


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## tiago (Jun 14, 2022)

I have done countless experiments in weird time signatures, but only published two (the most listenable ones 😅) so far:

This "sci-fi-ish" one in 5/4:



And this solo piano collab in 7/8:


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## Roger Newton (Jun 19, 2022)

Andante. 2/4. All done with Omnisphere basically. Plus Trillian.

It's good to relax with a Monte Cristo.


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## liquidlino (Jun 19, 2022)

I'll put this one on here, only because it fits the requirement of non-standard 4/4. It alternatives a few different time sigs, mostly 3/4 (or 6/8).


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## liquidlino (Jun 19, 2022)

Roger Newton said:


> Andante. 2/4. All done with Omnisphere basically. Plus Trillian.
> 
> It's good to relax with a Monte Cristo.
> 
> View attachment 78947


I like the composition, performance and arrangement. I don't like the tone of the electric piano/reed/tine so much - it's too "pointy" IMHO, and could do with being toned down a bit to be mellower. but yes, could see an ad with a chap in a linen suit lighting up and relaxing with a big fat blunt.


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## Roger Newton (Jun 19, 2022)

liquidlino said:


> I like the composition, performance and arrangement. I don't like the tone of the electric piano/reed/tine so much - it's too "pointy" IMHO, and could do with being toned down a bit to be mellower. but yes, could see an ad with a chap in a linen suit lighting up and relaxing with a big fat blunt.


It probably is too pointy. It's basically a sketch. Unmastered or toned down or anything like that. 

It was also rejected as a library track. This was years ago during the famous Hamlet cigars ads. So I didn't bother to do anything else to it. So you're right with your observations completely.


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## Rowy van Hest (Jun 19, 2022)

For piano: 5/8, parts in 2/8 + 3/8 and parts in 3/8 + 2/8. Wasn't easy to play.


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## Gothi (Jun 19, 2022)

Thanks for all contributions so far. Glad you have enough material around here to keep this thread going. We already have quite a playlist , and its growing.

Freya´s peace


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## SyMTiK (Jun 19, 2022)

Made this short hybrid cue recently mostly in 7/8!


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## Roger Newton (Jun 30, 2022)

Sculpture by Dynamite. (excerpt)

6/8 or 3/4. I favour 6/8 but you choose.


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## liquidlino (Jun 30, 2022)

Roger Newton said:


> Sculpture by Dynamite. (excerpt)
> 
> 6/8 or 3/4. I favour 6/8 but you choose.
> 
> View attachment 79709


I think it's actually 12/8. But who's arguing, eh? Really nice. Like an orchestral version of the stranger things theme (but then everything with minor sixths arpeggios sounds like stranger things now. can't unhear it).


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## Roger Newton (Jun 30, 2022)

liquidlino said:


> I think it's actually 12/8. But who's arguing, eh? Really nice. Like an orchestral version of the stranger things theme (but then everything with minor sixths arpeggios sounds like stranger things now. can't unhear it).


Thanks. When I write library tracks, I generally have a video with the dialogue/music blocked out. The video for this one is the opening titles of North by North West.


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## akhill jain (Jun 30, 2022)

Sorry for the IG link as I'm AFK. But i thought of sharing this short snippet here.
(I don't intend to do any kind of self promotion!)


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## liquidlino (Jun 30, 2022)

Roger Newton said:


> Thanks. When I write library tracks, I generally have a video with the dialogue/music blocked out. The video for this one is the opening titles of North by North West.


Was that samples or live? I really like the strings. That's a great idea to have a video for the vibe. Do you setup hit points, tempo map etc or just have it loose for the vibe?


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## Roger Newton (Jul 1, 2022)

liquidlino said:


> Was that samples or live? I really like the strings. That's a great idea to have a video for the vibe. Do you setup hit points, tempo map etc or just have it loose for the vibe?


Thanks. I can't remember off the top of my head but I'll look it up for you when I get back home. There's definitely nothing live on this track though.

No hit points at all because if you're writing library music there are no hit points. One minute it could for a war scene, the next minute it could be a load of bugs under a microscope and then a garden in rural England or simply a political commentary on TV or radio.
If there is some kind of artistic endeavour (insert laughter here) a music editor wants to do, then they will cut accordingly. There's also your own cuts (30 secs, 60 secs ect) and then there's also the stems.


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## Rowy van Hest (Jul 1, 2022)

7/16, 5/8, 3/2 et cetera.


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## Roger Newton (Jul 2, 2022)

liquidlino said:


> the strings.


They're mostly Albion ONE and Spitfire Neo shorts. There's one Heavyocity loop in there somewhere too. That's about it.


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## liquidlino (Jul 2, 2022)

Roger Newton said:


> They're mostly Albion ONE and Spitfire Neo shorts. There's one Heavyocity loop in there somewhere too. That's about it.


Wow, amazing what you can get out of ensemble libraries!


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## Jeremy PLS (Jul 8, 2022)

It seems to have gone a bit quiet here lately, so ...
Based on a piano riff in 15/8 (alternate bars 7 and 8), built up in layers, choir and saxes (SWAM).


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## Gothi (Oct 2, 2022)

Long time since we posted. A lot of work and life issues have prevented us from being active for a while, but now we are slowly returning. Here is a tune in 7/4. MC909, Jupiter 80 and Yamaha EX5 in use. It is mixed and mastered in our one and only Reason.



Kind Regards
Gothi and Peter
Tribe of Hofund


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## Gothi (Oct 18, 2022)

Greetings surface dwellers

Another tune from the Darkness of Hel. It goes 10/4. Thus, the guitar theme + drums are counted in 10. However, the ocarina theme is in 4/4 and occasionally turns the rhythm into a 10 against 8 (or 5 against 4 if you prefer) polyrhythm. 



Freya´s Peace
Gothi and Peter
ToH


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## Michel Simons (Oct 18, 2022)

This one is in 7 something.


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## patekswiss (Oct 20, 2022)

3/4 or 6/8? I can never tell. Probably 3/4. My interpretation of the Ned Sublette song.


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## Gothi (Oct 20, 2022)

patekswiss said:


> Probably 3/4.


Agree. The guitar’s emphasis on two and three make it kind of waltzy. Lovely mood and voice. Thanks for sharing, mate.


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