Day 8 - Odd Meter

An odd meter is meter that contains both simple and compound beats. 5/8, for example, is five eighth notes, which can be simplified as a simple (two quarter notes) and compound (three quarter notes) beat, or a quarter and dotted quarter note. The order doesn’t matter - you can have the three-note beat come first, and it would still be 5/8 time. Another example of odd meter is 7/8 time, which consist of two quarter notes, and one dotted quarter note - or a pair of two-note beats and a three-note compound beat. As with the 5/8 example, the order can be reversed - the three-note beat could be followed by the two-note pair, and it would still be 7/8 time. Or, for another variation, the compound beat could be between the first and second simple beat, and it would still be 7/8 time.

8/8 time consists of two dotted quarter notes and one regular quarter note - or two compound beats and a simple beat. 8/8 is not to be confused with 4/4; 4/4 consists of two pairs of simple beats. 4/4 is simple quadruple, while 8/8 has 3 odd beats and one simple beat.

10/8 consists of ten eighth notes (or two dotted quarter notes and two regular quarter notes); two compound beats and two regular beats. 11/8 time consists of eleven eighth notes - three dotted quarter notes and one regular quarter note, or three compound beats and one simple beat.