# Seven beats to a measure?



## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

It is pretty unusual in Western music to have five beats in a measure, but seven is probably even more unusual! I am looking for examples of music which contains seven beats per measure, or sounds like it does. I will give all the examples I know:

Part(s) of the last movement of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto
A portion of a Nocturne in D Flat by Debussy (I have the sheet music and the meter actually is 7/4)
Part(s) of a slow movement of a piano trio or piano quartet (?) by Brahms (sorry I can't be more specific)

and from popular music,

Almost all of "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel (once in a while there is an extra beat, making a group of eight beats)


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The finale to Stravinsky's Firebird is a famous example of septuple time. Stokowski changed it to 8/8 time for one of his later recordings. Go figure!

Follow-up question, but probably harder: What's the earliest example of a piece or a movement written entirely in quintuple time?


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## Petwhac (Jun 9, 2010)

All You Need Is Love-The Beatles, The verses go: two bars of seven two bars of four one bar of seven- repeated.


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## Rehydration (Jun 25, 2013)

"Off-Balance Blues" by Kevin Olson is in 7/4. It's a fun piece from the 21st century.
Also, "I am the Doctor" from the soundtrack to the fifth series of Doctor Who.
Earlier than this (got all the rest from Wikipedia):
Mikrokosmos (nos. 113 and 149)
Impromptu, op. 32, no. 8 (Charles-Valentin Alkan)
Parts of _Pictures at an Exhibition_ is in 7/4

The earliest known reference to quintuple time that I found was also from Wikipedia:


Wikipedia said:


> Two brief passages of 5/8 occur in the "mad scene" (act 2, scene 11) from Handel's opera Orlando (1732), first at the words "Già solco l'onde" ("Already I am cleaving the waves") when the demented hero believes he has embarked on Charon's boat on the Styx, and then again two bars later.


Before then it was almost entirely ambiguous.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

"Money" by Pink Floyd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_(Pink_Floyd_song)
Even the effects loop that opens the song has seven beats: _One of the most distinctive elements of "Money" is the rhythmic sequence of sound effects that begins the track and is heard throughout the first several bars. This was created by splicing together recordings (Roger) Waters had made of clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking counting machine and other items to construct a seven-beat effects loop._


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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Probably one of the most famous examples of septuple time is the extraordinary third movement of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7...here is Sokolov's famed performance of it:


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Morton Gould Jericho and others*

Funny you should mention this. Our community band will be performing one the classic concert band works: Morton Gould's _Jericho_. It has a 7/4 section. It starts at about the 4:52 mark through about the 7:12 mark in the following recording:






According to band legend Gould composed this work in one evening. (Note: If you can not figure it out it is about Joshua and the walls of guess what.)

I have played plenty of wild metered stuff. The final dance from _The Rite_ goes all over the place (Help!!!)

Alfred Reed in his _Armenian Dances_ employed all sorts of wild rhythms. In one section there was a 3 2 2 3 rhythm.

Second movement of the Tchaikovsky _Sixth_ is in 5/4.

In Eastern European folk music there is plenty of 7/8 stuff _i. e._ Armenian, Greek and Klezmer:

Sample of Klezmer:






Sample of Greek:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

If memory serves, the theme music from "Mission Impossible" is also in septuple time, though playing through it in my head I cannot for the life of me work out just what the rhythm is. 

I find it interesting that in a lot of pop music, there are constant changes of rhythm, but often done in such a way that you don't notice it, because all the percussion work gives the impression of an unchanging rhythm.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

If I recall it is a 3 3 2 2 rhythm.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Metric seven, cast in an almost relentless 1.2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3 throughout the work:
Bernstein; Chichester Psalms.




that starting ca 2'00'' in after the brief introduction.

One of the most natural sounding _seven measure long *phrases* (of 4/4) -- perhaps a bit more difficult to pull off than casting something in 7/4 meter_, nothing sounding syncopated or imbalanced:
Lennon / McCartney, "Yesterday."


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## earlybard (Sep 4, 2013)

brianvds said:


> If memory serves, the theme music from "Mission Impossible" is also in septuple time, though playing through it in my head I cannot for the life of me work out just what the rhythm is.


Almost right; it's a very commonly used example of 5/4 meter. Two dotted quarters, quarter, quarter. Also, a prime example of an earworm...


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2013)

Is a 'measure' the same as a 'bar'?

BTW - wiki has some ideas...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuple_meter


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2013)

A couple of very common numbers from Dave Brubeck. Take Five 5/4) and Unsquare Dance.
(7/4)


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## sonnenuntergangstunde (Apr 20, 2013)

MacLeod said:


> Is a 'measure' the same as a 'bar'?
> 
> BTW - wiki has some ideas...
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuple_meter


Yes.

fillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfiller


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## isridgewell (Jul 2, 2013)

If I'm not mistaken the opening of Russian Easter Overture by Rimsky-Korsakov is in 7/4. It is also a time signature that Holst visited frequently (The Cloud Messenger springs to mind).


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

earlybard said:


> Almost right; it's a very commonly used example of 5/4 meter. Two dotted quarters, quarter, quarter. Also, a prime example of an earworm...


Yeah well, I can't fit that tune into 5 beats either. Or into any other number.


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

No. 8 of Ligeti's Musica Ricercata. 

Best regards, Dr


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

CarterJohnsonPiano said:


> Probably one of the most famous examples of septuple time is the extraordinary third movement of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7...here is Sokolov's famed performance of it:


_*Hot damn!*_ .............................


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

PetrB said:


> _*Hot damn!*_ .............................


Pretty much my feeling too - Prokofiev's virtuoso piano music is utterly awesome.

Not that I would have known that piece is in septuple time if I weren't informed of it. I seem to be a bit rhythm deaf and find it extremely difficult to pick up the beat in much of classical music. Even when I compose little ditties myself, my main problem is to work out what the heck the time signature should be.

This is partly what I like about classical music, mind you. I find the obvious and insistent beat of much pop music boring and prefer classical music's more subtle approach.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

Wikipedia has a huge list that probably contains this, but I think it's more fun to read responses here, plus their list probably contains a lot of music that isn't that good. In the overture to Leonard Bernstein's _Candide_, there is a part in septuple meter (or least the music is in groups of seven beats). I'm not that familiar with the actual opera/operetta/musical.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

The "Young Joe has gone fihing" song in Peter Grimes is a good one. Also, isn't the organ solo in Glagolitic Mass largely in 7/4?


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## chalkpie (Oct 5, 2011)

Is there a better passage of music EVER written in 7 that surpasses Genesis "The Cinema Show"? I think not lads!!

The original. Yes, that is Peter Gabriel singing lead with Phil Collins on background vocals (and drumkit). I think Tony Banks composed the interlude in 7/8.






Great cover version by Swedish band The Flower Kings


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

The first movement of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms (after the fanfare) is in 7/4 throughout. Great piece. Also Bernstein's "Oh Happy We" from Candide is in 7 also. He liked writing in 5 and 7...


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