Over the years I've had students who find it challenging to keep odd counts going in their head while performing.
Getting a good grasp of this ofcourse has a lot to do with focussed practicing, and playing with people.
Having said that, subdividing these counts can help you keep track of the groove in realtime.
In this blog I will share a few permutations of a 7 count being subdivided which have helped many students, peers, and teachers (myself included).
Approach
Let's start by clearing out that we will not be looking at 7/4, 7/8, and 7/16 separately. The reason being, we are simply subdividing the number 7 numerically.
Subdividing 7 helps in simplifying the subdivision because the same numeric subdivisions will be applied to each of those time signatures.
It's also important to mention that, using the indian rhythmic syllables for counting these subdivisions will be very helpful.
When you approach any kind of pulse this way, it naturally creates a groove that you can always catch on to.
Hence, making it much easier to keep track of odd time signatures.
In this approach, we use four main types of subdivisions:
Subdivision | Indian Syllables |
1 | Ta |
2 | Ta-Ka |
3 | Ta-Ki-Ta |
4 | Ta-Ka-Dhi-Mi |
Permutations
Let's now look at the different permutations using combinations of 2, 3, and 4:
Subdivision | Indian Syllables |
4+3 | Ta-Ka-Dhi-Mi > Ta-Ki-Ta |
2+2+3 | Ta-Ka > Ta-Ka > Ta-Ki-Ta |
3+4 | Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ka-Dhi-Mi |
3+2+2 | Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ka > Ta-Ka |
2+3+2 | Ta-Ka > Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ka |
Now let's look at some permutations using 1 along with combinations of 2, 3, and 4. These will give somewhat of a "displaced" feel:
Subdivision | Indian Syllables |
1+4+2 | Ta > Ta-Ka-Dhi-Mi > Ta-Ka |
2+4+1 | Ta-Ka > Ta-Ka-Dhi-Mi > Ta |
3+3+1 | Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta |
1+3+3 | Ta > Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ki-Ta |
1+2+3+1 | Ta > Ta-Ka > Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta |
1+3+2+1 | Ta > Ta-Ki-Ta > Ta-Ka > Ta |
How To Practice These?
Follow the steps below for internalising these permutations:
Turn on the metronome at a comfortable speed. Make sure to turn off all the accented beats. Somewhere between 50-70 BPM is a good place to start,
Either clap, or tap your foot along with the metronome to keep the pulse.
Sing each permutation written above in order.
Once you get a good grasp over them, challenge yourself by randomly selecting a permutation. Having someone choose it for you is ideal.
Try creating a musical idea with each of these. It could be as short or as long as your creativity and level allows you.
If you are a performing musician, apply it live on stage while improvising. Putting yourself in such a tight spot accelerates your progress if done with the right attitude.
If this was helpful, subscribe to my blogs and never miss out on the latest posts. Stay tuned for the next blog, which will be about subdividing a 9 count!
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