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We are reaching the sensible peak of these odd time signature videos! And yet, despite the advance and uncommon nature of 19/8 time, there are still ample examples of this extremely odd meter being put to great musical usage.
SOURCES:.
Danny Seraphine On Counting And Playing 19/8:.
The Problem of Other Minds (Matt Garstka Drum Playthrough):.
And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel's Patreon saints!.
This video was edited by David Hartley. Have a look at his YouTube channel here:.
ASSISTANCE ME ON PATREON:.
0:00 Introduction.
0:16 Chicago.
1:57 Don Ellis.
3:16 Pianote.
4:13 Bruford.
4:49 Animals As Leaders.
5:13 Herbie Hancock.
5:35 19/4.
6:55 Piano piece in 19/8 time.
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I absolutely love you videos. Keep Up The Great WORK!
When are we going to get “Songs That Use 4/4 Time”? I’ve been waiting this whole time and David has been avoiding it so hard as to do 19/8 😔
joking aside I’d actually be interested in 8/4 and 16/8.
Some songs are 8/4 because they either are grouped 3 + 3 + 2 or because they alternate between 7/8 and 8/8 so it’s easier to count than going to 4/4. Also I’ve seen a couple of songs that folk call 16/8 just because the phrasings are 16 beats.
It would be interesting to see songs that both heavily play into 4/4, and also songs that disguise their 4/4 time. Or even just different ways to play the bass (or drum, but Bennett is a pianist), with 4/4 time, because a lot of small variations have been developed due to how popular it is. A common one off the top of my head is adding a flourish to beat 3.
but 99% of the time any exponent of 2 on the top people just write as 4/4. It needs a good reason to be written otherwise.
@Toblexson “Disguising 4/4”? This isn’t a good example, as it does not exactly disguise it’s 4/4, but anyway this sprung to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3B4bnCm0Wo
Tuomari Nurmio – “Kauas tahdon matkustaa” (Finland 1981) – highly critically acclaimed but quite idiosyncratic record. I remember reading somewhere that directions for the drummer were something like “Take the forwards driving force of 2 and 4 in a 4/4 beat, and put them in 1 and 3, so it’s more like holding back”
I really love your videos and I would love to watch a video about songs that share the same structure
I have been absolutely obsessed with Don Ellis recently. You could make an entire series dedicated to all of the weird time signatures he’s used.
A video on finding the 1 in some complex drums like Ginger Baker and Matt Cameron would be cool.
Rusty Cage has always been one of my favourite Soundgarden songs and never realized it was in 19, additionally I never even knew that 19/8 was even a time signature since I’ve never heard anything in it before but it definitely sounds interesting. Great video as always, David
I didn’t know it was either! Growing up, I mostly heard Soundgarden’s singles, but a few years ago I heard some full albums and I didn’t realize they played in different time signatures and styles! I hate the radio, MTV, and pop music. We miss out on all the best music!
I love this series of videos. I agree with the Chicago guy- anyone can write in an unusual time signature, it’s making it feel natural that’s impressive
David, that piece you wrote is amazing!!!!
There’s a long bit in the intro of Rival Sons’ Look Away which is in 19/8. Quite an underrated band.
Oh, thank you – Chicago Transit Authority is an amazing album… and I grew up playing Hell’s Bells – Bruford’s finest 😊
I think Sungazer’s ‘Threshold’ is a really awesome example of 19/16. Not 19/8 I know, just a personal favourite 19 time Signature
technically speaking, threshold is in 4/4 but every beat is a 19-tuplet. so in reality its basically 19/16
@Phonetyx I saw that in Adam Neely’s breakdown of the song (or Shawn Crowder’s, I’m not quite sure which one it was). Really interesting to think it was written in 4/4, I never would have expected that listening to it!
@Soccer Shoes That was the whole point of the Perihelion album really, exploring musical ambiguity and uncanny valleys.
The piano piece in 19/8 time at the end is so beautiful!
Another song containing 19 is Isle of the Cheetah by Hum. In the first half, most of the bars can be counted as 6+6+7 but then sometimes it’s just in 6 to throw you off even more!
I could make Dream Theater addendums to every one of these videos, but a few I’ll mention here is the outro of Home (last several bars are in 19/16, essentially 4/4+3/16 feel), and Pale Blue Dot (which goes from 4+4+4+4+3 to 3+3+3+3+3+4 in the intro)
I tried to learn home on drums, and the whole thing is easy except for the last part; that would screw me up every time
The guitar solo on Zappa’s “Keep It Greasy” from the famous Joe’s Garage album is in 19/16 time, grouped as 7+5+7. Vinnie Colaiuta’s performance is astonishing (as usual), fluid and grooving. The verse is in 21/16, while the chorus is in 4/4. it’s very much worth checking out.
It’s nice to see zappa getting appreciated
We want a full version of this final piece. The unachieved aspect of the time signature is really fitting the ambiance.
The way I learnt to count in 19/8 was Dream Theater’s “Pale Blue Dot” the main riff is very clearly counted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 123
That piece at the end is absolutely beautiful!!! Well done, sir!
It would be great if you could go into more detail on how these beats are implemented in the arrangement. Like what exactly makes it sound like 1231231212 instead of 1234121234 etc
Love your tune at the end. It would fit in well with some of the ambient music I listen to, but would also be a great basis for a slow, melancholy rock song that builds up to some power chords.