Loopy timing

Description

Many musicians seem to turn a blind eye to using exotic time signatures within their pieces. Writing music in weird time meters is just like any other expressive musical technique, it adds interest to the piece and makes listening to the piece more enjoyable. Unusual meters can spruce up any style of music, whether it be classical, metal, jazz, rock or even pop. You don\'t need to be a genius with a perfect ear to write in weird timing. Infact, all you really need to know is how to count!
The example below is in a 10/8 meter. The top number of the time signature represents how many beats there are per bar, and the bottom number gives the value of each beat. So, in this case the 10 (top number) means there are ten beats in a bar, and the 8 (bottom number) means each beat has the value of a quaver (eighth note beat). The beat value is determined by dividing 4 by the bottom number. In this case: 4 / 8 = 1/2. Therefore, each beat has the value of 1/2 a crotchet (or quarter note) which is a quaver or eighth note beat.

Each note in this example is a quaver. To get the right feel of this example, count the notes as: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4, accenting each note that falls on 1. Do not count them as: 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2, because this is the same feel as 5/4. Try to play it slowly at first, to coordinate your ear to the feel. The example is a classical sounding riff, and its purpose is to provide an insight of how weird timing can really make a simple riff sound technical and more interesting. All you need to know is how to count!