On 17/8.
In my Musicianship class today we went over irregular time signatures, a topic I’ve always been especially interested in. That got me to thinking about my favorite time signature, which happens to be 17/8. Why 17/8?
Glad you asked.
17/8 is remarkably versatile. There’s the 4+3+4+3+3 form, as used in “Next” by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. (It’ll be in 17/8 for the first few minutes of the song.) This is an interesting breakdown because it has the feel of two measures of 7/8, each with the form 4+3, and then an incomplete measure of just three beats. Incidentally, incomplete measures are one of my favorite rhythmic tricks — you see it all the time with songs in 4/4 randomly throwing in 2/4 measures, but that’s another entry.
Similarly, you can use 17/8 to spice up 5/8 by using the form 2+3+2+3+2+2+3. This gives the impression of two measures of 5/8 (as 2+3), then an incomplete measure, and then another measure of 5/8. I used this form in one of my first experiments with irregular meter in a song that I inexplicably titled “Flagpole“. (Again, 17/8 is the first meter encountered.)
Then there’s “eight and a half,” used in another Flecktones song called “Scratch & Sniff.” (Wait until the banjo takes the lead; that’s the 17/8 section). This form breaks down into 2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3. It seems like you’re in 4/4, but every other measure has an extra “and” thrown in. It would count like so: “one and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and and.” 17/8 isn’t a very natural way to think of this; it actually sounds more like 4/4 with a mistake every now and then. It’s quite interesting if you can get used to the sound, though.
If you just drum your fingers and move the accents around, there are lots of other options. 3+3+3+3+2+3 sounds like 6/8 for two measures and then a random measure of 5/8. 2+3+3+2+2+3+2 seems to have a spooky quality about it. 3+3+2+3+3+3 could be some kind of perverse waltz.
Okay, enough rambling about meters. Hope that made some sense.