Odd Time Signatures: How to Count 5/8, 7/8 and 9/8

Updated: 2026-10-23

An odd time signature is one whose bar cannot be split into equal groups of two or three. 5/8, 7/8 and 11/8 are the usual examples, and 5/4 and 7/4 work the same way at a slower pulse. They sound strange at first because the bar ends earlier or later than your body expects. Once you know the trick, they are not hard: every odd meter is just a mix of groups of 2 and groups of 3.

This guide explains how to read the signature, how to count each common odd meter, which groupings are standard, and how to practice them so that 7/8 stops feeling like a stumble and starts feeling like a groove.

What the two numbers mean

The top number is how many beats are in a bar. The bottom number is which note value counts as one beat: 4 means a quarter note, 8 means an eighth note. So 7/8 has seven eighth notes per bar, and 7/4 has seven quarter notes per bar.

On paper, 7/8 and 7/4 differ only in note value. In practice, 7/4 is usually felt as seven separate beats at a moderate tempo, while 7/8 is felt as a few longer pulses of uneven length. At 7/8 the eighth notes go by quickly, often 200 or more eighth notes per minute, so you cannot feel each one as a beat. You feel the groups instead.

That is the key idea. In 7/8 you do not count seven; you count three pulses: two short ones and one long one. A short pulse is two eighths, a long pulse is three. A dancer in a Bulgarian line dance does not count to seven either. The feet move quick, quick, slow.

Groups of 2 and 3

Any whole number of 2 or more can be built from 2s and 3s. That is why groups of two and three are the building blocks of odd meters across Balkan folk music, Indian classical music, progressive rock and modern jazz. A group of 2 feels like a quick step; a group of 3 feels like a slightly longer one, a little like a waltz beat squeezed into one pulse.

The table shows the grouping a metronome uses by default for each x/8 meter, and where the accents fall. The large mark is the main accent on beat 1, the smaller mark starts each following group, and a dot is an unaccented eighth.

These defaults are a starting point, not a rule. The grouping belongs to the music. 7/8 can be 2+2+3, 2+3+2 or 3+2+2, and each one sounds like a different groove. The composer usually shows the grouping with beams: eighth notes beamed in pairs and threes, or with dotted lines and accent marks. If the beaming says 3+2+2, play 3+2+2, even if your metronome starts with 2+2+3.

Notice also that 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 in the table are not odd meters. Their bars split evenly into groups of three: two, three and four dotted-quarter pulses. They are called compound meters. A slip jig from Ireland is in 9/8, grouped 3+3+3. A slow blues or a 1950s doo-wop ballad is often written in 12/8, grouped 3+3+3+3. 9/8 only becomes an odd meter when the composer groups it unevenly, such as 2+2+2+3.

How to count 5/8

5/8 is one group of 3 and one group of 2, in either order. Say numbers that restart at each group:

• 3+2: “ONE two three ONE two”, or “1-2-3 1-2”.
• 2+3: “ONE two ONE two three”, or “1-2 1-2-3”.

Some teachers prefer syllables because they are faster to say than numbers. A common system borrowed from South Indian rhythm training uses “ta-ka” for a group of 2 and “ta-ki-ta” for a group of 3. 5/8 as 3+2 is then “ta-ki-ta ta-ka”. Say it out loud ten times at a steady speed and you have the feel.

5/4 works the same way at a slower pulse. The best-known example is “Take Five”, composed by Paul Desmond and recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet on the 1959 album Time Out. The piano vamp is grouped 3+2: count “1-2-3 4-5” and you will hear the left hand land on 1 and 4. Lalo Schifrin's theme for Mission: Impossible is also in 5/4.

How to count 7/8

7/8 has three groups: two groups of 2 and one group of 3. There are three possible orders, and each has its own character:

• 2+2+3: “1-2 1-2 1-2-3”. Quick, quick, slow. The long group comes at the end, so the bar seems to lean back before it repeats. This is common in Bulgarian dance music.
• 3+2+2: “1-2-3 1-2 1-2”. Slow, quick, quick. The bar starts with a broad step and then hurries to the next downbeat.
• 2+3+2: “1-2 1-2-3 1-2”. Quick, slow, quick. The long group sits in the middle, which makes the bar feel balanced.

Try clapping on each group start while you count. For 2+2+3 you clap on eighth notes 1, 3 and 5. For 3+2+2 you clap on 1, 4 and 6. For 2+3+2 you clap on 1, 3 and 6. The clap pattern is the groove; the counting just keeps it honest.

7/4 is the slower relative. Pink Floyd's “Money”, from the 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, is mostly in 7/4: the bass riff repeats every seven quarter notes. The guitar solo in the middle switches to 4/4, then the song returns to 7/4. Count along with the riff in groups of 4+3 and you will find the bar line.

9/8, 10/8 and 11/8

Longer odd meters are built the same way, with more groups. Count them one group at a time and they are no harder than 7/8, just longer.

• 9/8 as 2+2+2+3: “1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2-3”. Dave Brubeck's “Blue Rondo à la Turk”, also on Time Out, uses this grouping. It alternates with bars of 3+3+3, which is the normal compound 9/8.
• 10/8 as 3+3+2+2: “1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2 1-2”. It feels like a bar of 6/8 followed by a bar of 4/8.
• 11/8 as 3+3+3+2: “1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2”. Three long groups and a short one at the end. Other orders such as 2+2+3+2+2 are common in Balkan music.

A useful trick with long meters is to think of them as two shorter bars joined together. 11/8 as 3+3+3+2 is a bar of 9/8 plus a bar of 2/8. Once each half feels natural, joining them is easy.

How to practice odd meters with a metronome

A plain metronome that clicks the same sound on every eighth note is almost useless for odd meters. You lose track of where the bar starts after a few seconds. You need accents: a strong click on beat 1, a softer accent at the start of every other group, and plain clicks in between.

1. Set the metronome to 7/8 and choose the grouping you need, for example 2+2+3. Set the tempo low: 120–160 BPM, with each click being one eighth note.
2. Listen for one minute without playing. Count out loud: “1-2 1-2 1-2-3”. Clap on every accent.
3. Play a single note on every group start only. On guitar or piano, a root note on each accent is enough. You are learning where the pulses fall.
4. Fill in the eighth notes. Play every eighth, with a slight accent on each group start.
5. Raise the tempo 8 BPM at a time. Above about 250 BPM, the eighths blur and you should feel only the three pulses.
6. Remove the plain clicks. Set the unaccented eighths to silent so you only hear the group starts. Now the metronome sounds like an uneven pulse: the actual groove of the piece.

Do the same for each grouping of the same meter. Switching between 2+2+3 and 3+2+2 at the same tempo is a great test: if you can change on demand, you are feeling the groups, not reading them.

Odd meters are also easier when you move. Walk around the room and step on each group start. In 7/8 as 2+2+3, your three steps per bar will be short, short, long. Your legs learn the meter faster than your head.

Common mistakes

• Turning 7/8 into 4/4 with a beat missing. If you count “1-2-3-4-5-6-7” evenly, it sounds like a mistake. Group it, and it sounds like a groove.
• Rushing the group of 3. Players often make the long group the same length as a short one, which turns 7/8 into 6/8. Count the 3 carefully and keep the eighths even.
• Ignoring the beaming. If the score beams 3+2+2, do not play 2+2+3 just because it is the first option you learned.
• Practicing only fast. A slow 7/8 with every eighth clicking is the only way to check that every group is the right length.