Working with Odd Meter

[daveswallace]

I'm writing a project in 9/4 which performer displays on the grid and time ruler in divisions of 3s - 1/1, 1/4, 1/7, 2/1, etc. However, I'm not working in groups of 3s, but groups of 4s and 5s - is there anyway to adjust for that? It would be really helpful to keep myself synced to the actual odd beat.

[groove]

I do a lot of odd-meter music and unfortunately, I've never found ways to tailor the Graphical window to better reflect them. I've tried to enter 4/4+5/4 when inserting a Meter Change, create Click Patterns or Time Formats to force the display to show a bolder line for each group of beats, the Graphical Window it will always be divided by quater or an eight.

If I'm not outputting to Sibelius for copying, I divide my odd-meter bars in 2 - i.e. 4/4+3/4 - otherwise I switch to the Quickscribe Window to get a clear view of what's, but most of the time, I just keep it as is.

Unless someone come with a solution I might have missed, this is the way I do it.

[Shooshie]

Different zooms may group them differently, but there's nothing to automatically predict where there are 4 and where there are 5 beats.

You might get some help in the form of the metronome, though. Go in and customize your beats. That's a little tricky to master, but once you figure it out, it's easy. The manual, of course, is your friend.

Shooshie