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I was replying to my friend @BadAstronomer who was asking about the āfractionalā feeling of @AKIRAIFUKUBEORGās #Godzilla march. But it got so nerdy, I decided to just tweet it to all of you. 
Here goes. Why does the Godzilla march feel the way it does? ...
Here goes. Why does the Godzilla march feel the way it does? ...
One of the most important expectations to satisfy with music listeners is symmetry. Our brains crave symmetry in sight and sound (faces perceived as ābeautifulā are proven to be the most symmetrical). The same is true for music, especially when it comes to form. This is why ...
... the majority of popular music is in 4/4 with phrases usually occurring in even numbers. The second most common form is 3/4. Yet even then, bars of 3 are ALMOST ALWAYS grouped into two, thus forming even phrases. ...
Popular music that is built from any other signature is usually hiding the symmetry in plain sight. āMission Impossibleā is in 5/4, Pink Floydās āMoneyā is in 7/4. But, the bars are always grouped in pairs, so we subconsciously feel the symmetry throughout. ...
Ok, back to Ifukubeās āGodzilla.ā What is going on there? Look at the progression of meters:
4+5
4+5
4+5
4+5+3
We feel these in phrases of two bars, So, letās combine the 4s & 5s. We get 9+9+9+9+3.
Its 4 & 1/3 phrases. Itās uneven but still compelling. Why?
4+5
4+5
4+5
4+5+3
We feel these in phrases of two bars, So, letās combine the 4s & 5s. We get 9+9+9+9+3.
Its 4 & 1/3 phrases. Itās uneven but still compelling. Why?
The answer lies in Ifukubeās melodic invention. That extra bar of 3/4 is used as a turnaround to pivot back to the melody. Because it unexpectedly doesnāt fit the pattern, we feel it OUTSIDE the pattern, like a little skip returning us to the start of the phrase we crave.
As a result, we feel the Godzilla march as 4 groups of 9 beats, or an even 36 beats (though itās actually an odd 39). Thanks to clever melodic writing, we FEEL it is symmetrical even though it isnāt. 
Or... itās just an awesome tune and who cares about any of this?
Or... itās just an awesome tune and who cares about any of this?
So... What are your favorite songs in unusual time signatures?
Iāll offer up my favorite, which also breaks down into fun math: Basil Poledourisā āConan the Barbarianā Main Title.
Iāll offer up my favorite, which also breaks down into fun math: Basil Poledourisā āConan the Barbarianā Main Title.
PS: Inspired by Ifukube, my Ghidorah Theme is in 9/8 and the phrases are 3 bars long. It adds up to 27 beats, thus feeling inherently unnerving and alien.
PS Part 2: When @Mike_Dougherty hired me on @GodzillaMovie I was so excited I wanted to tease fans. I almost posted a cryptic tweet reading ā4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 3ā but I got cold feet when I realized that the pattern was so unique that fans would quickly figure out what I meant!
