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 Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature 
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Post Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
This is a cool video that Jerry Ballard posted on FB over the weekend. It's a quick but fun little dissection of odd meters and specifically the meter for one of my all time favorite Pat Metheny tunes "The First Circle".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5fxErfHW0[/youtube]

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Mon Nov 16, 2015 8:50 am
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
Totally fascinating! 22/8 time! I love that piece too and never realized it was so complex.

The more I learn about Pat the more my respect grows.

Here's a nice live version of the tune with an orchestra. It's easy to understand why everyone is visibly counting. And the drummer has headphones! What the heck?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qRb1xt1APE[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qRb1xt1APE

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Mon Nov 16, 2015 10:05 am
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
Ah...wide stripes for this one.
Pat is indeed more than his hits. He writes, arranges and performs complex yet listener friendly music. He's the most amazing composer of his era.
The Stick is well suited for much of his music
Steve A


Mon Nov 16, 2015 10:26 am
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
I love Metheny, that was great! As a drummer I love music with odd time signatures, or tracks that change often within the song.

Not to hijack the thread, but Special Providence is an instrumental prog band from Hungary who write and perform in unbelievable time as well. Hope you don't mind me sharing one of their videos:

https://youtu.be/SjJawjL4B8U


Mon Nov 16, 2015 11:46 am
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
I always have especially good memories of this tune too as whenever he has played this tune in Detroit, it not only gets a standing ovation but every single time the audience literally leaps to their feet when he hits the last stop. It's a very powerful tune ... especially live.

The thing I love about things like this is that a composer like Metheny doesn't feel the urge to wear the complexity of his music on his sleeve. It always bothers me when a group goes out of their way to make their music appear "hard". In Coup Detroit, a good chunk of our set was in odd meters and our goal in life was to perform the tunes live and have drunk people dance to them without even realizing.

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Mon Nov 16, 2015 12:05 pm
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
That was fascinating Glenn. Thanks for sharing.

I've always loved the piece. Never sat and tried to dissect it. Now I know why.

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Mon Nov 16, 2015 9:44 pm
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
I always loved odd rythms...very nice...beautiful in fact. And I think like this pianist...I like to subdivide rythms when they seem too complicated. Even before he told he was seeing this as a 11/4, it was exactly what I had in mind.

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Tue Nov 17, 2015 2:03 pm
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
gpoorman wrote:
In Coup Detroit, a good chunk of our set was in odd meters and our goal in life was to perform the tunes live and have drunk people dance to them without even realizing.


CLassic Glenn.!

Thanks for sharing.... Methany's legacy as teacher and performer has become much stronger in my awareness. This another great reason to dig his music.

Cheers

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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
Small anecdote.......... about 15 years ago I actually gave Pat a hands-on Stick lesson. Quite cool.
We jammed afterward....even cooler

Steve A


Thu Nov 19, 2015 7:02 am
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Post Re: Anatomy of "The First Circle" time signature
Lee Vatip wrote:
Small anecdote.......... about 15 years ago I actually gave Pat a hands-on Stick lesson. Quite cool.
We jammed afterward....even cooler

Steve A


I recall you mentioning he picked it up for a few minutes then said...." I dont get this".....you then said...."ya, and you didn't get guitar in 15 minutes either"

So true.
I think maybe some players that come from other instruments are really flummoxed by the fact that they can't pick this thing up and instantly make music from it. It's tough really....its a bit weird, awkward and completely foreign until you spend some time with it.

Cheers,
Kant Ghetteenuph

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Thu Nov 19, 2015 7:27 pm
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