So why is it? Why is it that pieces like Take Five are so compelling?
4/4 time. 3/4 time. That’s fine, but it just goes around and around and in some sense sounds like an infinite loop around just a tiny bit of something.
But 5/4 and 7/4, well now we’re talking. Looping still, of course. But each iteration holds a tiny universe. A world full of complexities and maybe unexpected syncopations. And can you even count along?
So there’s Brubeck’s Take Five in 5/4. And there’s Jethro Tull’s Living in the Past in 5/4. And of course, there’s Pink Floyd’s Money in 7/4.
So much happens in each measure.
That’s why, isn’t it?