How Radiohead use Time Signatures 

and THIS is why Radiohead's drummer(s) are vastly underrated.

I was just messing around trying to replicate the step-sequenced bit of 15 step, found an additional interesting fact. First it's just the beat. On the first bar there's 4 claps on the 2 3 4 and 5 that could be mistaken for 4/4. Thom sings: How come i end up where i started How come i end up where i went wrong Won't take my eyes off the ball again You reel me out then you cut the string Each of these lines starts on the 2, the first clap, as if he's seduced into trying to follow that simpler 4/4 But then it repeats and changes slightly. He sings it all again but the last line is different. First you reel me out then you cut the string 'First' is on the 1. He ended up where he started wrong over and over again, but then he decided he wouldn't take his eye off the ball again, and found the 1. Might be reading too much into this, but it is radiohead, so i don't think so. Thought this was a really cool example of musical painting you discuss in some other vids.

Pyramid Song is in 4/4 despite how crazy it sounds.

Amnesiac's Morning Bell appears to be in 2

Fun fact about 15 steps: One suggestion for the meaning of the title is that the majority of popular songs are written in or 4/4 or less frequently 3/4, which would require a 12 or 16 step to stay in time when dancing. However, somebody dancing to a song with a 5/4 time signature could confidently stay in time with a 15 step dance.

Alternative Title : How time signatures use you

I've always counted Paranoid Android as being in 8/8 but I think that's because it makes the 7/8 transition easier to count

15 step's bass line is a banger

After listening to Paranoid Android so much, I already got used to it's time signatures that it sounds totally normal to me 😅

Sail to The Moon and Pyramid Song! Idioteque and maybe Videotape?

Everything in it's right place was my first year musicology transcription project... I tried a lot of different phrasing but found ultimately the phrase fits best as 10/8, and it definitely counts better in 10: 4+3+3.

Pyramid Song always seems to have sparked up some discussion as to what time signature it's written in

I played paranoid android in marching band. I'm so glad I was in pit.

How Tool uses time signatures

I'd love to hear your take on Soundgarden's usage of complex time signatures

Check out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s “crumbling castle” for accessible 5/4 shenanigans

YESSSSSS FINALLY MORE RADIOHEAD

Really enjoyed the video! It's criminal that you're small as it amazing! I think a video on syncopation based riffs say Videotape, Jigsaws Falling into Place and Meeting In The Isle. Also Pyramid Song and Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box.

I really love the shift from 6/8 to 5/8 in You

I remember the exhilaration of figuring out 5/4 time. When I learned '15 Steps' on guitar, I would clap out the rhythm for a few minutes before picking up the instrument, to get the rhythm locked into my brain. Did the same for 'Paranoid Android' and 'You'. So much fun.

In Rainbows to me is Radiohead's best album. The whole album is just absolutely amazing.

Damn dude, I didn't even know they snuck a 5/4 to 4/4 thing into Everything in it's right place. Such a great band. Also that was a funny clip of Dave Brubeck you got for the end. Nice.

Thank you for teaching us these incredible things

Hello, ooo I'm new to trying to understand musical techniques. Have found this video via my love for 'Radiohead'. Have you done any explanations of the wonderful 'Porcupine Tree'? Thank you.

9:55 I have to say when I hear that tubular bells riff I feel like 14 note version is the normal, natural version and the 16 note has _extra_ notes added making it feel unnaturally extended and uneasy. You say earlier about how one can create accents within the melody or riff, well I hear the ‘E’ as an accent and when you take the one from the lead in, it forms a kind of ‘1, 2, 3, half rest, 1, 2, 3, half rest..’ pattern which is then disrupted by the extra beat in the second bar.

Bloom has some trippy stuff in it rhythm-wise, it would be great to see an analysis of that song.

Incredible well explained! Loved the video about jazz rhythm at the end too!!

What time signature do you want to write your song in? Radiohead: Yes

just heard "the lick" being played in the intro music lol

4:05, You might want to mention that the snare drum does _not_ follow the 2-bar pattern but just plays the clave. The snare drum does after all almost drown out the clapping, so most listeners will probably be confused when mistaking the snare drum for the clapping.

I watched a live show in which Thom counted "... 4, 5" for 'Everything In I'ts Right Place' which to me makes more sense, if you think it that way it is very close to the same idea in 15 step you pointed out.

5:40 Also known as the "Logical Song 10/4"

If you're okay with something a little more funky, I'd highly recommend Phillip Glass - Einstein on the Beach: Knee Play 1 (I know it's a mouthful)

Great Job! I'd like to hear you elaborate Dream Theater's time signatures.

Keep up the good work! Radiohead is arguably the greatest artist of our generation.

Bennett on Elliot Smith would be great - and much needed.

I've never been a massive fan of radiohead but understanding their time signatures has really made me appreciate them more and understand math rock more. Thank you 😁

Excellent,would you do more on beatle modulations.Your analysis is excellent,thank you.

In Everything in its right place, there's a little misstake, as the played riff does not make the change from F to C, but starts on some sort of C chord (when Thom starts sining, the riff will change to that version starting on F). But for the rest, this video is amazing as your videos are usually.

Well, this was one example of a fine explanation of four Radiohead songs' time signatures, young man. Thank you!

Keep them radiohead videos coming

This answers a lot of questions and had me counting everything in the video. Great job, wish I had this kind of skill decoding rhythm.

This guy knows way too much. I think he was born studying music theory.

I can tell as the son of their roadie (from the whole band life) tech and sound engineer that they know nit that much about theory and they don't use it and also don't write music even for the Thom Yorke piano learning story ,They know a lot about instruments and the because they are self thought musicians but also use for the whole time the electronics and they have tempo knowledge even thanks to that and to their drummer

Everything in its right place, not everything in it’s right place. ;-)

great video, very informative and well done. Wish you the best

In let down there's a polyrythm with two guitars playing in 5/8 and an acoustic, bass and drums in 4/4.That's cool

AMSP version of true love waits. Very strange rhythm.

Dude... You should have A LOT more subscribers. Great analysis! Keep up the good work.

i drove to campus for a semester with kid a and amnesiac starting from the beginning every morning and if u do that everything in its right place is in your head somewhere forever

I’ve only just noticed that Go To Sleep from Radiohead is (for the first half) conceptualized as an alternating 4/4 6/4. It uses 4 quarter notes like a normal song but then uses 4 dotted quarter notes in the next bar, sounding like it has slowed down, and a stuttering effect

Man great great video, more videos about radiohead use of time signature!!

Wow, such insight into time signatures. How long did it take to research everything and put it into a video people can understand?

Everything in it's Right Place is in 10/4 all the way through. It doens't change time signatures although the accents change from section to section.

8:36 I actually hear the tempo of this song being twice as fast as you notated, so i also hear the 7/8 part as 7/4

Can you look at some of System of a Down's songs and time signitures? Specificslly at Question!

They do subtle, clever things with rhythm all the time. For example, the drum intro of Reckoner starts on beat 4, completely disconcerting the listener when you start counting along with it.

One piece that drove me nuts in HS was Dance of Maya from the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It is obviously in an odd time signature, but in the middle, it seemed to switch to a completely different one. What is astounding is that at the end, the two sections are played together, one on top of the other and it is obvious then that it was the same dame time all along. I think the thing is in 10/4 but I could be wrong. This is a perfect example of how breaking up measures differently sound so....well, different.

I love the pyramid song syncopated piano riff... But I think it could be notated as a 4 bar ostinato in 4/4 with only bar 1 and 3 of the riff on the main beat

This music looks IMPOSSIBLE to play properly!

Radiohead 'In Limbo' is an interesting one for me - is that polymeter?

That was neat, great job! I would add Pyramid Song, that if I'm correct adds measures of 3-3-4-3-3, a pattern that would form a pyramid shape if looked geoometrically.

That's cool you mentioned Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" in context of "15 steps" because there was absolutely brilliant video of both of them mashed up. It's called "Radiohead vs Dave Brubeck - Five Step"; though it's (likely) not available on RU-vid anymore, I found the audiotrack of it on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/juanchov182/radiohead-fivestep)

Oof. You should do Sufjan Stevens and how he does time signatures.

Brilliant video! I would love to hear your analysis of Genesis' 'Turn It On Again' main riff (in 13), Sting's 'I Hung My Head' (in 9) and 'Seven Days' (in 5) and whatever is happening in the pre-chorus of Van Halen's 'Jump' which I'm not smart enough to figure out (the part with the lyrics 'Can't you see me standing here I've got my back against the record machine ..') before going back to the standard 4/4 of the chorus (I think something happens during the guitar solo too before going to the synth solo) and also the pre-chorus of 'Unchained' which has some odd bars which make it very interesting.

Dude you really broke it down! It's incredible how they write music. I learned something, thanks

I think for "yesterday I woke up suckin on a lemon" part of everything in it's right place, it's easier to read if you subdivide the 10/4 so it's two measures of 5/4 for each segment, and have the quarter note rest at the end of each second segment. That way instead of having to count a different time signature you can just play a rest at the end of each phrase, which is pretty easy to do.

of all the music samples you used, the one you get struck for is 'take 5' hahahahahaha

Adam Neely and нескучный саунд

Im really happy to see someone who loves Radiohead as much as i do. Bends is their best album in my opinion

what an amazing video man, I think you are the one that explains this kind of things better for beginners and I like it a lot. Keep it up!

Is this video about Tom Yorke and the Radio Heads?

Whas this your Master's thesis? 🤣🤣

i wish i was able to comprehend all of this theory.. but alas... i play guitar

it so syncoplycated:)

I always heard the Son Clave referred to as the Bo Diddley Beat. TIL!

Yessssss more Radiohead!! This makes my day

You forgot 2 + 2 = 5 time signatures but great video mate

Great video as always!

Very good video, except I would've preferred you used 8/8 instead of 4/4 for the Paranoid Android example, due to the high hat rhythm being constant 8th notes

Radiohead key changes pls

Very good, i'm pleased. Thank you!

Cool video, but please find a new font.

Amazing video , really keep it up

I thought the words to Morning Bell went "not another camera... Poliiiccce man... Poliiiccce man..." I thought the lyrics to everything in its right place went "yesterday I woke up soaking and eh-warm"

Kid, you're brilliant! I wish I had your musicianship.

Super interesting, thanks Dave!

In limbo is a great example

Fascinating. Thanks for explaining this so well.

In Biffy Clyro's song Mountains, the verse is in a 15/16 time signature (well that's what it sounds like, I don't know if there's a term for it)

Ur videos have top notch quality. Very informative and intellectual.

Did he just call Brian Eno "Eno Brian" during that quote around 8 minutes in?

Yessss dude. Love your videos, and your Radiohead ones specifically!

How about videotape? I know it’s in 4/4, but the syncopation is tricky.

I must say, this is an excellent channel. Keep up the good work brotha

Doesn't 15 Step have some kind of layered percussion as well?

I'd love if you analyse the snare drum pattern in The Morning Bell...

Bloom?

I love and admire the way you're talking about Radiohead. Your technicity is refreshing and admirable. I can't wait to know more about your knowledge on my favorite band. Thanks for this great work !

you’re better at explaining than my primary school music teacher