Undecuple meter


Undecuple meter or undecuple time is a musical meter in which each measure is divided into 11 equally spaced beats, usually notated as either or. It is usually subdivided into groupings of two or three beats.
The meter remained largely unused until the 19th century, when Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used it in his operas The Snow Maiden and Sadko.
Because 11 is a prime number, undecuple meter is considered a complex time signature. It can be found in jazz, pop, and rock music.

In folk music

Kopanitsa

is a form of Bulgarian folk music that utilizes certain forms of undecuple meter. The terms are also used to describe the folk dances that are frequently performed alongside the music.Typically, kopanitsa's usage of undecuple meter will divide the measure into groupings of. This usage is referred to as a pattern of ''quick-quick-slow-quick-quick.''

Gankino horo

Gankino horo is a Bulgarian folk dance written in undecuple meter similar to kopanitsa or krivo horo. The name gankino appears to be most used in northern Bulgaria. The basic gankino horo is a three-measure dance using the step structure also common in the dances: dunavsko, povarnoto and eleno mome.
The three measures comprise a seven-step grapevine. The accompanying dance starts with the right foot to the right, and the left foot crosses in front, taking two measures. The third measure is a three-step grapevine to the left, with the left foot stepping left, the right foot crossing in the back, and the left foot stepping left again.

Usage in classical music

17th century

A rare example of undecuple meter in the 17th century is found in Claude Le Jeune's "Cygne je suis de candeur", notated in. Another example is found in the John Bull piece In Nomine IX in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.

19th century

In his analysis of the rhythms found within the music of Ravel, French philosopher and musicologist Vladimir Jankélévitch notes in a surprised manner that Rimsky-Korsakov uses the time signature in the final song of his opera The Snow Maiden, as well as the first song in his opera Sadko. In the former piece—"Hymn to Yarilo"—the composer innovated by composing in a way that contrasted the meter's complex, unbalanced feeling with major chords and a majestic Allegro maestoso tempo.

20th century

's 1927 composition Suite en duo for flute and harp ends with an animated dance section in an time signature.

Characteristics

Structure

As a complex time signature, undecuple time is frequently subdivided into smaller groupings of two and three beats. In his book A Funky Thesaurus for the Rock Drummer, Charles Dowd notes that the time signature offers more combinations of groupings than smaller complex time signatures. Undecuple time can be subdivided into nine unique groupings of two and three beats.
Example subdivisions demonstrated in Dowd's work include groupings such as,, and.

Difficulty

Due to its inherent uneven feeling, undecuple time can be a difficult meter to perform and conduct in. Conductor Nicolas Slonimsky once wrote in his autobiography Perfect Pitch: "I was used to compound measures like the one to, in Rimski-Korsakov's opera, Sadko, which was an awkward obstacle for the choirs, and sometimes for the conductor. In fact, the students of the Conservatory had developed a little tune on eleven syllables to practice this section of the score, with very unrespectful lyrics towards the great master of Russian music, Rimsky-Korsakov is completely insane."

List of compositions wholly or partially in undecuple meter