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Time signature changes can hypnotize you
One fine October day, one of the best bands of all time – and one of the few good things to have come out of Boston besides reality game show legend Boston Rob and those cannolis I see everyone chowing down – dropped a new album. It was just okay, but that’s okay. My friends and I are big Pixies fans and have covered maybe half of Doolittle at this point, so we chatted about it soon after its release. They shared similar thoughts and feelings I had, but they also had some damn good observations – and that’s why I keep them around. My dear friend, Julia, mentioned she liked “Hypnotised” because of the meter change. After a re-listen, I immediately thought, “Hold on now. How freaking clever.” And let me tell you why, if you wish to entertain my thoughts. As a note, I am brand new to the world of learning an instrument and basic music theory, so all my thoughts and opinions on music prior to learning bass guitar were purely based on unsubstantiated vibes. Rick Rubin built an entire career off of this, so I'm simply following in his footsteps.
The song is generally about a “psychedelic experience” and was actually first written around guitarist Joe Santiago’s experience with misophonia, or his fear of crunching and other loud noises. He decided to get less literal, more mysterious with the feelings around powerlessness and sensory hijacking, which resulted in a song about a suffocating hypnosis. In the song, the narrator is hexed, aware he has lost control of his mental and physical faculties but incapable of escape.
Now for the good stuff – the song begins with a 4/4 time signature that is carried by these loud, abrasive drums reminiscent of Pixies’ Surfer Rosa-era drum sound [Thank you, Steve Albini]. This establishes a balanced grungy rhythm you intuitively want to nod your head to (and I know you do). Dare I say you’re…hypnotized? Paired with airy vocals that sound like they’re stuck in a melodic carousel yet are simultaneously pleading for liberation, these verses feel like a strange fever dream.
THEN – the chorus hits and the time signature changes to a 3/4. There are two reasons why I think this is such aclever little detail (Black Francis, you sonuvabitch). A ¾ time signature is known to sound like waltz music, a dreamy sway with a slight emphasis, a pendulum. It is easy to get lost in, and a lot of famous songs described as “hypnotic” use a ¾ time signature. Even MORE, he uses this hypnotic sounding time signature specifically for the chorus, generally the most lyrically repetitive part of a song. The chorus’s lyrical repetition paired with this dreamlike time signature magnifies the never-ending hypnosis this guy is going through. He is coooooked.
There are other Pixies songs that use meter in a more unconventional way, but “Hyptnotised” is just such a fun exercise in creative storytelling. It demonstrates how artists can manipulate music to transmit more than sound but a specific physical feeling that amplifies the meaning of the lyrics and engulfs you in the artist’s experience; meter and meter changes can be one means of doing this. In this case, using an even 4/4 time signature to hook the listener to the rhythm, grounding them in a repetitive mindset from the beginning, and suddenly transitioning to the hypnotic ¾ to snap the listener into a dreamlike state, evoking the feeling of sensory paralysis. This ultimately makes the listener an active participant of the song.
Ignorance is creativity?
The LAST thing I’ll say about time signatures, dear five readers, is that you don’t know how to read them to be creative with them. When making this list of songs, I easily included HappinessIs A Warm Gun because it’s truly insane (non-pejorative). I remembered that the Beatles did some weird things with time signatures on several songs [there’s literally Reddit threads on it], so when I looked into this, I learned that they DIDN’T use sheet music. Sorry if everybody (the five people reading this) already KNEW that, but what the hell. HOW????? This means they had an implicit understanding of time signatures and other foundational music theory, sure, but they were doing pretty advanced stuff according to real musicians and not me. Those four legends just went off each other’s vibes when writing and playing, doing what literally felt right.
Relying on their innate understanding of meter over standard technical knowledge unbound them from the traditional “rules” of songwriting. Leading with feeling over formula, they had the freedom to mess with several song components, especially time signatures, and be pretty damn innovative to transmit the exact feeling they had individually AND, more challengingly, in relation to one another. [I mean, they produced some of the most creatively fascinating songs whether or not they were on acid at the time.] From my observation, most western pop artists go into songwriting knowing they’ll use a 4/4 time signature. It’s straightforward to play and easy for the listener to catch onto – it’s even, like a good walking song, a head bobbing song, an earworm. This isn’t bad, but it definitely puts the artist in a box, not to mention the meter itself feels predictable. The Beatles went into songwriting without a template to build their concept around. Rather, they started with a concept and molded the sounds and lyrics – and physical delivery of them – around it.
Closing thoughts
It was validating to know you can be innovative in a field whether or not you know the technical how to’s. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop learning its ins and outs since they’ll help stretch your creativity to another level (Paul McCartney learned sheet music after The Beatles), but you probably don’t need them when the Feeling is there. You just need to be resourceful, and be a little weird with it. Importantly, you’re likely not going to have a completely original idea (all four Beatles members had musical influences from all around the world), but you can still evolve it to a more personal and consequently more interesting state of existing in the world. I realize this is the basis of creativity, but it’s sometimes hard to remember in a time when re-creation for the sake of efficiency is more highly valued or commended. I also tend to dedicate a lot of time to learning and perfecting when pursuing a professional or creative goal (UX research and bass guitar, respectively), but this has often hindered me from actually putting my new knowledge into practice or taking it further. Instead of being what I thought were blind spots, maybe some of the gaps in knowledge will provide the space for me to be curious, embed a piece of my individuality, and flex my creativity. In sum, follow the Feeling and you could be the next Paul McCartney.
