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 ¹¹
₄ or ¹¹
₈. It is usually subdivided into groupings of two or three beats (for example, a grouping of the meter could be 2+2+2+2+3).

¹¹
₄ time signature at 60 BPM

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

Main article: Kopanitsa

Kopanitsa is a form of Bulgarian folk music that utilizes certain forms of undecuple meter (typically ¹¹
₈). 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 2+2+3+2+2. This usage is referred to as a pattern of quick-quick-slow-quick-quick.

Gankino horo

Gankino horo (Bulgarian: Ганкино хоро, lit. 'Ganka's dance') is a Bulgarian folk dance written in undecuple meter (either ¹¹
₈ or ¹¹
₁₆) similar to kopanitsa or krivo horo.^{[citation needed]} 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 (danubian pravo), povarnoto (also known as devetorka in North Macedonia) and eleno mome.

The three measures comprise a seven-step grapevine.^{[clarification needed]} 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 ¹¹
₄.^[1] Another example (also in ¹¹
₄) is found in the John Bull piece In Nomine IX in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.^[2]

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 ¹¹
₄ time signature in the final song of his opera The Snow Maiden, as well as the first song in his opera Sadko.^[3] 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.^[4]

Excerpt from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Hymn to Yarilo", demonstrating the usage of ¹¹
₄

20th century

Jean Cras's 1927 composition Suite en duo for flute and harp (or flute and piano) ends with an animated dance section in an ¹¹
₈ time signature.

Excerpt from Cras's Suite en duo

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.^[5] Undecuple time can be subdivided into nine unique groupings of two and three beats.^[5]

Example subdivisions demonstrated in Dowd's work include groupings such as 2+2+2+3+2, 2+2+3+2+2, and 2+3+2+2+2.

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 ¹¹
₄, 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."^[6]

List of compositions wholly or partially in undecuple meter

Main article: List of musical works in unusual time signatures § Upper number of 11

¹¹
₄

• "Awaken" by Yes (first section only)^[7]
• Concertino by Igor Stravinsky (before rehearsal mark 15)^[8]
• Concerto in E-flat by Igor Stravinsky (before rehearsal mark 25)^[9]
• "Eleven Four" written by Paul Desmond and recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet^[10]
• The intro of "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers Band^[11]

¹¹
₈

• The verse section of "Blockhead" by Devo^[12]
• "The Eleven" (1969) by the Grateful Dead^[13]
• "Eleven" by Primus^[14]
• "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles (during the bridge section)^[15]
• The race results screen from Mario Kart 64^[16]
• "Skrting on the Surface" by the Smile^[17]

See also

• Aksak
• Bulgarian folk dance