I’ve always been fascinated by music in “unconventional” time signatures (5/4, 7/8, etc.) and I’ve never understood why they’re not used more often in music. Or maybe I do understand. They’re not as “easy” to clap along to, or as easy for the brain to process. Try snapping your fingers in time with Stravinsky’s Right of Spring and get back to me on that.
Quintuple time (5/4 or 5/8) is rare, but there are many famous examples. The ones I’ve chosen (with a few exceptions) should be familiar to most. My criteria is this: I have to like it. Note that in most cases the “quintupleness” doesn’t seem contrived: you might not notice that these are rhythmically unusual.
10. Isle of the Dead (Rachmaninoff)
The lilting rhythms here sound like a rowboat lurching towards a fatal shore.
9. “Neptune” from The Planets (Holst)
Holst is on here twice. “Neptune” is cold and angelic.
8. II. Allegro con grazia, from Symphony #6, “Pathétique” (Tchaikovsky)
Sounds like a drunken waltz. Some people say this is the “first” quintuple rhythm in classical music, but there are other examples.
7. “Living in the Past” (Jethro Tull)
Just a great song.
6. Halloween Theme – Main Title (John Carpenter)
The quintuple rhythm here is unsettling, and propels the music forward.
5. Theme from Mission: Impossible (Lalo Schifrin)
The beat here is just M.I. spelled out in Morse code: – – ˑ ˑ
4. “Everything’s Alright” from Jesus Christ Superstar (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
Did you know this was in quintuple time? Another song from the rock opera is (partly) in septuple time: “Heaven on Their Minds”.
3. “Take Five” (Paul Desmond, performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet)
One of the most famous jazz pieces ever.
2. I. Andante con moto, from Symphony #2, “Mysterious Mountain” (Hovhaness)
Technically this is in 10/4 time, but I hear it as a majestic quintuple chorale. So sue me.
1. “Mars” from The Planets (Holst)
A staple of halftime marching bands. It still holds up after more than 100 years.
Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin
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