34 or 54

John, your difficuly seems to be that the 5/4, although potentially more interesting than the 3/4, still itself has a very pronounced 3-beat which leads the ear to expect the triple time to keep rolling. I'm not sure how to get around this: irregular times are very hard to write in, which is why most don't, most times. When it works, it's wonderful (as in Brubeck, and the Stranglers). When it doesn't, it can be dire.

FWIW I prefer the 5/4 lead-=in: suggestion is to reduce the ONE-two-three feel to the first "half" of each bar: perhaps use a chord in the left hand rather than the oom-pah-pah waltz-style bass. dotted minim for first chord, minim for second.

Regards
Tim Fatchen

www.flyingtadpole.com

Hello Tim and John,

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

I'm not sure how to get around this: irregular times are very hard to write in...<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>They can feel quite natural, though. Listen to Romanian folk tunes to hear how fluid 3-8th and 2-8th rhythm patterns can be mixed together. For example, listen to Bartok's transcriptions of them for piano. Note, however, that such 3-8th and 2-8th mixtures have a much different flavor than say the 3+3+2+2 (2+1+2+1+2+2) pattern of Brubeck's Tave Five. The difference is that Take Five uses 3=2+1, where as Romanian and other eastern European folk music uses 3=1+1+1 when mixed with 2=1+1 and 2=2.

Cheers
-- Mark