Song Talk Radio | Songwriting Tips | Lyrics | Arranging | Live Feedback

Neel plays with a polymeter for his songwriting challenge answer

Listen Later

For Neel’s answer to the 2025 songwriting challenge, he wrote a baroque-esqe song using multiple time signatures and polymeter sections.

Download the lyrics to Vice and Rack to follow along.

We talked about:

  • The song Cup of Coffee by Garbage and how they used a polymeter (which Neel incorrectly labelled compound time)
  • How Neel incorporated four different time signatures in his song, including a polymeter of “3 against 4” (3/4 and 4/4 simultaneously)
  • Using a 7/4 time signature with alternating 3+4 and 4+3 emphases
  • The appearance of odd time signatures in classical Indian music
  • How Neel’s approach to the bridge resulted in a modulation for the final chorus
  • How Neel used a metronome and selectively muting tracks to compose the polymeter section
    • … Read the rest
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Song Talk Radio | Songwriting Tips | Lyrics | Arranging | Live FeedbackBy Song Talk Radio : Songwriting Folks
    • 4
    • 4
    • 4
    • 4
    • 4

    4

    22 ratings