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Undecuple meter

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.

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 (Bulgarian: Ганкино хоро, lit. 'Ganka’s dance') is a Bulgarian folk dance written in undecuple meter (either ¹¹
₈or¹¹
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.

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]

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]

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.

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.

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]

¹¹
₄

• "Awaken" by Yes (first section only)^[7]
• ConcertinobyIgor 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]

• Aksak
• Bulgarian folk dance

• Audio file of gankino horo at the Wayback Machine (archived March 3, 2016)
• Gankino horo performed by Fandujo, an Italian acoustic trio
• Gankino horo performed by the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra