Playing in 5/4
These are a few words to help my students who are just learning to play in odd meters. "Odd meters" are meters of 5,7, 9, or other odd-numbered beats per measure. We in the western world are more used to hearing music in repetitive groups of two, three, or four beats. Other cultures have different conceptions of musical time. Some Middle-Eastern countries produce a great deal of music with 5, 7, 9, or even more beats per measure
A few suggestions will make 5/4 easier to manage:
1. You will usually see 5/4 broken down into a repeated pattern of 2+3 beats, or 3+2.
2. The best way to get comfortable with odd meters is to listen to and play along with a lot of it.
Here's an example of music in 5/4, from the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Notice that the rhythm falls naturally into a pattern of 3+2, with an emphasis on the last two beats (one-and-and-and Four Five...)
Here's Blue Rondo a la Turk. It is in 9/8, broken down into 2+2+2+3