Pink Floyd · 1973 · 7/4 · ≈120 BPM
The 7/4 odd meter in Money by Pink Floyd
Press play to count the meter or try the original drum exercise. Slow the pulse down or speed it up to feel how the pattern works.
Original practice groove. Count seven quarter notes with a steady hi-hat. The kick and snare pattern is an original meter exercise, not Nick Mason’s recorded groove.
● Hit · empty cell = rest. Switch a part off and play it yourself.
Repeating phrase
Count 7. Repeat after 7 quarter-note pulses.
Published reference: ≈120 BPM (quarter-note beat)
One click per quarter note. Accented cells sound stronger. 120 quarter-note pulses/min. Choose half speed for easier counting.
Note: This exercise teaches a seven-beat bar. It does not reproduce the song’s drum part, swing subdivisions or changes of meter, and does not synchronise with Spotify.
Tempo: Alfred’s published arrangement marks quarter note = 120. This is a reference tempo, not a measurement of every section of the recording.
Simplified educational demo, not a transcription of the recording.
Hear the real thing
Playing the track pauses the demo automatically (and vice versa) so they don't fight each other.
What's happening rhythmically
Money’s main riff and verse are in 7/4: seven quarter-note beats before the next bar begins. Odd meter describes the length of that bar; it does not mean two different rhythms must play against each other.
Alfred’s lesson also describes a change to 4/4 for the guitar solo before the return to seven. This player stays in 7/4 so you can practise the main meter. The recording has a swing feel; the demo uses straight quarter-note pulses and an original teaching groove.
What to listen for
- On the record: the main phrase returning after seven beats rather than eight
- The change to four-beat bars during the guitar solo
- In the exercise: a steady pulse continuing through the jump from seven back to one
Practise this rhythm
- Start with Count clicks at half speed. Count one to seven evenly for four bars.
- Choose Drum exercise and tap the hi-hat counts with one hand. Add the kick on the marked cells.
- Mute Snare and supply its hits yourself. Keep counting through beat seven and back to one.
