Radiohead · 2007 · 5/4
The 5/4 odd meter in 15 Step by Radiohead
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. A steady five-beat bar supports alternating kick and snare hits. This is an original five-count exercise, not a recreation of the song’s electronic drum loop.
● Hit · empty cell = rest. Switch a part off and play it yourself.
Repeating phrase
Count 5. Repeat after 5 quarter-note pulses.
Practice tempo: 80 BPM (quarter-note beat)
One click per quarter note. Accented cells sound stronger. 80 quarter-note pulses/min. Choose half speed for easier counting.
Note: This is an original 5/4 counting groove. It does not reproduce the recording’s electronic drum loop, subdivisions or sound, and does not synchronise with Spotify.
Tempo: The exercise starts at a practice tempo of 80 BPM. This is not presented as the recording’s measured tempo.
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
15 Step is in 5/4, as Sierra Music’s description of the song identifies. Five quarter-note beats complete the bar. That is different from five evenly spaced notes played against four inside the same bar.
This exercise gives the five-count meter a simple kick-and-snare shape. Count all five hi-hat hits evenly, then notice two kick hits together across the loop boundary: the last count and the next first count. It is an original teaching pattern rather than the recording’s detailed electronic rhythm.
What to listen for
- On the record: the recurring five-beat cycle behind the vocal
- In the exercise: the snare on counts two and four within a five-count bar
- The kick on count five followed by count one as the bar repeats
Practise this rhythm
- Start with Count clicks and count one through five for four bars.
- Choose Drum exercise and tap the snare on counts two and four. Keep count five before starting again.
- Mute Kick and supply its hits yourself. Compare the alternating pattern with Take Five’s three-plus-two practice grouping.
