In modern and contemporary music, you occasionally encounter some really wacky meters. Some early examples of atypical meters can be found in the works of Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok. They both wanted to capture the spirit of indigenous folk music from their homelands (Russia and Hungary, respectively). One distinguishing aspect of that indigenous music was irregular beat patterns — for example, 7/8 or 3+3+2/8. These irregularly grouped patterns lend the music an incredibly rhythmic feel. 9/8 is nowhere near that wacky. It’s maybe 3 out of 10 on the unusual-ness scale.
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