7/8 has seven eighth notes per bar, grouped into uneven beats. Here the grouping is 2 + 2 + 3, so the bar has two short beats and one long one. The click ticks every eighth note, accented on each group.
Count "1-2 1-2 1-2-3". Once that is automatic, the long third beat will stop feeling like a stumble.
| Figure | Count | Kodály syllables |
|---|---|---|
| Grouping 2 + 2 + 3 | 1-2 1-2 1-2-3 | ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti-ti |
| Quarter + dotted quarter | 1-(2) 1-(2) 1-(2-3) | ta ta ta-i |
In 7/8 the eighth note keeps the same length, but the beats do not. Two beats are two eighths long and one is three eighths long. The long beat can come last (2 + 2 + 3), first (3 + 2 + 2) or in the middle (2 + 3 + 2). Meters like this are called asymmetric or additive.
Count the groups, not the whole bar: "1-2 1-2 1-2-3". Clap or step on each 1 and you get a short, short, long pattern. A quarter note fills a short beat and a dotted quarter fills the long one. The click in this lesson ticks every eighth note with an accent at the start of each group, so listen for the accents.
7/8 and its relatives are everyday dance meters in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. The Bulgarian rachenitsa is in 2 + 2 + 3. Dancers learn it as "quick, quick, slow", which is a good way to feel it. The meter also turns up in progressive rock and in film music.