I recently bought the new odd meters styles pack for Band in the Box for Mac. Its great but it didn't have the time signatures I was looking for. I really need 7/4, 9/4 11/4 and especially 13/4 time signatures because I plan on going to college and living in New York City and those meters are very popular right now. I need to be able to form backing tracks so that i can hear where the chords change.

I like odd time stuff too (always have) but I don't like how they are being implemented; in RB you can't set the time sig to 15/16 and play a 15/16 realtrack. It doesn't line up and actually becomes a 7/8 pattern if you try, since the 'sample' (chosen chunk of realtrack recording) truncates.

Hard to explain, but I heard from above that this was the expected behavior. This concerns me.
Other wave files recorded in that time signature can be lined up with the time sig/tempo so a click can be used, and editing is much easier, etc. If odd times are expanded I think they should be marked in a way where they line up correctly for other use.

Hi jazzman123. I certainly will not dispute that better BIAB support for more unusual time signatures would be welcome. If you have a particular song that is a good example of something you are looking for, head over to the Styles Wishlist forum and post that.

Your statement about time signatures and moving to New York City caught my eye. Do you have any reason to think things in New York are different with regard to time signatures? I would not be concerned that there is anything special going on here. Working with odd time signatures is done all over the world, but there is plenty of life left in the more conventional ones. Best of luck in your studies.

Well I currently attend the High School for the Preforming and Visual Arts and I've had four former students discuss the importance of odd meters in New York because the majority of the music they play are in 7/4 and 13/4. And as for an example of 13/4 time, they're very difficult to find but this is a fairly good example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BCwpKJgsSw

I also have sheet music for a famous jazz song called Solar that's been rewritten in 13/4. I could somehow upload it if need be.
A great example of 7/4 time is "Pussy Wiggle Stomp" by Don Ellis, who was big into using odd meters.

Steve Coleman's bands are a good example of playing in odd meters. Not too many groups like his though.

Thanks, jazzman123. I loved the one measure of rock beat he snuck in at 1:05; great sense of humor.

Yes, I heard Don Ellis perform live many times. His recordings are a good source for early use of odd meters in jazz.

Did you know Mr. Ellis used to count using his fingers, touching his thumb to each joint in succession? He had practiced doing that until is was automatic. I watched him do it, and it was like watching any of the rest of us tap our foot.