Why 'Money' uses 7/4 time and how that groove was built

The 7/4 time signature in “Money” wasn’t a calculated decision — it came from David Gilmour messing around with a bass line on his Telecaster during a soundcheck in 1971. He later described the riff as “a little odd” but couldn’t shake it. The band built the rest of the track around that lopsided pulse, turning a metrical quirk into one of rock’s most recognizable grooves.

The 7/4 feels natural because the riff is built from a repeating pattern of two notes grouped in 3+3+2 (or, more precisely, an eighth-note pattern that divides 7 into longer and shorter beats). Roger Waters’ bass drum pounds the downbeats, while Gilmour’s tape-loop cash-register clinks and clanks underline the irregular phrase lengths. The result is a groove that swings so hard listeners often don’t notice it’s in odd time. The middle guitar solo briefly switches to 4/4, making the return to 7/4 feel even more deliberate.