1 Although we don’t really consider 3/4 to be an odd time signature due to its conventional feel, in literal terms it is one, so here it is: 3-4 time.wav (our audio clips are available to download with this issue). With its characteristic lilt and swing, it can seem anachronistic these days unless handled with care, since the main thing it brings to mind is that decidedly old-school urban dancefloor movement, the waltz.
2 Although you might think it would sound the same as 3/4, 6/8 divides the bar into two sets of triplet eighth-notes, rather than one set of quarter-notes, which implies a different sort of rhythm. Demonstrated in the second tutorial audio clip, 6-8 time.wav, it could be a doubletime, march-like feel, or a half-time beat.
3 The 5/4 time signature adds an extra beat to your regular bar of 4/4, generating a staggered, ‘drunken’ sort of rhythm. In the 5-4 time.wav clip, we’ve taken a standard four-to-the-floor groove and made it five-to-the-floor, with the second snare hit shifted over a beat to the right.