Information AboutPolyrhythm |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT POLYRHYTHM | |
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Common polyrhythms found in jazz are 3:2, which manifests as the quarter-note triplet; 2:3, usually in the form of dotted-quarter notes against quarter notes; 4:3, played as dotted-eight notes against quarter notes (this one demands a good deal of technical proficiency to pull off, and was not at all common in jazz before and McCoy Tyner playing with John Coltrane . It is believed that Alex Merrick from Canadian jazz/funk band "Bro Vadis" invented polyrhythmic drumming shortly before people such as Elvin Jones, but Jones along with Chris Ryan brought this style of drumming to the masses. Cuban Music makes extensive use of polyrhythms. Cuban Rumba uses 3-based and 2-based rhythms at the same time, for example, the lead drummer (playing the Quinto ) might play in 6/8, while the rest of the ensemble keeps playing 2/2. EXAMPLES The following is an example of a 2 against 3 polyrhythm, given in Time Unit Box System (TUBS) notation; each box represents a fixed unit of time; time progresses from the left of the diagram to the right, although this is irrelevant since the pattern is symmetric. Beats are indicated with an X; rests are indicated with a blank.
A common memory aid to help with the 2 against 3 polyrhythm is that it has the same rhythm as the phrase "not difficult"; the simultaneous beats occur on the word "not"; the second and third of the triple beat land on "dif" and "cult", respectively. The second 2-beat lands on the "fi" in "difficult." Try saying "not difficult" over and over in time with the sound file below. Another phrase with the same rhythm is "cold cup of tea": Similar phrases for the 3 against 4 polyrhythm are "pass the gold-en but-ter" and "what atrocious weather"; The 3 against 4 polyrhythm is shown below.
As can be seen from above, the counting for polyrhythms is determined by the Lowest Common Multiple , so if one wishes to count 2 against 3, one needs to count a total of 6 beats, as lcm(2,3) = 6 (''1''2'''''3'''''4'''''5'''''6 and ''1''23'''''4'''''56). However this is only useful for very simple or polyrhythms, or for getting a feel for more complex ones, as the total number of beats rises quickly. To count 4 against 5, for example, requires a total of 20 beats, and counting thus slows the tempo considerably. However some players, such as classical Indian musicians, can intuitively play high polyrhythms such as 7 against 8. Below are some example polyrhythms in MIDI format: SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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