Forums > Help! > basic polyrhythms

this thread is to support (and reduce the size of) my upcoming 'polyrhythm poi' thread.

that thread will be finished in a few days time





a polyrhythm is "a rhythm composed of two or more rhythms played simultaneously".



they can get horribly complex but we'll be only be dealing with the most basic ones here since they're the ones most easily applicable to polyrhythm poi and staff spinning.



try tapping the rhythms below out on a tabletop.



tap every time there is a little vertical line.



tap out the top line with your right hand and the bottom with your left - remember to practice the other way too of course





Code:

---

2:1



|..|..|..|..|

|.....|.....|





3:2



|...|...|...|...|...|...|

|.....|.....|.....|.....|

---

the numbers above the patterns tell you how many beats one hand does compared to the other, or the 'ratio of beats'.



so in the first pattern, your left hand does one beat for every two that your right hand does - 2:1



and in the second pattern, your left hand taps three beats for every two that your right does - 3:2





notice that for each individual hand, the spacing of the beats is even.



also notice that the individual rhythms come back into time with each other (each hand taps a beat at the same time) over a regular period of beats.





and that's pretty much all you need



if that's all clear, mosey on over to my polyrhythm poi thread (if i've got around posting it) for some ideas on how to play with your poi while applying these kind of rhythms.



------------------------------------



now, before the drummers come to get me, i should point out that 2:1 isn't strictly a polyrhythm.



but for the sake of reducing confusion to a minimum, i chose to include it here anyway



if you'd like to read a more detailed description, this is a link to a very handy page, which explains polyrhythms more completely and gives a few proper examples:

the polyrhythm page



and if you want to hear a lesson on polyrhythms in action, listen to tool drummer danny carey - in fact, just listen to tool anyway

the track 'eulogy' still stands out as one of the best examples of polyrhythms in music that i know of (outside of jazz).





cole. x

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

Let's relight this forum

There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees

Let's relight this forum

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

 Written by:

A cross rhythm consists of a main beat scheme (a purpose in life) and a secondary beat scheme (a perceived obstacle). Each beat scheme has a significance and function in making up the distinct cross rhythmic texture.

Let me paraphrase an old Anlo-Ewe song to further illustrate the real-life lessons inherent in the technique of composite rhythm.

The song says, despair is not only useful, it is vital. Those in despair recognize the facts of their existence, rather like a drowning swimmer admitting the water is there. If you block off the despair, you block off the joy. More simply, an avoidance of contrasting obstacles is an avoidance of the real challenges of life. It will only stifle progress.

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.

 Written by: marco



Been playing with polyrythms and poi for some time now,



mark

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

 Written by: Pele

Oh and Harmonic Whirlies. Those too.

There's too many home fires burning and not enough trees

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.

 Written by: coleman


four ball 3:2 (mirrored) is solid but no tricks

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

 Written by: DeepSoulSheep


I have been brought back a pair of meteor like percussive toys from Ghana before. The balls on the ends are golf ball sized seed pods and made of hard seed type shell. Inside each shell is little seeds, which make it like a shaker. The string between them is about 4 inches long. You can play complex rythems with them. Noises including a loud sharp clack when the 2 balls colide and shakery noises... They're called posh posh (or something like that) but I can't find a picture on the web...

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me

Some things you have to see to believe, but
Some things you have to believe in to see.

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

Some things you have to see to believe, but
Some things you have to believe in to see.

"the now legendary" - Kaskade
"the still legendary" - Kaskade

I spunked in my friend's aquarium and the fish ate it. I love all fish. Especially the pink ones. They are my bitches. - Anon.

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

"the now legendary" - Kaskade
"the still legendary" - Kaskade

I spunked in my friend's aquarium and the fish ate it. I love all fish. Especially the pink ones. They are my bitches. - Anon.

Some things you have to see to believe, but
Some things you have to believe in to see.

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie