Polyrhythms

Here is an example from my book Advanced Rhythmic Concepts. It deals with a very basic polyrhythm of 2 against 3.

You will notice that the first measure is in 3/4 with eighth notes on the snare line and quarter notes on the bass drum line. The second measure is in 2/4 with eighth note triplets for the snare drum and quarter notes for the bass. ) It is very important that you learn both inversions of a polyrhythm and can count it either way.) I like to work down the page. Dealing with only one meter at a time helps to master the rhythm one way before learning its' inversion.

Okay, Lets work out 2 against 3.

1) Play quarter notes with your foot while playing eighth notes on the snare drum using your hands. Be sure to alternate your sticking.

2) Accent every third note on the snare drum line and continue playing quarter notes with your bass drum. Listen carefully to the accents. The way they fall with and against the quarter note pulse will eventually become the polyrhythm. This is the second line of the example.

3) Once you can feel the "two" working against the "three" with the subdivisions, remove the notes that are not accented as in line three. You are now playing in three, but the snare drum is playing two notes in the same time as the three with your bass. If you are counting out loud it should be 1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 & etc. The trick is to be able to count the top line as 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - and the bottom line as 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3.

4) Once you can play both lines at the same time, and count one as 1-2-1-2 or 1-2-3-1-2-3, you will be playing line four.

5) Go back to the second measure of line one in 2/4. You will see that the hands play eighth note triplets on the snare drum while the foot plays quarter notes on the bass drum. Play this until you are sure all notes are metrically perfect. 1-ka-ta-2-ka-ta etc.

6) While playing and counting eighth note triples accent every second note on the snare drum line and continue to play quarter notes with the bas drum. As before, listen carefully to the accents falling with and against the quarter note pulse. 1-ka-ta-2-ka-ta-1-ka-ta-2-ka-ta

7) On the third line down, you will be counting eighth note triplets in 2/4 but only playing every other one with your hands. Keep playing quarter notes with your bass drum. Try to hear the "two" feel and the "three" feel. Once you can count it as either 1-2-1-2- or 1-2-3-1-2-3, you will be playing the fourth line.

8) Once you have worked out the polyrhythm between your hands and foot, play the top line with your right hand and the bottom line with your left and visa versa. All polyrhythms should also be played with just the feet.


The boxes will give you another way to work on your independence.

I hope you have fun and this opens up another rhythmic world for you. If you can learn 2 against 3, you can learn 3 against four. Why not 5 against 7 or 9 against 5?

My book Advanced Rhythmic Concepts goes into much more detail and has some fun ideas to try.