Polyrhythms..
i'm passionate about polyrhythms, and i'd love to get into more banter about it, but i think i said everything that i know about it in the thread last year, and i'm ultra busy right now.
one thing i will say is that the main reason why anything other than the usual 3/4 rhythms are quite rare in minimal techno/house, is that they are hard work to get right and most people just give up on it and scurry off back to the safety of 4/4.
there is some truth in the 'feeling it' issue, one of the reasons why i tend to use a sequencer more than playing notes and rhythms in by hand is because i have a natural tendency to always play 6/8 rhythms in without realising it, which isnt too useful in a genre dominated by 4/4.
http://www.mnml.nl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php ... innovative
thanks for the kind words oblioblioblio !!
one thing i will say is that the main reason why anything other than the usual 3/4 rhythms are quite rare in minimal techno/house, is that they are hard work to get right and most people just give up on it and scurry off back to the safety of 4/4.
there is some truth in the 'feeling it' issue, one of the reasons why i tend to use a sequencer more than playing notes and rhythms in by hand is because i have a natural tendency to always play 6/8 rhythms in without realising it, which isnt too useful in a genre dominated by 4/4.
http://www.mnml.nl/phpBB2/viewtopic.php ... innovative
thanks for the kind words oblioblioblio !!
Last edited by steevio on Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That post is a good read, I remember it from when it was first discussed.
I think a simple way of thinking about polyrythms is simply as the secondary rythym, you have a predominant rythym, which might say just be a 44 kick goign bom bom bom at regular intervals.
A polyrythym would be like ghost notes from the kick, not hitting right on the kick - either through being directly placed as a distinct note or through subtle syncopation.
So to give a real life example as regards writing techno , you'd have say a 44 kick on one channel, then some clicks and lighter cicks and perhaps some claves on another channel which weren't following the beat, but providing an extra rythym.
One way I try to make interesting polyrythms is to write really long patterns and then increment the length down and up until it puts is into a different timing, can make for nice interesting - seemingly never ending loops.
Anyway - that's my self taught understanding of it, I don't know if it would pass me a music exam (probably not).
I think a simple way of thinking about polyrythms is simply as the secondary rythym, you have a predominant rythym, which might say just be a 44 kick goign bom bom bom at regular intervals.
A polyrythym would be like ghost notes from the kick, not hitting right on the kick - either through being directly placed as a distinct note or through subtle syncopation.
So to give a real life example as regards writing techno , you'd have say a 44 kick on one channel, then some clicks and lighter cicks and perhaps some claves on another channel which weren't following the beat, but providing an extra rythym.
One way I try to make interesting polyrythms is to write really long patterns and then increment the length down and up until it puts is into a different timing, can make for nice interesting - seemingly never ending loops.
Anyway - that's my self taught understanding of it, I don't know if it would pass me a music exam (probably not).
I'll have a good look at that when I get home. Never really been one for experimenting with stuff like that. That said, I have done stuff without realising it's polyrhythmic at the time. Simply by chaining drum machines and having say a kick, snare hat routine over 16 steps in 4/4 time on one of them, then something like a 14 step pattern on another playing percussion yeilds an interesting sequence over say 8 bars. I guess that's polyrhythmic?Atheory wrote:yeah i read through all of that topic before and it was very beneficial and explains the subject very clearly. everyone should read it if they get a chance and they have the time of course.
-
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 2556
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:38 am
- Contact:
I dunno man. obviously everyone knows what works for them, but I think the dominant versus sub dominant thing is pretty constraining.AVX23 wrote: I think a simple way of thinking about polyrythms is simply as the secondary rythym, you have a predominant rythym, which might say just be a 44 kick goign bom bom bom at regular intervals.
A polyrythym would be like ghost notes from the kick, not hitting right on the kick - either through being directly placed as a distinct note or through subtle syncopation.
So to give a real life example as regards writing techno , you'd have say a 44 kick on one channel, then some clicks and lighter cicks and perhaps some claves on another channel which weren't following the beat, but providing an extra rythym.
.
The are some tracks (especially ones that combine interesting pitches within rhythms) that aren't just 1 rhythm rubbing against another but turn the whole vertical and horizontal structure into a beautiful kalaidoscope.
I think the 1 against another approach is probably useful as a starting point (otherwise you end up with tracks that make you feel seasick... like mine ). But definitely I think there is much more territory that can be explored.
(Probably though we're talking from the same page and I'm nitpicking your wording rather than your meaning.)
- sologroove
- mnml mmbr
- Posts: 199
- Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:53 am
- Location: slovakia
- Contact:
Re: Polyrhythms..
::BLM:: wrote:Anyone fully understand and use these?
Can you recommend me a website that talks about these? Been looking into it, but i am really getting very confused.
this is my way ..
i set my beat to 6/4 or 6/8 -not 4/4 or 4/8-
then i set the instrument which should sound polyrhytmic to each 4 beat -12/8 or 8 beat -6/8- in pattern..thats it ..yeah.but i'm in fl studio...
this is an example of using polyrhythms in 4/4 beat or 4/8
but these doesn't sound so continuously like in 6/8 or 6/4 beat..see the red marks...
this was very well presented thanks!!
Opuswerk is now Hendrik van Boetzelaer
Links / Latest News : https://linktr.ee/opuswerk
www.soundcloud.com/opuswerk
www.instagram.com/opuswerk
Links / Latest News : https://linktr.ee/opuswerk
www.soundcloud.com/opuswerk
www.instagram.com/opuswerk