https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/mastering-complex-rhythms-polyrhythms/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Wed, 03 Jun 2026 22:57:45 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/mastering-complex-rhythms-polyrhythms/#post-88070 Thu, 03 Feb 2005 05:00:05 +0000
Tap your hand, counting every fifth time:

ONE-tap-tap-tap-tap-TWO-tap-tap-tap-tap-THREE- etc.

That's the division you're looking for. Speed it up until your count approximates the tempo you're trying to hit.

Once you've got that rhythm down, do five taps, then beats:

ONE-tap-tap-tap-tap-TWO.... THREE.... FOUR.... ONE-tap-tap-tap-tap...

that gets you the feel for initiating the irregular group. You can then mix it up with beats, eighths, and so on, going back and forth to the irregular group.

They're not polyrhythms, though. Polyrhythms are two different rhythms occurring at the same time. To give a very simple example, take one in 3/4 and one in 4/4. 3/4 has one strong beat, and two weak beats... 4/4 has one strong beat, one emphasized beat that's not quite as strong, and two weak beats. When both are played at the same time, with the same unit for the beat, the result will be:

1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3
1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4

The strong beats will only coincide every twelfth pulse. Imagine this going through left and right speakers - 'X' will be strong pulses from both, 'L' from just the left, 'R' from just the right, and '-' from neither. You'd hear:

X--LR-L-RL--X--LR-L-RL--X-LR-L-RL--

So polyrhythms give you a sense of 'shifting' pulse.

For something more complex, imagine the left one is in 5/4 and the right one in 11/8 :)]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/mastering-complex-rhythms-polyrhythms/#post-88070 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/mastering-complex-rhythms-polyrhythms/#post-6855 Thu, 03 Feb 2005 04:17:22 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Steve-0 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/mastering-complex-rhythms-polyrhythms/#post-6855