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I have bought a CASIO CTK-4200 keyboard which has some 180 rhythms stored. I am new to such keyboards, and a beginner when it comes to playing music. I know some tunes which I can play on this keyboard.

What I would like to do is play the right rhythm along my performance. Given I want to play Nadia by Vladimir Cosma, for instance, how do I find the right rhythm?

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If the time signatures match, you can play any tune to any rhythm. There is no right and wrong, only what you feel sounds good.

Debussy to a disco beat? Led Zeppelin to a reggae beat? They've been done successfully.

I suggest you choose a tempo first, then go through the 180 rhythms one by one to see which works for you. That sounds like a lot of work, but at 120bpm, listening to a bar only takes 2 seconds, so you could test out the whole lot in 10 minutes.

I listened to the original version of Nadia, and it didn't have a percussion part. It might work with a basic rock rhythm (snares on the up-beats), or with a Latin rhythm - but that's just my subjective view.

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  • So, who have you heard put Debussy to a disco beat, and where can I find it?
    – Babu
    Nov 18, 2012 at 0:59
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    @Babu The Pet Shop Boys song Left To My Own Devices includes the lyric "Che Guevara and Debussy to a Disco Beat", and the 12" "Disco Mix" takes the opportunity to do just that. youtube.com/… -- only for a couple of bars unfortunately.
    – slim
    Nov 19, 2012 at 14:25
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To find the right rhythm, at first find out the basics. Is it 4/4, 3/4 or something more complex? You may be able to work this out by listening, or you may want to look at the sheet music.

The next problem is that the rhythm may change through the song - if this is the case you may just need to go with a rhythm that fits at a basic level.

Working out the tempo should be relatively easy once you have the correct rhythm.

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