35 votes

Tapping 3 times on one leg and 4 times on another leg in 4 beats. What is it called and how to do it?

Polyrhythm. It's good thing to learn to do. 4 against 3 is nice, before that you should normally try 3 against 2. Normally it's hard to do at the start. I had to break it down, splitting the beats. ...
  • 3,428
19 votes

Tapping 3 times on one leg and 4 times on another leg in 4 beats. What is it called and how to do it?

There is a common mnemonic for learning the 3:4 poly-rhythm. Apologies for the minor profanity, but it goes like so: Get two people, call them "3" and "4" and give them the following instructions: ...
15 votes
Accepted

How should I approach getting used to a wonky syncopation?

The general problem: This is a specific case of the more general problem: you're having trouble playing a rhythm which you haven't encountered before. The solution is not surprising: Learn the rhythm ...
  • 6,034
13 votes
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How to play this passage precisely?

Where did you find this? It is notated extremely poorly and the division of the beats is not intuitive by looking at it. I am not surprised you are having trouble with it. I would, too, and I am an ...
  • 5,547
9 votes
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What is the difference between syncopation and poly-rhythm?

It's a bit simpler than that. Syncopation is accenting the off beat, especially accenting in between beats. For example, "Superbad" or "Mother Popcorn" by James Brown. A single rhythm can be ...
  • 53.7k
9 votes

What is it called when a sequence of notes lands on a different beat every measure?

If you want a hyper-fancy academic term, this falls under the umbrella of what Harald Krebs calls "metrical dissonance." Specifically, this is what is called a "grouping dissonance,&...
  • 83.1k
8 votes

How would you derive accurate tempos if you have a clock with a second hand but no metronome?

Well, this is a fun math problem. If you clap n times for every m ticks of your clock, then this corresponds to 60*(n/m) beats per minute. It's not too hard to assemble a list of values between 30 ...
8 votes

Counting 2+3 and 4 over a beat of 4 at the same time

Three against two is really easy for any experienced musician. If you were going to write seven against five, most people would have trouble playing it accurately.
  • 16.8k
7 votes

Is "Polyrhythm" a melodic principle?

Is “Polyrhythm” a melodic principle? Not specifically, but as melodies have rhythm, any rhythmic considerations can apply to melodies. What is a polyrhythmic melody? It could mean a couple of ...
7 votes
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Triplets against twos in Bach's music

It appears that there is not consensus on how these polyrhythms should be played. I have not yet found anything on your (a) case, but have some information about your (b) case. The quotes are long, ...
  • 2,527
7 votes
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How can I count 17 against 3 polyrhythm?

Polyrhythms, especially more complex ones like this, make much more sense if you chart it out. Find the least common multiple. In this case, its 51. List out all numbers between 1 and 51. Circle ...
7 votes

How to play this rhythm in Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata? as a 4/3 polyrythm or as 6/16?

This is a notorious question, and has been asked many times in the last 2 centuries - you are not alone! You're right in suggesting a polyrhythm - 4 against 3. The difficulty is to play it musically....
  • 538
6 votes
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Learn music with odd rhythms

The way I approach polyrhythms is this: I break them down much as you do, in terms of their lowest common denominator, but I try to memorize the sound of the pattern right away and not rely on seeing ...
6 votes
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What is the name of this rhythm? (embedded 4:3 polyrhythm)

I personally call rhythmic patterns like that systematically according to the number of rhythmic pulses in each note. This one would be 3-3-3-3-4. Other examples are 3-3-2 and 3-1, which are common ...
6 votes

What is it called when a sequence of notes lands on a different beat every measure?

This is an example of 5:4 polyrhythm. The melodic phrase creates a dynamic accent every five beats, and the primary pulse has a metric accent every four beats. The composite of the two accent patterns ...
  • 71.4k
5 votes

How to count odd tuplets?

Sadly, I can't answer your question in whole. In fact, I would love to see a good, definite answer on this myself. But I think I can address at least some parts: Am I missing any special tuplets? ...
  • 5,635
5 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

Fantasie Impromptu contains polyrythms. A "Polyrythm"is the use of two different rythms playing together, and the Fantasie Impromptu also has a Polyrythm. The right hand plays semiquavers, while the ...
5 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

I am doing this piece, and have "finished" the piece within 5 months (1h/day) and am right now polishing it. This is how I attempt most pieces. Note that this post is not a "for dummies" guide. (Note ...
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5 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

I am just now wrapping up this piece, and have my recital in a month. I am not a professional musician by any means, and I have a day job, so I can only get a few hours of practice per week. I've ...
  • 151
5 votes

How to play this passage precisely?

Bars 1 through 5 are identical rhythmically. I suggest just playing the 1st (or 3rd) bar over and over until you get it. then move to bar 2 (or 4). This will remove one thing to think about making it ...
  • 7,130
5 votes

Tapping 3 times on one leg and 4 times on another leg in 4 beats. What is it called and how to do it?

The late drum teacher Charles Dowd called this the Rhythm of Life. [I assumed this was in reference to a song utilizing this rhythm.] He taught it in the context of an Afro-Cuban-style pattern on drum ...
5 votes

How should I approach getting used to a wonky syncopation?

I guess I heard syncopation starting at approximately the one-minute mark. It sounded to me like the sort of thing one could get comfortable with after playing it more slowly, to get the contours and ...
  • 4,570
4 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

I had a teacher tell me to use "this is very easy". I would say that as I slowly played the section with the 4 against 3 rhythm. As you learn the notes and get used to the pattern eventually it should ...
  • 41
4 votes
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How does one analyze tricky time shifts?

What is happening is that they change the interpretation of the rhythm of the repeating melodic figure. First you have a triplet or 12/8 feel, where each note of the melodic figure is interpreted as ...
  • 19.9k
4 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

As addition to the other answers, this is how I learned to play those polyrythms on the piano: Nr.1a You focus on the triplets in the left hand and start with only two 16th in the right hand: Nr.2a ...
  • 1,747
4 votes
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How do 'meter' and 'rhythm' affect the choice of 'Polymeter' and 'Polyrhythm'?

I worry that your quoted source isn't the best; "meter is the rhythmic structure of the music" is not a very good definition. Here, for instance, is a better and more concise definition: Meter ...
  • 83.1k
4 votes

How should I practice the piano piece Fantaisie-Impromptu?

The first thing you should do is practice each hand separately and begin trying to feel the "pulse" of the half notes. Then I would try to split up the tempo. Notice that the time signature is ...

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