Polyrhythm Illusions

Polyrhythms used to intimidate me. They were this black magic where the drummer was playing 2 separate things at one time. But everything seems like black magic until you learn it. Then it's just another thing you know. Sometimes the mystique of a new technique will actually diminish after you've learned it.

I'm also a juggler. Juggling 3 balls has the same kind of draw that drumming has on me. (helps with triplet feel also). But with juggling its also an illusion. It 'looks' like you have 3 balls in the air at a time, but actually you only ever have one ball in the air and switch out at either hand.

Polyrhythms are the same. I have internalized the 3:2 or 6:4 Polyrhythms and use them all the time. But I love 7:4, it tickles my soul. The hardest part of learning it occurred before I began to try to learn it. Because it seemed so crazy and unattainable. I had to think of it not as 2 rhythms but as 1 rhythm which was divided a certain way among my limbs. Now it's internalized and doesn't seem as hard. But I still love how other musicians triple take when I whip out a 7:4 groove.

Here's how I conceptualize it.

First grid out a measure of 7/4
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Each quarter note gets a pulse, and then the 4 lays within that on certain other notes like this:

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Now place the sticking like this:

Right Hand
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a5e&a6e&a7e&a
Left Hand
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Note how the right hand just plays quarter notes, and the left hand starts on the beat and then shifts one 16th every time around. As I play it I think (1...2 a3..4.&.5...6e...7....1..etc)

After I thought of the rhythm this way I was playing it very soon after. Then I had to internalize it so I could play it 'with' something.

Try putting the right hand pattern on the high hat and splitting the left hand pattern between the Kick and the Snare. This is a really interesting and strange groove.

Play it and repeat the pattern while thinking in 7/4. Feel the 7 and lock in with that.

Then Play it feeling the Kick and Snare in 4/4. This can make you stumble, but let your right hand go on auto pilot and focus your mind on the Kick/Snare. You will feel that second tempo and start to relate to it. When you are doing a poly like this you are actually playing two tempos at once and this can lead you into cool implied metric modulations, but thats for another day

Do this enough and you will internalize the feeling of the 7:4 poly to the point where you can take a regular 4/4 groove and throw a 7 high hat rhythm over it for a measure. But be sure your playing with musicians who trust you or you may make them think you're drunk

Once in a while in my band we will have a special rehearsal where we will work on ensemble 'exercises' as opposed to songs and improvisation. One thing we will work on is this 7/4 groove. The bass player will lock in with the 4/4 pulse and the keyboard or guitarist will improvise in 7. We did this a long time before it started to sound good. Mostly we were just thrilled to be hanging on at first.

Fun stuff