my new favorite polymeter

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:12 am

7 against 3. It's so much fun. The three part fits right in to a swing feel in 7. Divide each beat of 7 into three parts. The hits of 3 come in on the 1, on the first subdivision after the 3 (of 7) and the second subdivision of 5 (of 7). Once you get the feel for it, it's pretty easy.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 4:43 pm

Can't wrap my head around it right now... Any way to write this out simply?

GJ

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:16 pm

i l l I l l I i l I l l I l i I l l I l l

Ok... so each I above is one beat of seven.

Beat one of three is the same as beat one of seven. (i)

Beat two of three falls on the first subdivision after beat three of seven (indicated above with an "i").

Beat three of three falls on the second subdivision after beat five of seven, (also indicated above with an "i").

Does that help?

It's almost like one two three and four five and six seven, except the and between three and four comes early, and the and between five and six comes late. The divisions of the beat are in thirds instead of halves and quarters (of the beat-- not half notes and quarter notes), hence the swing feel.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:56 pm

Or to put it in Fred Flintstone terms...

Ya Da Daba Da Da baDa Da

where Ya is "one" for both three and seven;
Da is a beat of seven;
and ba is a beat of three.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:21 pm

Post some panned audio, please.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:38 pm

Yeah, that definitely helps; I particularly dig the Flintstones version.

If you post any panned audio, please do the Yabba Dabba thing...

GJ

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 11:11 pm

That reminds me of a long time ago my dad used to be part of a "music in the schools" act. They'd go around to different public schools in Buffalo trying to teach kids about different musics from around the world. They had a "Meet the Flintstones" thing where they did it Salsa, or Mirengue or something. Maybe it was a medley? My dad's never been afraid to be cheesy.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:38 am

You can make your own panned audio, if you have a metronome, or metronome software (there are free programs on the web). It's just basic algebra to figure out the bpm for each part, for any polymeter.

If we choose 105 bpm for the 7 part, the 3 part will be 45 bpm.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 2:59 pm

How is your dad, CK? Surely I must have mentioned that I'm a big fan.
I hope all is well (both of my parents are in permanent full-time care facilities).
I like to hear good news, once in awhile, too...

GJ

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 7:17 am

Here's a metronome version:
http://www.ubertar.com/7_3.wav

The straight polymeter is just a starting point... there are only so many possibilities of low number polymeters, so just playing on every beat of each with no subdivisions or rests gets worn out quickly, as far as using it in a musical context and not just an exercise.

I prefer "polymetric rhythms" to "polyrhythms" because it's clearer... lots of people (especially music critics who lack technical background) use "polyrhythms" incorrectly and apply it to multiple rhythms in the same meter. Rather than fight a losing battle, I say let 'em have the word, and switch to "polymetric rhythms" for this kind of stuff.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:02 am

Hey Ub,

Hate to say it, but I can't hear anything on the Mp3 file. It opens in Windows Media, plays, but nothing there but air, with speaker volume, Windows volume, and WMA volume all the way up. I just played a CD in the program, so I know it works. Can you re-check your recording? I really want to hear this...

GJ

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:49 am

Why would you hate to say that? Looks like it didn't convert to mp3 well. This is my internet computer, not recording one, and the audio software is a little wonky. I'm uploading a wav version. I'll fix it above, too.

http://www.ubertar.com/7_3.wav

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:11 pm

SICK!

GJ

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 6:48 am

See what I mean about the swing feel? I like how the 3 smooths out the 7-- it doesn't have that jerky, angular quality odd meters can have. I don't know why polymeters aren't more prevalent in Western music... they pretty much compel you to move your body, but are a lot more interesting than the HERE'S THE BEAT kind of stuff that's common in pop/dance music.

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:29 pm

ubertar wrote:See what I mean about the swing feel? I like how the 3 smooths out the 7-- it doesn't have that jerky, angular quality odd meters can have. I don't know why polymeters aren't more prevalent in Western music... they pretty much compel you to move your body, but are a lot more interesting than the HERE'S THE BEAT kind of stuff that's common in pop/dance music.

http://animalsasleaders.bandcamp.com/tr ... -incidents

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