[Tiger]

Vai.com > Little Black Dots > Tempomental

^ Actual polyrhythms

To help TS, if you want to actually learn polyrhythms, I recommend

'Polyrhythm's - The Musicians guide' by Peter Magadini, as its full of really helpful exercises. Being able to read music (or at least rhythm notation) is required though.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by neon_black88

... not really jarring. Unless ofcourse you going for that particular feel.

Originally Posted by Stitch

... Big obvious ones just get boring.

LOL!!

The very reason I got into polyrythms was the very jarring/off/not quite right feel they have, and it's kinda hard to be jarring if it's not obvious. Two of my favorite artists who like jarring obvious polyrythms are Meshuggah and Stravinsky (also might I add that both are also jarring in a tonal/harmonic way). I love that kind of stuff. This is just my opinion/tastes I understand that not all of you are going for the "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?!? " feel.

On the topic of Seven/Necrophagist, i'm not so sure baout the intro, but the solo section has polyrythm (or more correctly polymeter), the backing consists of 7/4 riffing over 4/4 drums.

[Rick]

I can't follow this shit to save my life.

[FortePenance]

Originally Posted by Stitch

I love polyrhythms, but I try as much as possible to make them subtle like Necrophagist and whatnot do. Big obvious ones just get boring.

This song by my band starts in 12/8, goes to 11/8 for the last bar into 10/8 for 8 repeats into one bar of 7/4 into 15 bars of 11/8...with cymbal hits reeating ever equivalent 4/4 bar...the final bar is in 8/8 to introduce the new idea in 9/8 before launching intoa riff in 11/8...

The whole song has one section in 4/4, but it doesn't really feel mathematical metal at all.

SoundClick artist: The Katyn Massacre - page with MP3 music downloads

The verse riff has that Meshuggah vibe to it, makes me think math metal.

[neon_black88]

Originally Posted by Stitch

Seven is based on a septuplet idea againt 4/4. The low chugs are each two semiquavers in length, and the pinch is one semiquaver.

If I had a scanner I'd show you.

I dano I just dont understand how it can be a Polyrhythm, when theres only 1 rhythm. Anyone? I know what the rythm is, and it fits into 7/4. So if Poly means two, where is the second rhythm?

[All_¥our_Bass]

There's 4/4 In the drums.

[Naren]

Polyrhythmic metal seems to be really popular nowadays, popularized by bands like Meshuggah, but the majority of polyrhythms that occur outside of this new metal genre are not jarring at all and most people listening would not think of them as "off" or not even notice them as polyrhythms.

This new polyrhythmic metal seems to be based around the idea of creating the most jarring mismatched rhythms possible to make it scream "Polyrhythm!!" as much as possible.

I think that a lot of people who listen to nothing but polyrhythmic metal could even hear a "normal" polyrhythm (in a style of music other than metal that regularly uses polyrhythms) and not even realize that it's a polyrhythm.

Originally Posted by neon_black88

I dano I just dont understand how it can be a Polyrhythm, when theres only 1 rhythm. Anyone? I know what the rythm is, and it fits into 7/4. So if Poly means two, where is the second rhythm?

7/4 guitar against 4/4 drums fits the absolute definition of "polyrhythm" to a t.

If you don't think that's a polyrhythm, then you don't know what a polyrhythm is.

"Poly" does not mean "two." It means "multiple." Technically you could even have more than 2.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by Naren

"Poly" does not mean "two." It means "multiple." Technically you could even have more than 2.

There's a song by Charles Ives, that features a section with 23 different rythms being played at the same time.

[Uber Mega]

Everything is a polyrhythm of some sort and to a certain extent
Personally, I find rhythmic displacement and modulation far more interesting!

The main thing about complex polyrhythms, like three layer or more, is that you have to do it musically, and not just to be a smart ass i guess...I hear a lot of musicians who it seems have just whacked their calculators out and made the most ridiculous layer of meters just for the hell of it. Porcupine Tree and Meshuggah are the two best examples i've ever heard of how to do rhythmic illusions properly.

[bulb]

a lot of people think that my music is polyrhythmic (what they mean is polymetric technically haha)
but in actuality its just syncopated grooves (aka playing around the beat)
from time to time i stumble across a cool polymetric riff and i use it, but more often than not i find that just jamming around a pulse yields better results!