Percussion Workshop: Polyrhythm

Workshop Topic: Polyrhythm

Definition: It is the performance of one rhythm against another rhythm simultaneously.

There are many types of polyrhythms, which are as follows:

1. Complementary Rhythm (adding parts to complete missing rhythms)

2. Rhythmic Canon (experimenting by starting at different points in the rhythm and achieving a new auditory result)

3. Different Rhythm Against a Constant Rhythm (internal division of a constant rhythm that consists of rhythms with different time signatures)

4. Two Different Rhythms Together (and they meet after a certain number of repetitions)

5. Rhythmic Counterpoints

Rhythmic counterpoints are the simultaneous performance of two different rhythmic patterns with the same number of equal beats or distributions, but with similar time values, such as:

• 2 against 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, etc.

• 3 against 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, etc.

• 4 against 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, etc.

• 5 against 6, 8, 9, etc.

• 6 against 7, 8, etc.

And so on.