ARhythmicVocabulary:AMusician’sGuidetoUnderstandingandImprovisingwithRhythm

Copyright©1997,1999,byAlanDworskyandBetsySansby

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by anymeanswithoutpermissionexcepttheblankchartsonpages201and202.

PublishedbyDancingHandsMusic4275ChurchillCircleMinnetonka,MN,55345phoneorfax:612-933-0781www.dancinghands.com

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LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:97-091788

ISBN0-9638801-2-8

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ForJerrySansbythefirstdrummerinthefamily

ewould like toexpressourgratitude toallour teachers,especiallyMarcAnderson, who generously shared his knowledge of Ghanaian rhythms

withloveandreverencefortheculturethatcreatedthem.We’dalsoliketothankthose who have taught us through their books and videos, especially DavidLocke (for his clear presentation and analysis of Ghanaian rhythms), PhilMaturano (for his organization of patterns and his concept of “relayed timeshifting,” which we adapted into our lesson on bending a pattern), ReinhardFlatischler(whoseTaKeTiNa®methodweadaptedintorhythmwalking),andGordy Knudtson (from whom we learned – both in his books and in privatelessons – a wide variety of cross-rhythms and other patterns, as well as themethodwecall“say-it-and-play-it”).Wearealsoindebtedtothecreatorsofalltheothersourceslistedatthebackofthisbookandtoalltheunknowncreatorsoftherhythmsoftheworld.

Finally,wewould like to thankMamadyKeita,whohas taughtus throughhisrecordings,andwhosebrilliantdjembeplayinghasbeenanunendingsourceofinspirationanddelight.

VARIATIONTECHNIQUES

Createspace

Changevoicing

Fillspace

Combinevariations

Shift

Adddynamicaccents

Addghostnotes

Adjustthevolume

Displaceonenote

Substitutesixteenthnotes

Attachaprefix

Attachasuffix

Compress

Accentwithaflam

Isolateandrepeat

Expand

Substituteatriplet

Camouflage

Swing

Playoffmarks

Bend

GETTINGSTARTED

1Whothisbookisforandhowitworks

2Understandingthechartsandbasicconcepts

Pulsesandsubdivisions

Fourandsix

Timelinesandcycles

3Adaptingthepatternstoyourinstrument

Handdrums

Drumset

Guitar,bass,andotherstringinstruments

Pianoandotherkeyboardinstruments

Saxandotherwindinstruments

Voice

4AmethodforlearninganynewpatternappliedtothetimelinesontheCD

Say-it-and-play-it

Thetimelineinfour

Thetimelineinsix

5Triple-weavepracticing

PATTERNS,CONCEPTS,ANDTECHNIQUES

6Thepulseandparallelfigures

Lesson1:Playingthepulseonyourinstrument

Lesson2:Thepulseandthebeatbefore

Lesson3:Thetwobeatsbeforethepulse

Lesson4:Thepulseandthebeatafter

Lesson5:Thetwobeatsafterthepulse

Lesson6:Three-notefigures

7Pathwaysthroughthegridinfour

Lesson7:Consecutiveeighthnotes

Lesson8:Numberedbeatsandupbeats

Lesson9:Offbeats

Lesson10:Singlesandpairs

Lesson11:Backbeats

Lesson12:Sixteenthnotes

Lesson13:Theoffbeatsbeforeorafterthepulse

Lesson14:Timelines

8Pathwaysthroughthegridinsix

Lesson15:Consecutiveeighthnotes

Lesson16:Theodd-numberedbeats–the6-pulseand3over2

Lesson17:Theodd-numberedbeats–patterns

Lesson18:Theeven-numberedbeats

Lesson19:Backbeats

Lesson20:Theoffbeatsbeforeorafterthepulse

Lesson21:Singlesandpairsandtimelines

9Threenot-quite-equalgroupsofbeatsinfour

Lesson22:One-barclavepatterns

Lesson23:Shiftedone-barclavepatterns

Lesson24:5/⅚patterns

Lesson25:Shifted5/⅚patterns

10Threegroupsoffourbeatsinsix

Lesson26:The3-pulseand3over4

Lesson27:Set1

Lesson28:Set2

Lesson29:Set3

Lesson30:Set4

11Cross-rhythms

Lesson31:3-beatcross-rhythmsinfour

Lesson32:6-beatcross-rhythmsinfour

Lesson33:8-beatcross-rhythmsinsix

Lesson34:5-beatand7-beatcross-rhythms

12Polyrhythmswithunevengrids

Lesson35:3over2eighthnotesinfourandsix

Lesson36:Subdividingthepulseinfourinto3

Lesson37:Subdividingthepulseinsixinto2or4

Lesson38:Bendingapatternbetweenfourandsix

13Glossary

FORFURTHERSTUDYANDENJOYMENT

14Rhythmwalking

Blankcharts

Sources:books,videos,CDs,andaudiotapes

AlsoavailablefromDancingHandsMusic

RHYTHMICCONCEPTS

Thetendencyofthelargestgap

Theflexibilitycreatedbytheunaccentedpulse

Thepowerofalimitednumberofvoices

Thetranceeffectofrepetition

ThecirculareffectofoverlappingONE

Thedisorientingeffectofobscuringthepulse

ThestabilizingeffectofendingonONE

ThediffusingeffectofendingonthebeatafterONE

ThesuspendedeffectofendingonthebeatbeforeONE

Thetendencytogroupnotesinthesamevoicetogether

This book is a roadmap to rhythm for anymusician. It’s for guitar playersintriguedby the rhythmsofworldmusic. It’s forkeyboardplayerswho’ve

studiedscalesandchordsandnowwanttostudyrhythminasystematicway.It’sfordrummers,bassplayers,andsaxplayerswhowanttogrooveandsolowithadeeper understanding of rhythmic structure.Whatever your instrument, if youwant toplay funkieranddon’tmindusingyourhead todo it, thisbook is foryou.

The patterns in this book come from African and Afro-Cuban rhythms, thesourceforthegrooveinmostcontemporarymusic.Butourpurposehereisnottoteachanyspecificstyleofdrumming.Ourpurposeistoilluminatethesubjectofrhythmingeneralsoyou’llbeabletonavigatecomfortablyinanyrhythmicterritory.

Todothat,we’veorganizedrepresentativepatternsaccordingtotheirstructure,arranged them roughly in order of difficulty, and presented them in bite-sizedlessons.Whilewepresent thepatterns,wealsopresent rhythmicconceptsandtechniquesyoucanusetocreatepatternsofyourown.Andweincludeplentyofexamplesofhowpatternscanbevariedandcombinedwhenyou improviseorsolo.

We’vetriedtomakethisbookasuser-friendlyaspossible.Forexample,weusebig, easy-to-read charts that are so simple even non-musicians can understandthem.Anytimeweintroduceanewconceptortechnique,wehighlightitinthemarginforeasyreference.Anytimeweintroduceanewterm,weputitinboldletters,defineitonthespot,andaddit totheglossaryatthebackofthebook.We’ve also included some blank charts you can photocopy and use to writedownpatternsofyourown.We’veevenusedaspecialbinding thatmakes thebookstayopenwithoutthehelpofashoe.

The CD that comes with this book helps create a realistic, three-dimensionalrhythmiccontextforyoutoplayinrightfromthestart.Itcontainstworeferencerhythms you’ll be playing with while you practice. Each of those rhythms isrecorded for about fiveminutes at each of seven different speeds so you canpracticeatyourownlevel.Andassoonasyoufeellikeputtingyourinstrumentasideandusingyourwholebodytolearnthepatterns,checkoutthechapteronrhythmwalking.

Fromtimetotime,wetellyouthatapatterncomesfromaparticularAfricanorAfro-Cubanrhythm.Wedothistoacknowledgeoursourceswhereweknowthename of a rhythm and as a reminder that the patterns in this book aren’t justmathematicalabstractions.Butjustbecausewesayapatterncanbefoundinaparticularrhythm,itdoesn’tmeanthepatterncanbefoundonly there.Mostofthepatternsinthisbookarefoundinmanyrhythmictraditionsaroundtheworldandmanycanbeheardinrock,funk,jazz,andothercontemporarystyles.

We hope this book will help you express yourself better in the language of

rhythm and inspire you to delve deeper into the world of African and Afro-Cuban rhythms.At the back of the book,we’ve included a list of sources forfurtherstudyanda listofCDsofgreatdrummingfromaround theworld.Butdon’tstopthere.Lookforopportunitiestoexperiencetherealthingbygoingtoconcerts, taking lessons, or joining an ensemble. There’s no substitute for thedirectexperienceofthesemagnificentrhythms.

Inthischapter,whileweexplainhowtoreadthechartswe’llalsobeexplainingthebasicconceptsyouneed toknowtostartworkingyourway through thisbook. If any of the concepts seem confusing at first, don’t worry. They’ll allbecomeclearerasyoubeginusingtheminthecominglessons.

Because we’re mainly interested in teaching the fundamentals of rhythmicstructure,we’regoingtofocusonjusttwovariablesofrhythm:1)whensoundsoccur, and 2)what the sounds are. To notate these two variables,we use box

charts instead of standard music notation because for our purposes they’resimplerandclearer.

Here’swhatanemptychartlookslike:

Pulsesandsubdivisions

Themainfunctionofthetoprowonachartistoshowhowwe’recounting.Butwealsousethecountrowtoshowthepulse,whichisindicatedbyshadedboxes(1 and 3 on the chart above). By “the pulse,” we mean the underlyingmetronomicrhythmpeoplefeelintheirbodieswhenmusicisplayed.Likeyourownpulse,it’smadeupofaseriesofregularly-spacedkinestheticeventscalledindividual pulses. But unlike your own pulse, the pulse of a rhythm is aculturally-influenced,subjectivephenomenon.

InAfricanandAfro-Cubanmusic,thepulseissometimesplayedonadrumorotherpercussioninstrument.Butoftenthepulseissilent,and–likeaheartbeat–holds everything together without ever being heard. Because the pulse is sofundamental torhythm,wepresentall thepatterns in thisbookinrelation toapulseandhaveyoutapthepulseinyourfeetwhileyouplaythepatterns.

The time span between pulses can be divided into smaller units calledsubdivisions.Thechartabovehasfourpulseswithfoursubdivisionseach.Eachindividual subdivision – or beat – is an eighth note, which on our charts isrepresented by a single box.Any set of equal subdivisions forms agrid. Ourchartsuseaneighth-notegrid.

Wheneverthere’sasymbolinaboxbeneaththecountrow,makeasoundonthatbeatonyourinstrument:

WhenXistheonlysymbolonachart,asinthechartabove,playallthenotes

withthesamesound,eitherasinglenoteorachord.WhenachartcontainsbothX’sandO’s,useonesoundforX’sandasecondsoundforO’s:

Fourandsix

Wesayapatternisinfourwhenitcanlogicallyberepresentedonachartwithfourpulsesdividedintofoursubdivisionseach–likethechartsabove.Becauseeachsubdivisionisaneighthnote,pulseseveryfoursubdivisionsfallonbeats1and3.Ineffectwe’rechartingincut-time,whereapulsefallsoneveryhalfnoteandtherearetwohalfnotestoameasure.

Wechosetochartthepatternsinfourincut-timebecausewefindeighthnoteseasiesttoworkwith.Wecouldhaveusedaquarter-notepulsedividedintofoursixteenth-note subdivisions. This would have made tracking the pulses easierbecause theywouldhave fallenon everynumberedbeat insteadof onbeats 1and3.

Buteverythingelsewouldhavebeenharder.Sixteenthnotesarecounted“one-ee-and-uh-two-ee-and-uh,”andit’sawkwardtalkingaboutthe“uh”ofoneorthe“ee”ofthree.Wealsofindasingle16-beatmeasureunwieldycomparedtotwo8-beat measures. Tradition played a role in our decision too; Afro-Cubanrhythmsinfourareusuallychartedandcountedincut-time.Andifyoucountineighthnotesconsistentlyinbothfourandsix,you’lleventuallybeabletocrosstheborderbetweenthemmorefreely.

Wesayapatternisinsixwhenitcanlogicallyberepresentedonachartdividedinto two measures of six beats each, like the chart below. Each of the 12subdivisions is an eighth note, and every eighth note is numbered. We’rechartingin6/8time,wherethereare6eighthnotestoameasure(or12/8,ifyouthinkofthetwomeasuresasone).

Insix,wegenerallyusefourpulseswiththreesubdivisionstoapulse.Thisputsthepulsesonbeats1and4:

Timelinesandcycles

Almostallrhythmsareorganizedaroundasteadypulse.ButAfricanandAfro-Cuban rhythms are also organized around repeating rhythmic patterns calledtimelines. Unlike the symmetrical and often silent pulse, a timeline is anasymmetricalandalwaysaudible rhythm.All themusicians inagroupuse thetimelineasareferenceandplaytheirpartsinrelationtoit.That’swhatyou’llbedoingwhenyouplaythepatternsinthisbookalongwiththeCD.

InAfro-Cuban rhythms in four, the timeline iscalled theclave (klah-vay) andit’susuallyplayedontwocylindricalpiecesofwoodcalledclaves:

In Afro-Cuban rhythms in six and in most African rhythms, the timeline isusuallyplayedonacowbellorotherbell:

Clavesandbellsareidealfortimelinesbecausetheyproducecrisp,penetratingsoundsthatcanbeheardaboveotherinstruments.

Sometimes, to make sure you know the relationship between a pattern and atimeline,weincludeachartwiththetimeline(insteadofthepulse)indicatedonthecountrowwithshadedcircles:

Thenumberofbeatsfromthestartofonerepetitionofarepeatingpatterntothestartofthenextisthepattern’scycle.Thecycleofthetimelineistypicallytwomeasures long, and whenever we use the word “cycle” without furtherexplanation,it’sthiscyclewe’rereferringto.

Thecycleofthetimelinerepeatsforaslongasarhythmisplayed.Sothinkofeverychartasbeingwritteninacircle.Whenyougettotheendgorightbacktothe beginning and start overwithoutmissing a beat.When a pattern is longerthanasinglerow,feelfreetorepeatanyroworanysetofrowsasmanytimesasyouwantbeforemovingon.

Wehaven’t put any tempomarkingsonour charts.Ultimately, the tempoof a

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rhythmwilldependonyourplayingsituation.Theimportantthingfornowistoplayeachpatternatasteadytempoandnottoleaveapatternuntilitgrooves.

e’vedoneourbesttomakeourchartsasclearaspossible.Butnosystemof written notation can capture the nuances of a live rhythm. So while

you’reworkingyourwaythroughthisbook,besuretosupplementyourstudybylisteningtogoodmusic.Ifyou’reunfamiliarwiththepercussionmusicofAfricaandCubaandwanttohearsomespectacularexamples,we’velistedourfavoriterecordingsatthebackofthebook.

There’snorightwaytoplaythepatternsinthisbookonyourinstrument.Andsinceyouknowyourinstrumentbetterthanwedo,weleaveituptoyouto

findawaythatworks.Herearesomesuggestionstogetyoustarted:

Handdrums

The patterns in this book aremostly hand drumpatterns, so adapting them towhateverhanddrumyouplayshouldbeeasy.StartbyplayingtheX’sasslaps

andtheO’sasopentones.Lateryoucanreversethetwo,addothertechniques,orplayonmorethanonedrum.

Drumset

StartbyplayingtheX’sonthesnaredrumandtheO’sonatom.Lateryoucanreversethetwooraddothervoicesbyorchestratingthepatternsaroundtheset.Whileyouplaythepatternswithyourhands,youcanplaythepulseonyourbassdrumor you can alternate pulses between your bass drum and hi-hat.As youprogress you can try more complicated repeating patterns in your feet. Forexample,youcanplaythepulseinonefootandatimelineintheother.

Guitar,bass,andotherstringinstruments

Start byplaying theX’s asonenote and theO’s as anothernotewith a lowerpitch.Ifyouplayguitar,youcanusechordsinsteadofsinglenotes.Ifitbecomesdifficultortiresometorepeatonenoteorchordquickly,usetwodifferentnotesforconsecutiveX’sorO’sasyouwouldina trill.Afteryou’refamiliarwithapattern,trysuperimposingscalesandmelodiesontoit.

When you’re first learning a pattern, play it with a staccato touch and don’tpurposelysustainasoundfor longer thananeighthnote.Afteryou’re familiarwithapattern,experimentbysustainingnotesorchords.

Pianoandotherkeyboardinstruments

StartbyplayingtheX’sasonenoteandtheO’sasanotherwithalowerpitch,orplay two different chords instead of single notes. If it becomes difficult ortiresome to repeat one note or chord quickly, use two different notes forconsecutive X’s or O’s as you would in a trill. After you’re familiar with apattern,trysuperimposingscalesandmelodiesontoit.Tocreateafullersound,tryplayingthepatternsinyourrighthandoverchordsorabasslineinyourleft.

When you’re first learning a pattern, play it with a staccato touch and don’tpurposelysustainasoundfor longer thananeighthnote.Afteryou’re familiarwithapattern,experimentbysustainingnotesorchords.

Saxandotherwindinstruments

StartbyplayingtheX’sasonenoteandtheO’sasanotherwithalowerpitch.Ifit becomesdifficult or tiresome to repeatone soundquickly, use twodifferent

notesforconsecutiveX’sorO’sasyouwouldinatrill.Ondensepatternsyoucanplayforacycleandthenrestforacycleoryoucanplaycontinuouslyandinsert an empty cycle whenever you need to catch your breath. After you’refamiliarwithapattern,trysuperimposingscalesandmelodiesontoit.

Whenyou’re first learning apattern, don’t purposely sustain anote for longerthan an eighth note. After you’re familiar with a pattern, experiment bysustainingsomeofthenotes.

Voice

PicktwocontrastingsoundsforX’sandO’s.Useanysyllablesthatfeelnaturaltoyou.(Welike“bop”forX’sand“doo”forO’s.)Thentryusingtwodistinctpitchesforthetwosounds,withtheXhigherthantheO.Whenyou’vemasteredapatternwith just twosounds, trysuperimposingamelody.Ondensepatternsyoucansingforacycleandthenrestforacycleoryoucansingcontinuouslyandinsertanemptycyclewheneveryouneedtocatchyourbreath.

Whenyou’re first learning apattern, don’t purposely sustain anote for longerthan an eighth note. After you’re familiar with a pattern, experiment bysustainingsomeofthenotes.

YSay-it-and-play-it

oumaybeabletoplaymanyofthepatternsinthisbookrightoffthepagewithout any intermediate steps. But whenever you can’t, you can use a

simplemethodwecallsay-it-and-play-it.Herearethesteps:

1.Countoutloud

2.Tapthepulseinyourfeet(andkeeptappingthroughsteps3-5)

3.Accentthepatternyou’reworkingoninyourcounting

4.Stopcountingandvocalizethepattern

5.Playthepatternonyourinstrument

Onceyoulearnthismethod,youcanuseit-orpartsofit-tolearnanypattern.

Nowwe’llwalkyouthroughallfivestepswhileyoulearnthetwotimelinesontheCD.Oneisinfourandtheotherisinsix.They’reamongthemostcommontimelinesfoundinAfricanandAfro-Cubanmusic,andthey’reamongthemostwonderfulrhythmicpatternseverinvented.

Thetimelineinfour

Putyourinstrumentasidefornowandstartcountingoutloud“one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and” over and over. Count as evenly as you can, with all thecountsexactly thesamevolumeandthesamedistancefromoneanother.Thenkeepcountingandstarttappingthepulseinyourfeeton1and3:

Howyoutapisuptoyou.Youcanalternatefeetorusejustonefoot.Youcantapyourheelortapyourtoe,oryoucanrockbackandforthfromheeltotoe.Ifyoudon’tlikemovingyourfeetwhileyouplay,putthepulsesomewhereelseinyourbodylikeyourhipsoryourhead.Dowhateverfeelscomfortableandnaturaltoyou,butkeepthatpulsegoingon1and3whileyoucountoutloud.

Nowyou’regoingtolearnthetimelineweuseinfour.ThispatternisknowninAfro-Cubanmusic as the son (sohn) clave, but it’s also used inmanyAfricanrhythms,whereit’susuallyplayedonabell.Wheneveryou’reworkinginfourandwereferto“thetimeline,”thisisthepatternwe’retalkingabout.It’salsothetimelineinfouryou’llhearontheCD.(Laterwe’llintroduceothertimelinesinfour.)

We’ve shaded this timeline on the count row in the next chart. Keepmovingyourfeetonthepulseandaddthetimelinebyaccentingthosefivenotesinyourcounting-“ONE-and-two-AND-three-and-FOUR-and/one-and-TWO-and-THREE-and-four-and”:

Noticehoweachaccentednoteofthetimelinefeelsinrelationtothepulsesinyour feeton1and3.The firstnote coincideswith the firstpulse.The secondnotecomesjustbeforeyourfootcomesdownonthesecondpulse.Thethirdandfourthnotes fallmidwaybetweenpulses.And the last note coincideswith thelastpulse.

Once you’re able to comfortably tap the pulse in your feet on 1 and 3whileaccentingthetimelineinyourvoice,keepthepulsegoingbutletthecountdriftawaywhileyouvocalizethepatternwithanysyllablethat’scomfortableforyou.Welike“ka”(noticewe’vegonebacktoshadingthepulseonthecountrow):

Vocalizingisagreatwaytolearnanewpatternbecauseyoudon’thavetothinkabout technique. You can concentrate completely on rhythm. This method oflearninghasbeenusedaroundtheworldforthousandsofyears.InIndianmusic,for example, there’s a highly developed system for vocalizing rhythms. Astudentmayvocalizeforayearormorebeforebeingallowedtotouchadrum.

IntheUnitedStates,theNigerianBabatundeOlatunjihaspopularizedamethodof vocalizing in which each syllable stands for a particular technique on thedrum:“pa”isaslapwiththerighthand,“ta”isaslapwiththeleft,“go”isatonewiththerighthand,andsoon.

Many drummers develop their own style of vocalizing to learn parts andcommunicate with other drummers. There’s no “correct” way to vocalize

rhythms;themainpointistofindawaythatworksforyou.Remember:Ifyoucansayit,youcanplayit.

Onceyou canvocalize the timelinewhile tapping thepulse inyour feet, keepyour feet going and play the pattern on your instrument. Now you know thetimelineinfouryou’llbeworkingwiththroughoutthisbook.

Thetimelineinsix

Nextyou’llusesay-it-and-play-ittolearnthetimelinecalledthe6/8bell(orthe“shortbell”).ThistimelineiswidelyusedinAfricanandAfro-Cubanrhythmsinsix,and it’susuallyplayedonabell.Wheneveryou’reworking in sixandwerefer to “the timeline,” this is the pattern we’re talking about. It’s also thetimeline insixyou’llhearon theCD.(Laterwe’ll introduceother timelines insix.)

Start by counting “one-two-three-four-five-six” over and over out loud. Thenkeepcountingandstart tappingyour feeton1and4, themainpulseyou’llbeworkingwithinsix.We’veshadedthispulseonthecountrowbelow:

Thetimelineinsixisshadedonthecountrowinthenextchart.Keepyourfeetgoingandstartaccentingthepatterninyourcounting:“ONE-two-THREE-four-FIVE-SIX/one-TWO-three-FOUR-five-SIX”:

Youmayhavenoticed that this timeline isquite abit harder than the timelineyou learned in four. That’s because most Western music is in four; six isunfamiliar territory formost of us.So slow itwaydown if youneed to.Takeyour time, noticing the relationship between the notes of the pattern and eachfoottap.

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When you’re able to comfortably tap the pulse in your feet and accent thetimelineinyourvoice,letthecountdriftawayandjustvocalizethepatternusingwhateversyllableyou like.When that’scomfortable,keepyour feetgoingandplaythepatternonyourinstrument:

Nowyouknowthetimelineinsixyou’llbeworkingwiththroughoutthisbook.

owthatyou’vegonethroughallthestepsofsay-it-and-play-itonthesetwotimelines,youshouldbeable touse thismethodto learnanypattern.And

once you’re comfortable playing a patternwhile tapping a pulse in your feet,you’llbe ready for the joyof triple-weavepracticing,whichweexplain in thenextchapter.

In African and Afro-Cuban music, rhythms are constructed of manyinterlockingpartsplayedonmanydifferentinstruments.Thepartsarewoventogether like voices in a fugue. You can experience something approximatingthisrhythmiccounterpointbyusingamethodwecalltriple-weavepracticing.Thisinvolvesplayingapatternwhiletappingapulseinyourfeetandlisteningtoatimelineonthe

CD.

Triple-weavepracticingteachesyoutoplayyourpartinrelationtowhat’sbeingplayedaroundyouand trainsyourear tohearcomplex rhythmic relationships.SoevenifyouneverexpecttoplayAfricanorAfro-Cubanmusic,triple-weavepracticingwillhelpyoudevelopskillsyoucanapplytoanymusicalstyle.Andyou’llbeamazedathowhearingatimelineontheCDwhileyouplaybringsthepatternstolife.

Herearethethreestepsoftriple-weave:

1.TurnonatimelineontheCD

2.Starttappingthepulse

3.Playapatternonyourinstrument

For patterns in four use the timeline in four and for patterns in six use thetimelineinsix.Eachtimelineisrecordedatsevendifferentspeeds,soyoucanstartslowandgraduallyspeedup.

Sinceyoualreadyknowhowtostartwithapulseinyourfeetandthenplaythetimelines,youshouldn’thavemuchtroublefindingthepulsebylisteningtothetimelinesontheCD.Tryitnow.Turnonthetimelineinfouratwhateverspeedyou’recomfortablewithandfindthepulse.Thenstarttappingyourfeet.Ifyouneedalittlehelplocatingthepulse,rememberthetimelineinfourhastwonotesinitthatcoincidewithpulses.We’veputthetimelineonthebottomrowofthenextchartsoyoucanseeagainthatthosetwonotesfallon1inthefirstmeasureand3inthesecond:

Nowturnonthetimelineinsix,findthepulse,andgetyourfeetgoing.Ifyouneedalittlehelplocatingthepulse,rememberthatthenotesinthetimelineon1inthefirstmeasureand4inthesecondcoincidewithpulses:

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OnceatimelineisplayingontheCDandyou’retappingthepulseinyourfeet,you’rereadytoaddapatternonyourinstrument.

fyoujustlearnhowtoplaythepatternsinthisbookwhiletappingapulseinyour feet, you’ll still acquire a rich rhythmicvocabulary.But you canmake

that vocabulary amuch deeper part of youwith triple-weave practicing.Onceyou’vehadatasteofit,you’llbehookedforlife.

Keep inmind thatyoudon’thave tostartat the triple-weave levelwithanewpattern.Ifapatternisdifficult,leaveoutthetimelineatfirstandstartwithsay-it-and-play-it,orusesay-it-and-play-itwhilethetimelineisplaying.Whateveryoudo, don’t rush. It’s better to take your time learning just a few patterns at thetriple-weavelevelthantorunthroughmanypatternssuperficially.

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lesson 1Playingthepulseonyourinstrument

nthis lesson,you’renotonlygoingtotapthepulseinyourfeet,you’realsogoingtoplayitonyourinstrument.Startinfour.Turnonthetimelineinfour

ontheCDatmediumspeed.Feelthepulseon1and3andstarttappingitinyour

feet. Then play all the pulses on your instrument:

We’re going to use these pulses to introduce the first technique for varying apattern:creatingspace.Youcancreate space inanypattern simplyby leavingoutoneormorenotes.Startbyleavingoutthesecondpulseinthisset:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Createspace

Remembertothinkofeverychartasbeingwritteninacircle.Whenyougettotheendgorightbacktothebeginningandstartoverwithoutmissingabeat.Toreallyfeelapattern,youneedtorepeatitmanytimeswithoutstopping.

If you haven’t tried it yet, play this pattern with the timeline at a fast speed.Notice how the absence of the second pulse changes the feel of the rhythm.Insteadofflowingsteadily,thepatternnowleansrelentlesslyforward,drivingto1 in thefirstmeasure(whichwe’ll refer toasONE fromnowon).ThenoteonONEstartstofeellikeit’sattheendofthepatterninsteadofthebeginning,andthenoteon1inthesecondmeasurestartstofeellikeit’satthebeginningofthepatterninsteadofinthemiddle.

Thisreconfigurationiscausedbywhatwecallthetendencyof thelargestgap,the first rhythmic concept we want to introduce. No matter where you startplayingapattern,ifyourepeatitenoughtimesyou’llusuallycometoperceivethelargestgapasseparatingtheendofthepatternfromthebeginning.

Butthistendencyisjustthat:atendency.It’snotanironcladrule.Otherfactorsalso affect your perceptionofwhere a pattern starts, such as the tempoof thepattern,therelationshipofthepatterntothestartofthecycle,therelationshipof

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thepatterntootherpartsbeingplayed,andthenatureofthephysicalmovementsrequiredtoplaythepattern.

You’llfeelthetendencyofthelargestgapevenmorewhenyouenlargethegapby leaving out the pulse on 3 in the first measure and the pulse on 1 in thesecond. Notice that the two pulses remaining are the ones that coincide withnotesinthetimeline:

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Thetendencyofthelargestgap

Thetimelineshouldkeepyourperceptionofwherethecyclestartsconstantevenwhenalargegapcausesyoutochangeyourperceptionofwhereapatternstarts.

owyou’regoingtoplaythetimelineinfourasapatternonyourinstrumentandthencreatespaceinit.TurnofftheCDfornowsoitdoesn’tcreatethe

patternforyou.(Infact,wheneveryouworkwithatimelineonyourinstrument,werecommendthatyouturnofftheCD.)Startbytappingthepulseinyourfeetand then play the full timeline pattern (notice we’ve switched to shading thepulse on the count row):

Nowtakeoutthenoteon2inthesecondmeasure.Thiscreatesalargegapinthemiddleof thepattern.Afterafewrepetitionsyou’llprobablyperceivethenoteon3inthesecondmeasureasthestartofthepattern,especiallyifyou’replaying

atfasterspeeds:

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Nowleaveoffbothnotesinthesecondmeasure:

owswitchtosix,wherethepulseison1and4.TurnonthetimelineinsixontheCDatmediumspeed.Feelthepulseandstarttappingitinyourfeet.

Then play all the pulses on your instrument until you really lock with thetimeline.Oncethatstartstohappen,keepgoing.Therelationshipbetweenthesetwo patterns can be an unending source of inspiration:

Next create spaceby leavingout the secondpulse.Noticehow thismakes thepatterndrive toONE just as it did in four, turning the note on 1 in the secondmeasure into the beginning of the pattern:

Nowcreatemorespacebyleavingoutthepulseon4inthefirstmeasureandthepulseon1 in thesecondmeasure.Thiswillquicklycause thenoteon4 in thesecondmeasure to feel like thebeginningof thepattern (notice that these tworemaining pulses are the ones that coincide with notes in the timeline):

owyou’regoingtoplaythetimelineinsixasapatternonyourinstrumentandthencreatespaceinitjustasyoudidwiththetimelineinfour.Again,

sinceyou’regoingtobeworkingwithatimelineasapattern,remembertoturnoff theCD.Get thepulsegoing inyour feet and then startbyplaying the fulltimeline (notice we’ve switched to shading the pulse on the count row):

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Now create space in the timeline by leaving off the notes on 5 in the firstmeasure and 6 in the second (don’t forget to use say-it-and-play-it and slowthings way down if you need to):

In Afro-Cuban music, this more spacious version of the timeline in six isconsideredtobetheessenceofthepattern.

Youmayhavenoticedthatoftenthemorespaceyouputinapattern,themoredifficultitistoplay.Non-musiciansareimpressedbylotsofnotesplayedreallyfast,butmusiciansknowitcanbemuchhardertoplayfewernotesmorewidelyspacedintime.Sometimesit’snotwhatyouplay,butwhatyoudon’tplay,thatmakesthemusic.

lesson 2Thepulseandthebeatbefore

iguresaresimplyshortrhythmicpatterns.Here’safigureinfour,consistingof a pulse and the beat before it:

Wecall thiskindof figureapair,which justmeans twonoteson consecutivebeats.Whenyouplay thispairwith theCD,notice that it startson thesecondnote of the timeline:

Nowforparallelfigures.Twofiguresareparallelwhen:

1)theyhavethesamestructure,and

2)theyhavethesamerelationshiptoapulse.

Here’s an example. There are two parallel figures in the following chart –parallel pairs consisting of a pulse and the beat before it:

Even though the new figure doesn’t end on the same numbered beat, it’s stillparallelwiththefirst.Ithasthesamestructure(twonotesonconsecutivebeats)andithasthesamerelationshiptoapulse(apulseandthebeatbeforeit).Theonlydifferenceisthatthenewfigureendsonapulseon1insteadofapulseon3.

Because these figures are short, four parallel pairs will fit in a two-measurecycle.Here’sthewholeset.Noticewe’veunderlinedthenoteontheANDof4inthe second measure to indicate that you should start playing there:

Try to play both notes in each pair evenly, without accenting the pulse. Andwhenever there’s a pulse sounded in a pattern, unless you’ve got a reason toaccentit,playthatnotelikeanyother.Keeptappingthepulseinyourfeetandfeeling it in your body, but don’t automatically emphasize it in your playing.Then, when you do choose to accent a note on a pulse, it will be a musicaldecisionratherthananunconscioushabit.Keepyouroptionsopen.Preservetheflexibilitycreatedbytheunaccentedpulse.

Inthenextpattern,we’vecreatedspacebytakingoutonefigure.Sincethelarge

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gapthiscreateswillcauseyoutoperceivethenoteontheANDof4inthefirstmeasureasthestartofthepattern,wehaveyoustartthere:

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Theflexibilitycreatedbytheunaccentedpulse

ere’sthecompletesetoffourparallelpairsinsixconsistingofthepulseandthebeatbefore in it.This is therhythmyourheartmakes–“lub-dub, lub-

dub, lub-dub, lub-dub”:

Whenyoumoveontotriple-weavewiththispattern,youmayfindthetimelineabit disorienting at first. Focusingon the pulse in your feetwill help keep yougrounded.Afterawhileyou’llbeabletofocusonhowthepatternrelatestothetimeline. Then you can use the two pulses in the timeline – on 1 in the firstmeasureand4inthesecond–asreferencepoints.Thetimelinealsogivesyouboth notes of the pair that starts on 6 in the second measure:

Inthenextchart,we’vecreatedsomespaceinthepatternbytakingoutafigure.Now the pattern starts on 6 in the first measure:

We’vetakenoutanotherfigureinthenextchart.Nowthepatternstartson3in

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thesecondmeasure:

eforeyoumoveon,fliptopage195andreadthechapteronrhythmwalking.Rhythmwalking is a funmethod for practicing patternswhile you stretch

yourlegsandgetsomefreshair.Itdoesn’trequireaninstrument–whichmeansyoucandoitanywhere–andit’sperfectforpracticingsimplepatternsliketheonesinthislesson.Theonlyreasonweputthechapteronrhythmwalkingattheendofthebookisthatwefiguredyou’dwanttogetrightintothepatterns.Nowthat you’re into them, we recommend you start rhythm walking as soon aspossibleandmakeitaregularpartofyourpracticeroutine.

lesson 3Thetwobeatsbeforethepulse

hepatterncreatedbythetwobeatsbeforeeachpulseisusedalotinAfricanandAfro-Cubanrhythmsinbothfourandsix.Infour,thenotesfallon2and

the AND of 2, and 4 and the AND of 4:

Thispattern lookseasy,butbecause the figuresnever touch thepulse,playingthemaccuratelycanbeachallenge.Thisisespeciallytrueatfasttemposwhenthespacebetween thesecondnoteofeach figureand the followingpulsegetsverytight.

Toplay this pattern right in time, itmaybe helpful to thinkof each figure asleading into the pulse that follows it: two-and-ahh, four-and-ahh, chucka-ahh,chucka-ahh.Feeleachfigureinyourhandsasconnectedtothepulsethatfollowsinyourfoot.

Nowyou’regoingtochangethepatternbyusingtwodifferentsounds.Youcanthinkof rhythms as songs,with each sound as a separate voice.Changing thevoice of a note by changing its tone color or pitch changes the melody of arhythm.Weusethetermvoicingtorefertothesoundsofthenotesinarhythmicpattern, and we call the technique of changing those sounds changing thevoicing.

Chooseonesoundforthefiguresstartingon2andanothersoundforthefiguresstartingon4:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Changevoicing

Thepatternsinthisbookuseeitherasinglevoiceor twovoicesplayedasanytwocontrastingsounds.Ifyouplayamelodicinstrument,thismayseemlikealimitedpaletteatfirst.Butlimitingthenumberofsoundsyouusecanintensifytherhythmicaspectofyourplaying.(Ifyou’renotconvinced,listentoadjembesolobyMamadyKeitaplayingjustslapsandopentones.)Themoresoundsyouadd,themoretheearisdrawntothemelodyandthemoredifficultitbecomestofeelarhythm’sstructure.Sobeforeyouaddmoresounds,explorethepowerofalimitednumberofvoicesonyourinstrument.

Now take thepatternaboveand reverse the two soundson the figures.Noticehow the song changes (to get the full effect, you need to play alongwith thetimeline):

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Thepowerofalimitednumberofvoices

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Nextcreatespacebyleavingoffthesecondnoteinthefirstandthirdfigures:

WhenthispatternisplayedonacongadrumwiththeX’sasslapsandtheO’sasopentones,it’stheessenceofthepatterncommonlycalled“tumbao”(toom-bau)inAfro-Cubanmusic.

owturnoff theCDsoyoucanpractice the techniqueofchangingvoicingusing the timeline as the pattern.Here are a couple variations to get you

started:

ere’sthesetofparallelpairsconsistingofthetwobeatsbeforeeachpulseinsix:

Usethepulse inyourfeetasyourmainreferenceasyouplaythispattern.Butnoticethatthepatterncoincideswiththetimelineon5and6inthefirstmeasure:

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Now change the voicing. Play the second and fourth pairs with the alternatevoice:

Noticehowthesongchangeswhenyoureversethevoicing:

Here’sanotherpossibility:

ow use the technique of changing voicingwith the timeline in six as thepattern. Turn off the CD and play these variations:

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Nowit’syourturn.You’vegotthreesetsofparallelpairs,twotimelines,andtwotechniques (creating space and changingvoicing) toplaywith.Whenyou feellike you’ve gone as far as you can using just two sounds, use two differentsoundsonalternatingcycles.Thenuseasmanysoundsasyouwant.

Everypatternandtechniquewepresentisintendedtobeaspringboardforyourown exploration. If you want to learn to improvise, you can’t just memorizepatterns. You have to practice combining the patterns and techniques in yourownway.Fromtimetotimeattheendofalessonwe’llremindyoutodothat.Butevenwhenwedon’tremindyou,remember:You’renotdonewithalessonuntilyou’veplayedsomethingthatisn’tonthepage.

lesson 4Thepulseandthebeatafter

ere’s another set of parallel pairs: the pulse and the beat after it in four.Remember to play all the notes evenly. Don’t accent or emphasize the

pulses:

Now,insteadofcreatingspaceasyoudidinthelastlesson,you’regoingtofill

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space,whichsimplymeansputting innoteswhere thereareemptybeats.Startby fillingspacebetweenfiguresbyplayingO’son2and theANDof2 inbothmeasures.Noticehowthisturnsfourshortfiguresintotwolongerones:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Fillspace

NextturnofftheCDandfillspaceinthetimelinepattern:

Inthenextchart,we’vechangedthevoicingofthelastnoteinthetimelineandfilled the space between it and the first note of the pattern. If it’s difficult torepeatthosefourO’sasasinglenoteonyourinstrument,goaheadandalternatebetween two different notes on the O’s:

ow play the pulse and the beat after it in six (remember to turn on thetimeline in six when you’re ready for triple-weave):

Trythepatternwithdifferentvoicing:

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Inthenextpattern,thevoicingchangeswithineachfigure:

Nowvarythelastpatternbyfillingthespaceon3inthesecondmeasurewithyourXsound:

ow turn off theCD and use the technique of filling space in the timelinepattern by adding a note on 3 in the second measure:

Here’sthesamepatternwithdifferentvoicing:

Youcanfillspaceinonespotandcreatespaceinanotherinthesamepattern.Inthe next chartwe’ve kept the notewe added on 3 in the secondmeasure andtaken out the notes on 5 and 6 in the first:

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fyouhaven’tdoneityet,pickapatternyoulikeandplayitoverandoverforas long as you can. The pattern you play for aminute becomes a different

patternwhenyouplayitforanhour.Repetitiontriggersmysteriousprocessesinthe body and mind. That’s why repetitive rhythms play a critical role in thesacred rituals of so many cultures, often inducing a state of trance in theparticipants.We don’t talkmuch about the trance effect of repetition.We justgiveyouthepatternsandletyouexperienceitforyourself.

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Thetranceeffectofrepetition

lesson 5Thetwobeatsafterthepulse

ere’sthelastsetofparallelpairsyou’regoingtowork:thetwobeatsafterthe pulse. In four, that’s the AND of 1 and 2 and the AND of 3 and 4:

Even though these pairs don’t touch the pulse, the pulse is still your bestreferenceforthispattern.Ithelpstofeeleachpairinyourhandsasconnectedtothepulsebefore it inyour foot.Thiswillkeep thepairs fromdriftingonto thepulseandhelpyouplaythemaccuratelyevenatfastspeeds.

You can also use the notes where the pattern intersects with the timeline asreference points. These are 4 in the first measure and 2 in the second:

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Next we’ve generated two variations of this pattern by filling space in twodifferentways:

ofarwe’vebeenworkingwithpatternsthatareonlyasinglecyclelong.Aneasy way to build patterns longer than a single cycle is by combining

variationsofapattern.

In thenextchart,we’vecombined the twovariationsabove tocreateapatterntwocycleslong.Noticethere’snospacebetweenthetworowsunderthecountrow.Thatmeansbothrowsarepartofthesamepattern.Soafterplayingthefirstrow,immediatelygotothesecondwithoutmissingabeat.Thengobacktothebeginningandrepeatthewholepattern:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Combinevariations

Youcanusethissametechniqueofcombiningvariationswiththetimelineasthe

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pattern.In thenextchart, thefirst,second,andfourthcyclesareonevariation.Thethirdisthefulltimelinewithdifferentvoicingandsomespacefilledattheend(remembertoturnofftheCDwhenyouworkwiththetimelineasapattern):

owwe’llapplythesametechniqueofcombiningvariationstobuildlongerpatternsinsix,againusingtheparallelpairsofthetwobeatsafterthepulse.

Thesepairsshouldbefamiliartoyoubecausethey’rethesameasthetwobeatsbeforethepulseinsix,whichyouworkedwithacouplelessonsago.Sincethereareonlytwobeatsbetweenpulsesinsix,youcanthinkofthemasthetwobeatsbefore,after,orbetweenpulses.

Startwiththistwo-cyclepatterncreatedbycombiningtwovariationsofthesetof parallel pairs between pulses:

Nextplaythisexampleofanextendedimprovisationbasedjustonvariationsofthetwobeatsbetweenpulses:

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ombining variations is a great way to get the most out of a limitedvocabulary.Evenmusicianswhoknowcountlesspatternsusethistechnique

becausetheyunderstandthevirtueofafullydevelopedidea.Useyourresourceswiselywhenyouimprovise.Developoneideabeforemovingontothenext.

lesson 6Three-notefigures

nthislesson,you’regoingtoworkwithfoursetsofparallelthree-notefiguresin four.The first is thepulseand the twobeatsbefore it, acommonsupport

rhythm:

Whenyoucreatespaceinthissetbyleavingoutthenoteon3ineachmeasure,the pattern starts to sway a little:

Eachfigureinthenextsetofparallelthree-notefiguresconsistsofthepulseandthe two beats after it:

We’ve varied this pattern in the next chart by leaving out the notes on 2 andchanging the voicing of the notes on 4:

Nowplaythesetofparallelfiguresofthethreebeatsbetweenthepulsesinfour:

Differentvoicingscreatedifferentsongs:

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In the last setof three-note figures, each figure consistsof thebeatbefore thepulse, the pulse, and the beat after:

With only a slight modification in the second measure, this set becomes acommon palito (pah-lee-toh) pattern in the Afro-Cuban rumba (room-bah).“Palito”means “little stick” in Spanish and palito patterns are usually playedwith sticks on a hard surface:

Noticehow this pattern linesupwithbothnotesof the timeline in the secondmeasure:

nsix, there’sonly roomfor twoparallel three-note figures ina two-measurecycle (if you want to keep some space between the figures). Here are two

parallel three-note figures starting on 1:

Nowfillspaceinthispatternbyaddinganoteinthealternatevoiceon5ineachmeasure:

Inthenextchart,we’vetakenthispatternandshifted itonebeat to the left,soinsteadofstartingonONE,itstartson6:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Shift

Whenapatternisshifted,itstaysthesamebutstartsinanewplace.Shiftinghasbeencomparedtotransposingamelodyorchordprogressiontoanewkey,withthe shifted version called a “rhythmic transposition” or “permutation” of theinitialpattern.Acloseranalogyfromtonalmusicischangingfromonemodetoanother.Whenyouchangemodes,youplaythesamescalestartingonadifferentnote;whenyoushiftarhythm,youplaythesamepatternstartingonadifferentbeat.

Youcankeepshiftingthispatterntothelefttocreatefourmoretranspositions:

Shifting allows you to turn one set of movements into many patterns.Remember:Whenyoushiftapatternyoudon’tneedtochangehoworwhat

youplay, youonlyneed to changewhen you play.Like combining variations,shiftingisagreatwaytogetthemostoutofalimitedvocabulary.

lesson 7

Consecutiveeighthnotes

nthischapter,you’llreallygettoknowyourwayaroundtheeighth-notegridinfour.Startbyplayingeverynoteonthegridwiththesamesoundforacycleand

Iending onONE in the following cycle. Remember not to accent the pulse:

Becauseoftherelentlessmonotonyofconsecutiveeighthnotesplayedwiththesame sound, they work best as background percussion parts or in short,prominentburststosignalatransitionordrivethegroove.Duringhotafternoondance classes our drum teacher used to recharge the dancers by cracking outeveryeighthnotewithsticksonahollowwoodblock.

Usuallywhenyouplayaflowofconsecutiveeighthnotes,youwon’tbeplayingthemallthesame.You’llbeusingaccentsandvoicingtomakedifferentpatternsemerge. An accent is a feature of a sound that makes it stand out from itssurroundings.Whenyougiveasoundadynamicaccent,youmakeitstandoutbyhowloudorsoftyouplayit.

In thenextpattern,weadddynamicaccents on thenotesof the timeline.ThelargeX’sindicatethatthosenotesaretobeplayedlouderthanthesmallx’s:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Adddynamicaccents

Youcanalsomakeapatternemergeusingvoicing.Inthenextpattern,wemakethetimelineemergefromacontinuousflowofeighthnotesbyplayingitinthe

alternatevoice:

Weuse voicing tomake a different pattern emerge froma continuous flowof

eighthnotesinthenextchart:

Nowcutthepatternoffafterbeat3inthesecondmeasuretocreatesomespacebetweencycles:

Shifting this pattern to start on 3 in the secondmeasure gives us a drum partfromtheGhanaianrhythmpanlogo(pahn-loh-goh):

Whenapatternstartsinonecycleandendsafterthefirstbeatinthenextcycle,it makes a rhythm feel more circular, without a clear beginning or end. ThecirculareffectofoverlappingONEcanreconfigurehowyouhearthetimelineandotherpatternsinarhythm.

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

ThecirculareffectofoverlappingONE

Inthenextpattern,theshortfiguresoverlap1inbothmeasures:

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Here’s a longer pattern created by combining variations of these figures withparallelpairs.Itendswithastringofconsecutiveeighthnotes:

he change in perspective created by overlappingONE can either be trance-inducing or confusing, depending on how easy it is for you to hold on to

yourpart.Whenwefirststartedplayingpatternsthatoverlappedthestartofthecycle,wewereconstantlylookingateachotherandwhispering“Where’sONE?”Butnowthatyouunderstandtheoverlapeffect,youcanskipconfusionandgostraighttotrance.

lesson 8

Numberedbeatsandupbeats

Here’sthesetofnumberedbeatsinfour:

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Thissetismadeupofpulseson1and3andupbeatson2and4.Wedefineanupbeatasabeat fallingmidwaybetween twopulses.Notice that thereare twoupbeats in the timeline:

Because upbeats are defined in relation to the pulse, if the pulse changes, theupbeatswillchange.Forexample,ifyou’reworkingwitharhythminfourthatonly requires two subdivisions to a pulse, you could put a pulse on everynumberedbeat.Then theANDSwouldbecome theupbeatsbecause theywouldfall midway between each two pulses:

Insix–withpulseson1and4–therearenoupbeatsonourchartsbecausethereisnobeatmidwaybetweenthepulsesontheeighth-notegrid:

owgobacktothesetofupbeatsinfourwiththepulseon1and3andcreatespacebyleavingoutthefirstupbeat:

Byleavingouttheupbeaton2inthesecondmeasureinstead,youcancreateapatternthatoverlapsONE:

Nextwe’regoingtoworkwithapatternmadeupofthreenumberedbeats–twopulsesandanupbeat:

ThispatterniscommoninAfricanandAfro-Cubanmusic,andcanprobablybeheardalmosteverywhereelseintheworld.It’ssimple,butitgrooveshard.

When you play this pattern slowly, the tendency is to hear it as two parallelfiguresthatstarton1:

Thetimeline,whichstartsonONE,reinforcesthiswayofhearingthepattern.

Butwhenyouplaythispatternfast, thetendencyofthelargestgaptakesover,causingyoutohearitastwoparallelfiguresthatstarton3:

Next we’ve filled space in this pattern to create three variations. Play eachvariation separately until it grooves. Then try combining variations to build alonger pattern or make up variations of your own:

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Inthenextchartwe’vealternatedbetweenavariationofpattern8-7(adjembepartfromKassa,arhythmfromGuinea)andapatternofparallelpairs.Repeateach line as many times as you like before moving on to the next:

atternsarelikewordsinyourvocabulary.Toformmeaningfulsentences,youneedtoputwordstogether.Fromnowonweregularlycombinenewpatterns

withonesyoualreadyknow.Use thesecombinationsasexamplesofhowyoucanputyourvocabularytowork.

lesson 9

Offbeats

Offbeats are all the beats between pulses (except upbeats). The way we’recountinginfour,theoffbeatsontheeighth-notegridaretheANDS.Fornow,leave out the timeline and just get a feel for how they fitwith the pulse:

When you pick up the tempo and add the timeline, the numbered beats (alsocalledonbeats,meaningallbeatsthataren’toffbeats)turnintomagnetsthattugon the nearby offbeats. It takes concentration to resist the tug and hold theoffbeatsinplace.Ifyourconcentrationslips–evenforamoment–you’llfindyourself thinking“This isn’tsohard!”untilyourealizeyou’replaying1-2-3-4insteadofAND-AND-AND-AND.

Oneway tomakesureyouroffbeatsdon’t slideonto thenumberedbeats is toaddghost notes, which are light, barely-audible taps on the empty beats in apattern. In the next chart,we’veaddedghost notes (indicated by dots) on thenumbered beats. Experiment to see if there’s away to tap them or play themsoftly on your instrumentwith one handwhile you play the offbeatswith theother:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Addghostnotes

Besides helping you keep your place, ghost notes can add to the groove of apattern by providing a subtle, underlying support rhythm.But be careful howyou use them when other instruments are playing. Adding ghost notes to analready-dense rhythmcanmake it soundcluttered.So it’sbest to learnhow toplaypatternsbothways–withandwithoutghostnotes.

owtakeouttheghostnotes,turnonthetimeline,andalternatebetweenplaying

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theoffbeatsforacycleandrestingforacycle.Doingtheserhythmicwindsprintswillbuildyourendurancesoyou’lleventuallybeable to resist the

tugofthenumberedbeatsforanextendedstretch.Noticethatthesingleoffbeatinthetimeline(ontheANDof2inthefirstmeasure)givesyouareferencepoint:

Because straight offbeats generate somuch rhythmic tension, you’ll rarely becalledupontoplaymorethanacycle’sworthinanactualplayingsituation.Soifyoucanmakeitthroughevenonecycleofoffbeatsyou’reingreatshape.

Here are a couple common patterns that combine sequences of offbeats andnumberedbeats.Toemphasize thestructureof thepatterns,weuseO’sfor theoffbeats andX’s for the numbered beats. And because each pattern generatessometensionwiththetimelineatdifferentpoints,we’veshadedthetimelineon

thecountrow:

henextpattern,whichisplayedonthehighcongadrumintheAfro-Cubanrumba,hasnotesonthreeofthefouroffbeatsineachmeasure.Usethenote

on2ineachmeasuretosteadyyourselfbeforedivingbackintotheoffbeatsthatstartontheANDof3.Youcanalsouseghostnotesifyouwant.We’vekeptthetimeline on the count row so you can use it as a reference:

You probably noticed that the tendency of the largest gap reconfigured the

pattern into two figures that overlapped the bar lines and obscured ONE. Bycreatingspaceinthepattern,youcankeepitstartingontheANDof1inthefirst

measure:

By filling space in theoriginal patternyou can throwablanket over eachbarline:

In this last chart,we’ve built a longer pattern by combining variations of thispatternwithacoupleotherpatterns:

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Afteryou’recomfortableplayingthispattern,gobackandvaryitbyadjustingthe volume. First play the whole pattern loud. Then play it soft. Notice howadjusting the volume affects the character of the pattern. Then play it again,lettingthevolumeriseandfallasifyouwerespeaking.Sometimesshoutingisthebestwaytogetyourpointacross;sometimeswhisperingworksbetter.

lesson 10

Singlesandpairs

layingsinglesandpairsisaneasywaytocreateavarietyofpatternswithouthavingtothinktoomuch.Justplayanycombinationofsinglenotesandpairs

andfolloweachsingleorpairwithoneemptybeat.Tocreateapatterninfourthatrepeatseverytwo

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Adjust the volumemeasures there’s just onemore thing to remember: use anevennumberofpairs.

Here’sasingles-and-pairspatternwithtwopairsthatstartsonONE:

Noticewhathappenswhenyouswitchfromasingletoapairinfour.Ifthelastsingle you playedwas on a numbered beat – like the single on 2 in the firstmeasure above– a pairwill switchyou to theAND-track.That’swhat thepairstartingon3 in the firstmeasuredoes. If the last singleyouplayedwasonanoffbeat– like thesingleontheANDof1 in thesecondmeasureabove–apairwillswitchyoutothenumberedbeats.That’swhatthepairstartingontheANDof2inthesecondmeasuredoes.

Here’sasinglesandpairspatternknowninAfro-Cubanmusicasamambobellpattern:

Here’sasecondmambobellpattern,alsoknownasacascarapattern.“Cascara”meansshell,andthispatternisoftenplayedwithsticksontheshellofatimbale.Noticethatithasfourpairs(includingthepairthatoverlapsONE):

Here’sathirdmambobellpattern.NoticethatthisonehasnonoteonONE:

Thenextpatterndoesn’thaveanoteon1ineithermeasure.It’sabellpartinthePuertoRicanrhythmcalledbomba(bohm-bah).Noticethat twopairssurroundeach pulse on 1 while the singles fall on each pulse on 3:

Here’sanAfro-Cubanbellpatternwithtwovoices.Noticethatitstartson1inthesecondmeasure:

Ineachofthefollowingpatternsthere’sapairstartingon3inthefirstmeasure.Inthefirstpattern,thatpairisfollowedimmediatelybyasecondpair.Thenineachsucceedingpattern, theappearanceof thesecondpair ispostponedlongerand longer. This makes the string of offbeat singles following the first pairlongerandlonger.Theoffbeatsinglescreatetension,andthetensionbuildsuntilthe pattern is returned to a numbered beat by the second pair:

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Thesepatternsworkwellwith just about anydancemusic in four, sopulloutyour favorite CD now and try playing along. Besides being a fun way topractice, playing with recorded music is a great way to develop your overallmusicianshipbecauseitrequiresyoutolistentomanyotherpartswhileholdingyourown.Andespeciallywhenyou’reabeginner,playingwithrecordedmusicmaybetheonlywayyoucanexperiencewhatit’sliketoplaywithaband.OurCDplayerhasallowedustoplaywithSting,SteelyDan,LosMunequitos,andYoussouN’Dour–andnotoneofthemhascomplainedaboutourplaying.

lesson 11

Backbeats

nlesson2,werecommendedthatforthesakeofflexibilityyouavoidthehabitof automatically accenting the pulse in every pattern. In this lesson, you’re

going to intentionally accent the pulses calledbackbeats,whichwe define aseverysecondpulse.Infour,withthepulseon1and3,thebackbeatsfallonbeat3 in each measure:

Whenyoucountinsixteenthnotes,thebackbeatsfallon2and4:

There’ssomethingabout thebackbeat thatmakesabodywant tomove.That’swhy you’ll find a solid backbeat at the heart of most popular dance music.Drummersusuallyemphasizethebackbeatbyplayingitwithaloudrimshotonthe snaredrum.Thishighcracking sound isusuallybalancedbya contrastinglowthudonthebassdrumon1.

Whatever instrument you play, for this lesson imagine it’s a drumset and playyour version of a bass drum on 1 and your version of a snare drum on 3:

Nowcreatesomespaceinthispatternbyleavingoutthenoteon1inthesecondmeasure:

Nowyou’regoing tokeep these threenotesconstantwhileplayinga seriesofvariationsonthem.Startbyaddingabassdrumnoteon2inthesecondmeasure:

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Nowaddanotherbassdrumnoteon2inthefirstmeasure:

Nexttrysomevariationsthataddoffbeats:

The next variation has a series of five consecutive offbeats in the O voicestarting on the AND of 2 in the first measure:

owgobacktotheoriginalpulse-backbeatpatternandaddanoteaftereachbackbeattocreatetwoparallelfigures:

Aninterestingwaytovaryparallelfiguresistodisplaceonenoteinoneofthefiguresbyasinglebeat.Inthenextpattern,we’vedisplacedthenoteon3inthe

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secondfigureandmovedittotheprecedingbeat.NowthetwoX’sinthesecondmeasuresurroundthepulseon3withouttouchingit:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Displaceonenote

s you work your way through the patterns in this book, in addition topracticing them with a timeline, it’s also good to practice them with a

metronome.Insomewaysthisisharderbecausethemetronomedoesn’tdefineanyofthesubdivisionsofthepulseforyouandforcesyoutokeeptrackofthecycleyourself.Therelentlessclickofthemetronome–likethetimelineontheCD–will also help you develop steady time, themost fundamental aspect ofrhythm.Withoutsteadytime,eventhefanciestrhythmicvocabularywillsoundlikeirritatingchatter.

lesson 12

Sixteenthnotes

venwhen the pulse ismoving at amoderate speed, sixteenth notesmovevery fast. (If you’ve been counting in sixteenth notes all along, then our

sixteenthnotesare thirty-secondnotesforyou.) It’shard toplaydiscontinuouspatterns accurately at that speed and hard for the ear to discern such intricaterhythms.Sowe’llbeusingsixteenthnotestoembellishorthickenthetextureofpatternsinwhichthebasicunitoftimeremainstheeighthnote.Ifyouwanttoexplore the sixteenth-note grid more thoroughly on your own, just take anyeighth-notepatterninthebookandplayittwiceasfastwhilekeepingthespeedofthepulseandthetimelineunchanged.

Wechartsixteenthnotesastwonoteswithinasingleeighth-notebox.Inthenext

chart, there are two sixteenth notes in the box under beat 1 in the second

measure:

Asyouplaythispattern,whenyouswitchfromsixteenthnotestoeighthnotesontheANDof1inthesecondmeasure,don’tslowdowngradually.ThefourO’sinthesecondmeasureshouldsoundjustlikethefourinthefirst.

Youcansubstitutesixteenthnotesforanyeighthnote.Inthenextpattern,we’vesubstitutedsixteenthnotesforthefirsttwoeighthnotesinthesecondfigure.Ifit’sawkwardonyourinstrumenttorepeatasinglesoundquicklyfourtimesinarow,usemorethanonesoundonthesixteenthnotes:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Substitutesixteenthnotes

In the next pattern, we’ve substituted sixteenth notes for the first four eighthnotesinthesecondfigure.Thistimeyou’llswitchvoiceswhileplayingsixteenthnotes.Again,make sure the last three notes in the secondmeasure sound justlike the last three notes in the first:

Whenyouinsertsixteenthnotesbetweeneighthnotes,youhavetoswitchspeedscleanlygoinginandcomingout.Inthenextpattern,wetakethesetofparallelpairsconsistingofthepulseandthebeatafterandfillthespacebetweenthelastand first figures with sixteenth notes:

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ext you’re going to work with a figure consisting of consecutive eighthnotes. Notice that it starts right after the third note in the timeline:

Whenyousubstitutetwosixteenthnotesforthefirsteighthnoteinthefigure,itbecomes a pattern played on the high drum in the Afro-Cuban rumba:

Nowbuild a longer pattern by repeating the figure and then adding a parallelfigure:

ere’sanexercise thatcanhelpyoudevelopgreater speedandaccuracyonyoursixteenthnotes.Pickanypatternyouwanttoworkonthathasjustone

voice.Thenplaythenotesofthepatternwitheighthnotesandfillallthespacesinbetweenwithsixteenthnotesinthealternatevoice(ortwoalternatevoicesifyou need to). For example, here’s how the timeline would be played:

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This exercise is great for developing the ability to switch cleanly between theeighth-note and the sixteenth-note grids. It also develops your ability to usesixteenth notes to fill space between the notes of a pattern to give it a densertexture.

lesson 13Theoffbeatsbeforeorafterthepulse

ou’ve alreadyworkedwith the full set of offbeats in four. In this lesson,you’ll work with two subsets of those offbeats. The first is the set of

offbeats before each pulse:

Thepulseisyourbestreferenceforplayingthesenotesintime,butyoucanalsousethetimelineontheANDof2inthefirstmeasuretogetyoustartedandmakesure you stay on track:

Theoffbeats before thepulse generate a lot of rhythmic tension.Andbecausethesenotesarespacedexactlythesamedistanceapartaspulses,ifyouplaythispattern prominently formore than a cycle it can obscure the underlying pulseandmay eventually overpower it. This is especially likelywhen you alternatevoices to mimic a pulse-backbeat pattern:

The pitches you use will also affect a listener’s perception. If you play thispatternusingpitchescommonlyassociatedwithapulse-backbeatpattern–likethe first and fifth notes of a scale – these offbeatswill sound evenmore like

pulses:

Obscuringthepulseisamuchmoreradicaleffectthansimplyobscuringthestartofthecycle.Iflistenersanddancerslosetrackofthestartofthecycle,theycanalwayskeepmovingtothepulse.Butifyouconfusethemaboutwherethepulseis,youmaystop themcold.Youneed tobeawareof thedisorientingeffectofobscuring thepulse soyoudon’tunintentionally throwyouraudience–or themusiciansyou’replayingwith.

Nowfillsomespaceinthispatternbyaddinganoffbeatafter thepulseontheANDof3inthesecondmeasure:

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Thedisorientingeffectofobscuringthepulse

Anotherwaytofillspaceinthepatternistoattachaprefixtooneormoreofthenotes.Aprefixissimplyanoteornotesattachedbeforeanothernoteorfigure.Inthenextpattern,we’veattachedatwo-noteprefixtothenoteontheANDof4ineachmeasure:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Attachaprefix

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In the next chartwe’ve built a longer pattern by combining variations of thispattern:

ikethesetofoffbeatsbeforethepulse,thesetofoffbeatsafterthepulsealsohasapulse-obscuringeffect:

In thenextchart,we’vefilledspace in thispatternbyattachingasuffix to thenoteontheANDof3ineachmeasure.Asuffixissimplyanoteornotesattachedafteranothernoteorfigure.NoticethatthetendencyofthelargestgapquicklyreconfiguresthepatternintotwoparallelfiguresstartingontheANDof3:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Attachasuffix

In the next exercise,we startwith variations of this pattern and then combinevariationsofthree-notefiguresyou’veworkedwithtogiveyousomeideasforways to improvise:

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otice howmuch space there is at the start of this pattern.Newmusiciansoftengetsonervouswhenit’stheirturntotakeasolothattheytrytosaytoo

much too soon.When it’s your turn, don’t be afraid to take your time. Takebreathsbetweenphrases.Pauseaftersayingsomethingimportanttoletitsinkin.Don’tpeaktooearly.Buildgraduallyandendonahighnote.

lesson 14

Timelines

orthesakeofsimplicityandconsistency,werelateallthepatternsinfourinthisbooktoonetimeline,thepatternknowninAfro-Cubanmusicastheson

clave.Butthereareothercommontimelinesinfour.Inthislessonweshowyousome.Fornow,treatthemaspatternsandplaythemonyourinstrument(withoutlisteningtothetimelineontheCD).

Ifyouhaveafriendyoucanplaywithoradrummachineyoucanprogram,youcan tryanypattern in fourwithanyof these timelines.Youcanalsouse thesetimelinesaspatternsinyourplaying,andvarythemjustasyouwouldanyotherpattern.Butbeawarethatifyou’replayinginatraditionalcontext,youshouldknowthespecifictimelinethatgoeswiththerhythmyou’replaying.

The first new timeline is called the rumba clave in Afro-Cuban music. It’sexactly the sameas the sonclaveexcept foronenote. In the rumbaclave, thethirdnoteinthefirstmeasurefallsontheANDof4insteadof4.We’vechartedboth the son clave and the rumba clave below so you can compare the two:

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Noticehowmovingthethirdnotefrom4totheANDof4changesthefeelofthepattern.Thetwooffbeatsintherumbaclavecreateasuspendedfeelinguntilthepatterntouchesdownon2inthesecondmeasure.

ThenexttimelineisplayedonabellintheGhanaianrhythmgahu(ga-hoo).It’salso the same as the son clave except for one note. It differs on the last note,which falls on 4 in the second measure instead of 3:

ere’s another variation of the son clave that differs only on the last note,which falls on the AND of 3 instead of 3:

Thenext timeline isknownas theone-barclave inAfro-Cubanmusic,but it’salsousedwidelyinrhythmsallovertheworld.It’sthesameasthefirstmeasureof the son clave. Here it is repeated twice:

Here’satimelinethat’splayedonabellintheGhanaianrhythmsichi(see-chee).It consists of just three evenly-spaced notes. Be sure to establish the pulse inyourbodybeforeyoustartplayingitoryou’llfeel itasthreepulsesinsteadof

threeupbeats:

Nowlet’sgobacktothesonclave.Noticeithas3notesinthefirstmeasureand2inthesecond:

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Whenthesonclaveisplayedwiththemeasuresinthisorder,it’scalledthe3-2son clave.When the measures are reversed, the pattern is called the 2-3 sonclave because the measure with 2 notes (the “2 side”) comes first and themeasure with 3 notes (the “3-side”) comes second:

Therumbaclave–whichisin3-2formabove–canalsoplayedin2-3form:

Whenyouplaywithothersandaclavepatternisusedasatimeline,youneedtoknowwhetherit’sa3-2or2-3clavesoyou’llknowhowyourpartfitsandyouwon’tget turnedaround.Arhythm,melody,orchordprogressionmayfitwellwithoneversionoftheclavebutclashwiththeother.

ere’sapatternfromtheAfro-Cubanrhythmcalledcongathat’splayedwiththe 2-3 son clave, which we’ve shaded on the count row. First play the

patternafewtimesbyitselfjusttogetfamiliarwithit.Thenturnonthetimeline.BecausetheclaveontheCDstartsonthe3-side,you’llneedtowaitameasuretostartplayingonthe2-side(inarealplayingsituation,theclaveplayerwouldstart on the 2-side):

YoucanalsoturnthesonclaveontheCDintoothertimelinesbycontinuingtoshiftyourperceptionofwherethepatternstarts.Forexample,here’sthe3-2sonclaveshiftedsothefirstnotefallson3inthefirstmeasureandthelastnotefallsonONE:

Andthisisjustthebeginning.We’veonlycoveredthreeofthesixteenpossibletranspositionsofthesonclave.Soifyoueverfeellikeplayingtoanewtimelineinfour,therearethirteenmorewaitingforyouontheCD.

lesson 15Consecutiveeighth-notesinsix

You’ve already played patterns consisting of consecutive eighth notes in four.Nowyou’regoingtoplaytheminsix.Startbymarkingtheendofeachmeasurewith two notes in the alternate voice:

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Nowusealternatevoicingtocreatethree-notefiguresthatstartoneachpulse:

Whenyoushiftthepatternonebeattotheright, insteadofstartingonapulse,each set of three notes ends on a pulse:

In the next chart,we’ve shifted the pattern another beat to the right.Now thepulse falls on themiddle note of each three-note figure. If you play the notesevenly, the voicing of this pattern obscures the pulse:

owwe’regoingtoshiftanothersequenceofconsecutiveeighthnotes.Thepatterns are based on three-note figures again, but this time each figure

containsoneOandtwoX’s.Inthefirstpattern, thevoicingaccentsthepulse:

Nowshiftthispatternonebeattotheright:

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Nowshiftanotherbeattotherighttocreateathirdversion:

Now join the third version and the first to create a pattern twice as long. Becareful with the transitions between the two:

n thenextpattern,we’vecreated spaceat theendof a stringof consecutive

eighthnotes:

Whenweshiftthispatternoverthreebeatssoitstartson4,itendsatthestartofthecycle.Usethesecondpulseinyourfeetasareferencetofindyourstarting

place:

Weaddedanemptycycleafter the lastnoteof thispatternsoyoucouldreallyfeel the stabilizing effect of ending onONE. This effect is especially welcomewhenapatternthrowslistenerstemporarilyoffbalance.EndingonONErestoresa sense of stability and groundedness, and a feeling that the pattern has come

home.It’slikeputtingaperiodattheendofasentence.

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

ThestabilizingeffectofendingonONE

Ifyoudon’twanttocreatesuchastrongsenseofresolution,justaddanoteonthebeatafterONE:

When you add the note on the beat after ONE to your ending, you’re like aparachutistwhohitsthegroundandthenrollstosoftentheforceofthelanding.Because thiscreatesamorediffuseending toapattern,wecall it thediffusingeffectofendingonthebeatafterONE.

Anotherwaytoendapatternwithoutastrongsenseofresolutionistostopjustbeforeyouget toONE.Wecall this thesuspendedeffectofendingon thebeatbeforeONE:

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

ThediffusingeffectofendingonthebeatafterONE

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

ThesuspendedeffectofendingonthebeatbeforeONE

Drumset players often accent the beat before ONE with a cymbal crash. This

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createsakindofsonicmistthatgraduallydisperses,allowingthegroovetore-emergeafewbeatslater.

lesson 16Theodd-numberedbeats–the6-pulseand3over2

nthislesson,weusetheodd-numberedbeatstointroduceanewpulseinsixandthepolyrhythm3over2.Inthenextlesson,you’lllearnpatternsbasedon

theodd-numberedbeats.

Untilnow,thepulseyou’vebeenusingwithpatternsinsixhasfallenonbeats1and4ineachmeasure.Becauseithas4pulsestoacyclewecallitthe4-pulse(thisalsodescribesthepulsewe’vebeenusinginfour).AnothercommonpulseinAfrican andAfro-Cuban rhythms in six falls on the odd-numbered beats ineachmeasure.Becauseithas6pulsestoacyclewecallit the6-pulse.Tofeelthis pulse, tap the odd-numbered beats in your feet while you count out loud(you won’t the need the CD for a while):

If you alternate feet on each pulse, notice that one foot taps the 1 in the firstmeasureandtheotherfoottapsthe1inthesecond.

n the next chart, we’ve shaded the 6-pulse on the count row and put thetimelineonthebottomrow.Noticehowthetwopatternsfittogether.Thefirst

threenotes(on1,3,and5)arethesameinbothpatterns.Thenon6inthefirstmeasure, the timeline switches to even-numberedbeats anddances around thepulseuntilthepatternsmeetagainatthestartofthecycle.Nowtapthe6-pulsein your feet as you play or clap the timeline:

When the pulse falls on the odd-numbered beats, the even-numbered beatsbecomeupbeats(becausetheyfallmidwaybetweeneachtwopulses).Youmayfind it helpful to think of the timeline’s relationship to the 6-pulse as “pulse,pulse,pulse-up,up,up,up-pulse...”

Tohearthecontrastevenmoredistinctlybetweenthepulsesandupbeatsinthetimeline, play it with two voices:

You’llfindthatcertainpatternsinsixareeasiertoplaywitha6-pulsethana4-pulse. Youmay even have felt that with the timeline pattern you just played,whichstrongly impliesa6-pulse.Buteven ifa6-pulsedoesn’tmakeapatterneasiertoplay,itwillalwaysgiveyouafreshperspectiveonapattern.

Sogoaheadandtrytappingthe6-pulseinsteadofthe4-pulsewithanypatterninsix.Butforthesakeofconsistency,we’regoingtocontinuepresentingrhythmsinsixwitha4-pulse.Mostofthemusicyou’llbeplayingwillprobablyhavea4-pulsetoo.

Inthenextchart,you’llseethe4-pulsebackonthecountrow.Thesetofodd-numbered beats that was the 6-pulse has now become the pattern on the rowunder it. Tap the 4-pulse in your feet and then clap the odd-numbered beats:

Noticethathandsandfeetcometogetheron1butthatthefooton4comesdownbetween thenotes inyourhandson3and5.Thepatterngoes“together-hand-foot-hand,together-hand-foot-hand.”

Ineachmeasureofthispattern,youclapped3timesforevery2tapsinyourfeet.This 3 over 2 rhythm – or 6 over 4 if you put bothmeasures together – is apolyrhythrn.Byourdefinition,apolyrhythmiscreatedwhentwopatternsareperceived at the same time that a) create or imply uneven pulses or b) haveunevengrids.

Twopulsesareunevenpulsesifneithercontainsallthenotesoftheother(whenthe two are started together). The 4-pulse created by the 2 and the 6-pulseimpliedby the 3 above are unevenbecause – although they start together andshareanoteon1–neithercontainsallthenotesoftheother.We’llgettounevengridsinchapter12.

When two patterns have uneven pulses, one pattern will usually feel like itcreatesorimpliestheunderlyingpulse.Theotherpattern–calledthecounter-rhythm–willbeperceivedasbeingplayedoverthatpattern.

Wecalledthepatternabove“3over2”becausethe2inyourfeet isfeltastheunderlyingpulsewhilethe3isperceivedasthecounter-rhythm.Rememberthatsinceweindicatetheunderlyingpulseonthecountrow,apatternfelt“over”itwillappearunderitonourcharts.Weconsideredflippingthechartsandputtingthecountrowonthebottom,but thismadethemharder toread.Onceyouputthetwopatternsinyourhandsandfeet,it’llbeclearwhichendisup.

Whenthe3isperceivedastheunderlyingpulseandthe2asthecounter-rhythm,thepolyrhythmiscalled“2over3.”Youcanfeelthispolyrhythmbytappingthe3 in your feet and clapping the 2:

Sometimes your perception ofwhich pattern is overwhich can shift. Try thisexperiment. Put your handswhere you canmake a different soundwith eachone.Thentap3 inonehand(beats1,3,and5)and2 in theother(beats1,4):

Onceyoucantapthepatterncomfortably,focusyourawarenessononehandforawhile.Thenshiftyourawarenesstotheotherhandandnoticewhathappenstoyourperceptionofwhichistheunderlyingpulse.

Youcanalsoput the3and the2 together tocreateonecompositepatternby

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playingallthenotesofbothpatternswiththesamesoundwithoutdoublingthenotes on beats where the two patterns coincide:

Learningthecompositepatternisonewaytomakerememberingapolyrhythmeasier.Butwhilethetwopatternsareintheircompositeform,theystopbeingatruepolyrhythmbecausethey’vemergedintoasinglepattern.

lesson 17Theodd-numberedbeats–patterns

owthatyou’refamiliarwiththeodd-numberedbeatsinsix,you’rereadytostartplayingvariations.Firstwarmupbyplayingthebasicpatternwitha4-

pulseinyourfeet,addingthetimelineontheCDwhenyou’rereadyfortriple-

weavepracticing:

Nowchangethevoicingandfillthespaceon6ineachmeasure:

Now leave out the note on 1 in eachmeasure to create a pattern common inAfricanandAfro-Cubanrhythmsinsix:

Although none of the notes of this pattern coincide with the pulse, severalcoincidewiththetimeline:

Inthenextchartwe’vebuiltalongerpatternbysubstitutingapairofO’sfortheXinthelastmeasure:

Thenextpatternisacombinationoftwodifferentpatternswithinasinglecycle.Thefirstmeasureconsistsofodd-numberedbeatsandthesecondconsistsoftwo

parallelpairs:

Inthesecondmeasureofthenextcombination,we’veusedathree-notefigure:

Nowwe’ve combined these combinations and varied them to create a longerpattern:

Youmayhavenoticedinrows5through8ofthispatternthattherepeatedthree-note figures seem to imply a 2-pulse. A 2-pulse falls only on beat 1 in eachmeasure(infourorsix)andcreateswhat’scalledahalf-timefeel.The2-pulseiscommon in bothAfrican andAfro-Cubanmusic.Although it gives you fewerreferencepoints than the4-pulse, it createsamore relaxed feelevenwhen thetimelinestartstomoveatafranticpace.Youcantrytappinga2-pulsewithanypatterninthisbook.Butforconsistency,we’llcontinuetorelatemostpatternstoa4-pulse.

lesson 18Theeven-numberedbeats

Thefullsetofeven-numberedbeatsinsixcanbetrickytoplayatfirst,soyoumaywanttoholdoffplayingwhileyoutakethetimetounderstandhowtheyfitwith thepulseand the timeline.Howtheeven-numberedbeatsarecategorizeddependsonwhere thepulse is.Witha6-pulseon theodd-numberedbeats, theeven-numbered beats fall midway between pulses, so they’re upbeats:

Witha4-pulse,theeven-numberedbeatsfallintotwocategories.Beats2and6are offbeats and beat 4 is a pulse:

Noticethattheeven-numberedbeatscreateashifted6-pulse(startingon2)thatforms a polyrhythm with the underlying 4-pulse. You can see the 3 over 2relationshipmoreclearlyifyouthinkofthepatternasstartingon4.

Noticealsothatfrom6inthefirstmeasureto6inthesecond,thesetofeven-numbered beats and the notes of the timeline are identical:

Ifyouhave troubleplaying thesetofeven-numberedbeatsat the triple-weavelevel, you can always take out the timeline or go back to say-it-and-play-it.Playingghostnotesontheodd-numberedbeatscanhelptoo.

Nowplaytheeven-numberedbeatsforacycleandendonastabilizingnoteonONE. Then rest for a cycle before tackling the even-numbered beats again:

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Here’sacycleofeven-numberedbeatscombinedwithameasureofpattern6-15:

Here’savariationofthispatternthatstartswithafullrowofpattern

6-15:

ow create some space in the set of even-numbered beats by substitutingghostnotesforthenoteson4.Thiscreatestwoparallelfiguresconsistingof

the offbeats on 6 and 2. Because these figures surround but do not touch thepulseon1 ineachmeasure, theyobscure thestartof thecycleand the pulse:

Whenyou’reready,takeouttheghostnotesandalternatevoices.TheresultisaleaddrumpatternfoundintheGhanaianrhythmkpegisu(peh-gee-soo).We’veputthetimelineonthecountrowsoyoucanseehowthispatternrelatestoit:

Onewaytovarythispatternisbyattachingaprefixtothenoteon6inthefirstmeasure (notice that the pulse is back on the count row):

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Nextcombinevariationstobuildalongerpattern(noticethepatternstartsonthelastnoteofthechart):

Don’t be surprised if the last few rows of this patternmake the timeline turnaroundonyou.You’rejustexperiencingthedisorientingeffectofapatternthatobscuresboththepulseandthestartofthecycle.

lesson 19

Backbeats

t’s time again to emphasize the backbeat,whichwe defined in lesson 11 aseverysecondpulse. In four, thebackbeats fellonbeat3 ineachmeasure. In

six, with a 4-pulse on beats 1 and 4, the backbeats fall on beat 4:

Noticethatwhilethebackbeatinthefirstmeasurefallsinbetweentwonotesin

the timeline, the backbeat in the secondmeasure coincideswith a note in the

timeline:

In the following patterns, you’re going to emphasize the backbeats in the Xvoicewhileplayingvariationsaroundthemwiththealternatevoice.Ifyouwant,youcanthinkofyourselfasadrumsetplayeragain,withtheXasarimshotonasnaredrumandtheOasanoteonabassdrum.StartbyaddingapairofO’son

ONEandthebeatbeforeit:

NextaddanotherpairofO’s:

Inpopularmusicthisrhythmiscalledashuffle.

Nowtakeoutthenoteon1inthesecondmeasure:

NowtakeoutthenoteonONEinstead,sothepatterncreatesthesuspendedeffectofendingonthebeatbeforeONE:

In thenextpattern thereare twopairsofO’sagain.Notice that thepair in themiddle of the cycle is shifted to start on 1 in the second measure:

Herearetwovariationsbuiltaroundthebackbeatsbyaddingnotesfromthesetofodd-numberedbeats:

In the next variation, the odd-numbered beats in the alternate voice create thepolyrhythmof3over2:

Nowcreatespaceinthispatterntokeepthepolyrhythmfromtakingover:

In thenextpattern,we’ve filled in even-numberedbeats in the alternatevoiceandendedthepatternonastabilizingnoteonONE.We’veshadedthetimelineon

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the count row so you can see how the pattern fits with it:

Inthenextpattern,bothfiguresstartonbackbeatsandoverlapthebarlines:

Startplayingthisnextpatternon2inthefirstmeasure,andnoticeafterseveralrepetitions how you perceive it:

Didyoustart tohearthepatternastwoparallelfiguresbeginningon6ineachmeasure?Ifyoudid,it’sprobablybecauseoftheear’stendencytogroupnotesinthesamevoicetogether.Youcanusethisconcepttocreatefiguresthatoverlapthebarlineandobscurethestartofthecycle.

lesson 20Theoffbeatsbeforeorafterthepulse

nsix,witha4-pulse,beats2,3,5,and6arealloffbeats.Theoffbeatsbeforethepulsefallonbeats3and6:

RHYTHMICCONCEPT

Thetendencytogroupnotesinthesamevoicetogether

Threeofthesenotescoincidewithnotesinthetimeline:

Likeanysetofnotesspacedthesamedistanceapartaspulses, thesenotescanobscurethepulseorestablishacompetingpulse,dependingonhowlongthey’replayed,howprominently, andwithwhatpitches.Keep that inmindwhenyouconsider using the full set in your playing, especially if you use alternatingvoices that mimic a pulse-backbeat pattern:

Youcancreateinterestingpatternsbyplayingthefullsetoftheseoffbeatswithonevoicewhile filling spacewith the alternatevoice.Start by filling space tocreate two figures that overlap the bar lines:

Nowcreatealongerpattern:

Theoffbeatsafterthepulsefallonbeats2and5:

Thissetcoincideswiththetimelineon5inthefirstmeasureand2inthesecond:

Here’sthepatternwithalternatingvoices:

Inthenextpattern,we’vefilledthespacebetweenthenoteson2and5ineachmeasure:

Nowsubstitutetwosixteenthnotesforthefirsteighthnoteineachfigure:

Inthenextchart,we’vevariedthepatterninthesecondcycletocreateonelongfigure:

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Nextwe’veusedthealternatevoicetofill thespacebetweentheoffbeatsafterthe pulse and create figures that overlap the bar lines:

Thispatterncanbeparticularlyhardtokeepundercontrol.Ifyoudon’tkeepaclose eye on those X’s, they can disguise themselves as pulses and turn thetimelinearoundonyou.Or the timelinewill stayputbut theX’swill actuallyslideontothepulses,soyou’replayingthemon4and1insteadof5and2.Goaheadandaccentthepulseson1ifyouneedtoatfirst.Butthengraduallyweanyourself from the accents, until you can play every note in the pattern evenlywithoutlosingyourbearings.

lesson 21

Singlesandpairsandtimelines

inglesandpairs insixareevensimpler than theyare in four.Justplayanycombinationofthreesinglesandtwopairsandyou’llendupbackwhereyou

startedinthenextcycle.

hebestexampleofasinglesandpairspattern insix is the timelineyou’ve

beenusingallalong:

Rememberhowpairs infourswitchedyoufromnumberedbeats tooffbeatsor

vice versa? In six, pairs switch you fromodd-numbered beats to even or viceversa. If the last single you played was on an odd-numbered beat – like thesingle on 3 in the first measure above – a pair will switch you to the even-numberedbeats.That’swhat thepairstartingon5inthefirstmeasuredoes.Ifthelastsingleyouplayedwasonaneven-numberedbeat–likethesingleon4inthesecondmeasureabove–apairwillswitchyouto theodd-numberedbeats.That’swhatthepairstartingon6inthesecondmeasuredoes.

The next singles and pairs pattern is widely used as a timeline in Africanrhythmsandotherrhythmsaroundtheworld.It’ssometimesreferredtoas“thelongbell,”probablybecausethere’salongerdistancetothefirstpairthanthereisin“theshortbell”(thetimelinewe’vebeenusingthroughoutthebook).Playitnow without turning on the CD:

Ifyou’veevergotten lostwhile listening to the timeline in sixon theCDyoumayhavestartedperceiving itas thispattern.That’sbecause the longbell isa

shiftedversionoftheshortbell:

Youcanusethelongbellasatimelinewithanypatterninsix.AndyoucanusethetimelineCDtocreatethelongbellbysimplychangingwhereyouhearthestartofthecycleandwhereyouputthepulse.

Thelongbellstartsonthenoteon6inthefirstmeasureoftheshortbell.Noticethatthatnotedoesnotfallonapulseintheshortbell.Toconvertthatnoteintothe first note of the long bell, you need to put the first pulse there:

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Nowturnonthetimelineandletitgoforawhileuntilyoustarthearingthelongbellpattern.Ifyoucan’tpickitouteasily,itmayhelptorememberthatboththeshort bell and the long bell start on the second note of a pair. So if one pairdoesn’twork,waitforthenextpairandstartthelongbellonthesecondnote.

Onceyou’rehearingthetimelineasthelongbell,addtherelocatedpulseinyourfeet.Thenyoucan tryplayinganyof thepatterns in six in thisbookwith thelong bell as the timeline. For example, here’s a drum part from the Haitianrhythmmai(mah-ee),which–likemanyHaitianrhythms–usesthelongbellas

thetimeline:

henextsinglesandpairspatternisavariationoftheshortbellthatendson4

inthesecondmeasure:

Thenextpatternisalsoavariationoftheshortbellwithanoteon5insteadof6inthesecondmeasure:

Thenextpatternstartswithapaironthefirsttwobeatsofthecycle.It’sthelongbell with the second measure first, like a 2-3 clave pattern:

Ifyouputthesecondmeasureoftheshortbellfirst,there’snonoteonONE:

You can use this pattern and all the other shifted versions of the 6/8 bell astimelinessimplybychangingwhereyouhearthestartofthepatternontheCD.

Ifyoutakeoutthefirstnoteofeachpairintheshortbell,yougettheessenceofthat timeline, a pattern referred to inAfro-Cubanmusic as the 6/8 clave.Youplayed this pattern way back in lesson 1:

Takingout the firstnoteofeachpair in the longbellgivesyou theessenceofthattimeline:

The next pattern is another variation of the long bell. The notes in the firstmeasurecreatea6-pulsewhilethenotesinthesecondmeasuretrackthe4-pulse:

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ThetimelinefortheGhanaianrhythmadowahasonlyfournotes.Noticethatthepatternstartson5inthefirstmeasureandendsonONE:

e’vealwaysagreedthatifourhousewereonfireandwecouldonlytakeone rhythmwith us, the short bellwoulddefinitely be it.Then a couple

years ago, Ken Dalluge, a percussionist from Santa Cruz, blew us away bypointingoutthecorrespondencebetweenthestructureofthisuniversalrhythmicpatternandthestructureofthemajorscale.

Thiscorrespondenceiseasiesttounderstandifyouthinkoftheboxesonachartinsixasthekeysonapiano,withtheboxonONEasmiddleC.Thenotesofthebell pattern on the chartmatch thewhite keys on the piano.Where there’s anemptyboxonthechart,there’sablackkeyonthepiano.

This correspondence is either one of the most amazing coincidences in thehistoryoftheplanetoritreflectsamysteriousunderlyingunitybetweentonalityandrhythm.

lesson 22One-barclavepatterns

Insix,theodd-numberedbeatsdivideameasureevenlyintothreegroupsoftwobeats:

In four,youcan’tdivideameasureevenly into threesections.Theclosestyoucancomeonourgridistodividetheeightbeatsofameasureintotwosectionsof threebeatsandonesectionof two.That’swhat the followingpatterndoes:

Thispatternisfoundallovertheworld.InAfro-Cubanmusicit’scalledtheone-barclave,whichisthenamewe’lluseforit.Aswementionedinthelessonontimelinesinfour, theone-barclaveis thefirsthalfof thesonclave.Here’s theone-bar clave repeated twice over two measures:

Thispatternislikeawheelthat’snotquiteround;it’sgotahitchinit.Becauseitstartswithanoteoneverythirdbeat–1,theANDof2,4–itfeelstemporarilylikeapattern insix.Thencomes thehitch,and thepatternabruptlystartsoveragainon1.Thishitch,thisuneven-ness,givesthepatternitstremendousvitalityandpower.

Let’s explore some of its possibilities. Start by creating a space in the pattern(even though theone-barclave is itselfa timeline, thepatternshereworkwellwith the timeline on the CD):

Nexttryemphasizingoneofthenotesintheone-barclavebyplayingitwiththealternative voice:

Bycreatingspaceinthislastpattern,youcanarriveatthecongamelodyfortherumba guaguanco (wah-wahn-koh):

Youcanalsostartthemelodyfortherumbaguaguancoon4inthefirstmeasure:

Nowchangethevoicingsoit’sdifferentineachmeasure:

Hereareacoupleofcommonpatterns thatcouldbe interpretedas theone-barclave pattern with prefixes or suffixes added:

Here’s a pattern found inmanyWest-African rhythms that can be created byaddinganoteon2 to theone-barclavepattern ineachmeasure.Notice that itstarts on 4 in the second measure:

Nowtrysomevariations:

Oneinterestingwaytogenerateanewpatternistoplaythereverseimageofa pattern you already know. To do this, just play notes where there are

emptybeatsintheoriginalpatternandleaveoutalltheoriginalnotes.Inthenextchart, the reverse image of the one-bar clave appears on the bottom row.Theone-barclaveappearsaboveitsoyoucanseehowwegotthereverseimage,butyou only need to play the bottom row:

Playing a reverse image is easy if your instrumentwill allow you to play theoriginalpatterninonehandwhiletappingtheemptybeatsasghostnotesintheother. Then you can simply increase the volume of the ghost-note handwhiledecreasing thevolumeof thehandplaying theoriginalpattern.At thatstage itshouldbeeasy to letgoof theoriginalpatternandshiftentirely to thereverseimage.

lesson 23

IShiftedone-barclavepatterns

nthislesson,you’regoingtotaketheone-barclavepatternandshiftit.You’llalsocombineitwithotherpatternsyou’velearnedandgettopracticeapplying

someofthevariationtechniquesyouknow.

Here’stheone-measurepatternshiftedabeattotherightandplayedonlyonceina two-measure cycle:

Structurally,theone-barclavepatternislikeasandwich.Ifitstartsonanoffbeat(asinpattern23-1)itendsonanoffbeat,withanumberedbeatinthemiddle.Ifitstartsonanumberedbeat(asinthenextchart,wherewe’veshifteditabeattothe right) it ends on a numbered beat, with an offbeat in the middle:

In thenext chart,we repeat this pattern twice in the two-measure cycle.Onceyou start playing it, notice how quickly your perception of where it startschangesfrom2to1.Thereareacouplereasonsforthis.First, thetendencyofthelargestgapisafactor–thenoteon2followsthesmallestgap.AndalthoughthenotesontheANDof3and1bothfollowgapsofthesamesize,thenoteson1quickly win out because they coincide with the pulse and the start of the

timeline:

There’snoreasontofightthischangeinperceptionifithappens.Aslongasyoucancomeinandgetoutwhenyou’resupposedtoandkeeptrackofwhereyouarealongtheway,youcanhearthepatternanywayyouwant.

Nowwe’veshiftedtheone-measurepatternanotherbeattotherightandstarteditontheANDof2.Noticethatthefirsttwonotesofthepatterncoincidewiththe

timeline:

In the next chart we’ve filled space in this pattern by adding a contrastingsequenceofthreenumberedbeatsthatendsonONE(noticethepulseisbackon

thecountrow):

Here’stheone-barclavepatternstartingontheANDof2repeatedtwice.We’veunderlinedtheANDof2againsoyoucancontinuetotrackthetranspositionofthepattern,butonceyoustart repeating it,you’llhear thestartingpointof thefigures as the AND of 1:

Nowfillsomespaceinthispattern:

Whenyoushiftthetwo-measurepatternovertostartontheANDof3, thenotethatendsuponONEwilltakeoverasthestartingpointassoonasyouplayit:

Nowtrycombiningthispatternwithacoupleothers:

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oucankeepgoingfromhere.Tryouttherestoftheshiftedversionstofindthe ones you like best. Then experiment with those using the variation

techniquesyouknow.Thencombine thevariationswithotherpatterns.This ishowyoucreateyourownpersonalrhythmicvocabulary.

lesson 245/5/6patterns

oucan’t evenlydivide twomeasuresof four–16beats– into threeequalgroups.Theclosestyoucangetonourgridisthreenot-quite-equalgroups

of5,5,and6beatsinanycombination:5/5/6,6/5/5,or5/6/5.Occasionally–asinthetitleofthislesson–weusethephrase“5/5/6patterns”asashorthandwaytorefertoallofthesecombinations.

Patternsbasedontheseunevengroupingshaveahitchinthemlikethehitchinthe one-bar clave. But the hitch is more subtle because the groups areproportionatelyclosertobeingequalinsize.Inthislesson,you’llplayavarietyofpatternsstartingonONEthatcreatetheseunevengroupsofbeats.

Here’sanexampleofa5/5/6patternstartingonONE:

Now,usingthesamefigures,takethegroupof6beatsandputitfirsttocreatea

6/5/5pattern:

Eventhoughthelargestgapinthispatterncomesbefore4inthefirstmeasure,itprobablywon’tchangeyourperceptionofwherethepatternstarts.Thislargestgapisonlyslightlylargerthantheothergapsinthepattern,andthenoteinthefirstfigureonONEreinforcesthesensethatthepatternstartsthere.Thesameistrueforsimilarpatternsthroughoutthislesson.

Nowputthegroupof6beatsinthemiddletocreatea5/6/5pattern:

Thenext threepatternsusefiguresconsistingofasingleandapair.Here’sthe5/5/6 pattern using these figures:

Thispatternisanothercascarapattern,oftenplayedwithsticksontheshellofatimbale.

Herearethesamefiguresin6/5/5and5/6/5form:

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Inthenextchartwe’veusedthealternatevoiceonthepairsinthe556patternto make the figures stand out. Once you’ve tried it, go back and change thevoicing on the other two patterns:

Nowswitchtofiguresconsistingofthreeconsecutivenotes.We’vechartedthe5/5/6patternforyou.Itmayhelptonoticetherelationshipofeachfiguretothepulse.Thefirstfigurestartsonapulse,thesecondfallsbetweentwopulses,andthe third ends on a pulse:

Nowrearrange thegroupingsandplay the5/6/5and6/5/5patternsusing thesesamefigures.Thenchangethevoicing.

Weuse twovoiceson the four-note figures innext5/5/6pattern.Afteryou’veplayed it, rearrange the groupings and change the voicing:

nthefirstcycleinnextchart,westartwithtwoparallelfigures.Inthesecondcycle,webringthefiguresclosertogether,sothatthreefiguresfitwithinthe

cycle in a 5/5/6 pattern:

We call the technique of taking out space between (or within) figurescompressing. Compressing is a great technique for building rhythmicexcitement.Thefiguresgrowmoreinsistentwitheachcompression.Beforeyoumove on, pick any pattern you like with a short repeating figure and trycompressingit.Ifithelpstowritethepatterndown,youcanuseoneoftheblankchartsatthebackofthebook.

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Compress

lesson 25Shifted5/5/6patterns

In the last lesson,whenwepresentedpatterns startingonONE that divided 16beatsintothreenot-quite-equalgroups,wefoundithelpfultolabelthepatterns5/5/6, 6/5/5, or 5/6/5 according to the arrangement of the groups. For anyparticularpattern,thesethreearrangementsareactuallyshiftedversionsofeachother.

In this lesson, you’re going to play variations of the same patterns startingsomewhere other thanONE. For example, here’s a 5/5/6 pattern of three-notefigures shiftedonebeat to the right.Notice that the last groupof 6 beats getssplit between the end of the second measure and the beginning of the first:

Here’sthesamepatternwithvoicingthatemphasizesthelastnoteineachfigure:

Here’sthepatternagainwithdifferentvoicing:

Here’sa5/6/5patternthatstartson2.Thisputsthelastnoteofthelastfigureonthelastbeatofthecycle.We’veemphasizedthesuspendedeffectofendingonthe beat before ONE by putting the last figure in the alternate voice:

The figures in all the following patterns are positioned so the patterns end onONE:

Inthenextchart,we’vetakenthelastpatternanduseditasthebasisforalonger

Ipattern:

t’s your turn again.Make up your own figures, rearrange them, change thevoicing, shift the pattern. You can see we’ve covered only a few of the

countlesspatternsyoucancreateusingthreenot-quite-equalgroupsofbeatsinfour.

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lesson 26The3-pulseand3over4

nsix–unlikefour–itispossibletodividethecycleintothreeequalgroupsofbeats.

That’swhatthe3-pulsedoes.Itdividesthe12beatsofthecycleintothreeequalgroupsoffourbeats:

The3-pulseiscommoninAfricanandAfro-Cubanrhythms.Ifyouthinkofitascreating¾time,the12-beatcycleisasinglemeasurelongandeachsubdivision

isasixteenthnote:

Togetthefeelofthe3-pulse,startbytappingitinyourfeetwhileyoucount.Ifyoualternatefeet,noticetheytaketurnstappingONE:

Inthenextchart,youcanseetherelationshipbetweenthe3-pulse(shadedonthecountrow)andthetimeline(onthebottomrow).Noticethatthepulseson1and5inthefirstmeasurecoincidewithnotesinthetimeline,butthepulseon3inthesecondmeasurecomesinbetweennotesinthetimeline.

Now tap the 3-pulse in your feet while you clap or play the timeline. You’llnotice that the timeline feels different evenwhenyouplay all thenotes at the

samevolume:

Inthenextexercise,listentothetimelineontheCDwhileyoualternatetappingthe3-pulseand the4-pulse inyourfeet.Staywitheachoneuntilyoufeel likeswitching. Notice how changing the pulse changes your perception of thetimeline (which we’ve shaded on the count row):

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The3-pulseand4-pulseareunevenwitheachotherbecauseneithercontainsallthenotesoftheother.Switchingfromonepulsetoanotherpulsethat’sunevenwith it while keeping the subdivisions the same length is called metricmodulation. In the next exercise, you’re going to do metric modulations byswitchingfromtappinga3-pulsetoa4-pulsetoa6-pulseandbacktoa4-pulseagain. Stay with each pulse until you feel like switching:

Forarealworkout,whenyougetcomfortableswitchingbackandforth,turnofftheCDandclapthetimelinewhileswitchingpulsesinyourfeet.

Youcanexperimentwitha3-pulseinyourfeetwithanypatterninsix.Butforconsistency – and because it’s more common – we’re going to stick with anunderlying4-pulse.

owyou’regoing toput the4-pulseback inyour feetandplay the3-pulseover it. This creates the polyrhythmof 3 over 4 and takes youout of the

realm of ¾ time, which has an underlying 3-pulse. Once the “3-pulse” is nolonger the underlying pulse, it isn’t technically a “pulse” at all. But since itspattern of evenly-spaced notes continues to imply a 3-pulse,we’ll continue torefertoitasthe“3-pulse”orthe“3-pulsepattern.”

Notice the relationship between the two pulses in the next chart. They starttogether. The second note in the 3-pulse comes just after the second 4-pulse.Andthethirdnoteinthe3-pulsecomesjustbeforethefourth4-pulse.Youmayfinditeasiertoplayandremember3over4ifyoufocusonthis“together-after-

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before” aspect of the relationship:

Youmayalsofindithelpfultoplaythecompositepatternof3over4:

emember, when we talk about a polyrhythm like 3 over 4, we’re talkingabout two patterns perceived simultaneously that divide the same span of

timedifferently.Here the spanof time is the12-beatcycle.Theexpression“3over4” refers to3 evenly-spacednotesplayedover4 evenly-spacedpulses inthesamespanof time.Sometimes thesenumberscanbeconfusing,because ifyouswitchyourfocusfromthenumberofnotesineachpatterntothenumberofbeatsineachgroup,thenumbersgetreversed:the3-pulsecreates3groupsof4beats and the 4-pulse creates 4 groups of 3:

Fortherestofthischapter,you’llbeplayingavarietyofpatternsbasedona3-pulseonyour instrumentover a 4-pulse inyour feet.Because thepatterns arebasedonapulsethat’sunevenwiththeunderlying4-pulse,theytendtoobscuretheunderlyingpulsetovaryingdegrees.Sobeforeyoumoveon,makesureyoureally understand the polyrhythm of pattern 26-5. It will make the next fourlessonsaloteasier.

lesson 27

HSet1

ere’s the polyrhythm from the last lesson – the 3-pulse pattern over theunderlying4-pulse:

Noticeagainthatthe3-pulsepatterncreatesthreegroupsoffourbeats.Wecallthissetofgroups“set1.”

Inthenextpattern,we’vefilledthespacebetweeneachofthe3-pulsesinset1withthealternatevoice.Thiscreates3four-notefigures.Putthe4-pulseinyourfeet, but don’t turn on the timeline until you can play this polyrhythmcomfortably without having to count it:

In the next pattern we’ve changed the voicing so each group of four notesconsistsoftwopairs:

Ifyoufocustoomuchonthispatternwhileyouplayit,the3-pulseitimpliesislikelytoovertaketheunderlying4-pulse.You’llknowit’shappeningwhenyoustartfeelinglikeyourfeetbelongtosomeoneelse.

Nowswitch tousinga singlevoiceandcreate spaceby leavingout the fourthnote in every group of four. This creates a pattern often called the abakwapattern in Afro-Cuban rhythms:

Noticethatthesefiguresaren’tparallelbecauseeachhasadifferentrelationshiptothe4-pulse.Apulsefallsatthebeginningofthefirstfigure,attheendofthesecond,andinthemiddleofthethird.Learningthispatternmaybeeasierifyouremember the relationship of each figure to the pulse that falls within it –

“beginning-end-middle”:

Whenyouplaythispatternwiththetimelineinsixyoumaywanttoaddghostnotes until your ear learns the sound of the two patterns together:

Anotherwaytoreallygettoknowtherelationshipbetweenthispatternandthetimelineistotapit inonehandwhileyoutapthetimelineintheother.Thisishard, so go slowand expect this exercise to take some time.Tokeep the twopatternsdistinct,makeadifferentsoundwitheachhand.

You can dilute the 3-pulse implied by these figures by changing the voicing.Generallytheuseofanythingotherthanasinglevoicewillgreatlyweakentheimplicationof a3-pulse andmayevenmake it disappear.For example, noticewhetheryoustillfeelanyhintof the3-pulseinthenextpattern.We’vevoicedthefigurestoactivatethetendencytogroupnotesinthesamevoicetogether,soitmayquicklyfeel likepatternstartson3 in thesecondmeasureandoverlapsONE:

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Theonlytimeasecondvoiceactuallystrengthensthe3-pulseinthesefiguresiswhen the second voice is used exclusively on the notes of the 3-pulse itself:

Because thesefigures–aswellas thesamefigures inasinglevoice– tend toobscurethepulse,whenyouimproviseinsixovera4-pulseyoumaywanttousethemsparingly. In thenextchart,we’vediluted theirpulse-obscuringeffectbyswitching on alternating cycles to pairs that reinforce the 4-pulse:

Another way to dilute the pulse-obscuring effect of these figures is to createsomespaceinthepattern.We’veusedthesingle-voicefiguresinthenextchartand taken out the middle note in the third figure:

Nowthere’sastringofthreeodd-numberedbeatsinthesecondmeasure.Sothepattern starts out looking like it’s going to imply a 3-pulse and then abruptlyswitches in the second measure to implying a 6-pulse. As a result, neitheralternativepulseisimpliedstronglyenoughtochallengetheunderlying4-pulse.

lesson 28

Set2

henyoushiftthe3-pulseoverabeat,thepulsesfallonbeats2and6inthefirst measure and 4 in the second:

Inthislesson,you’llcreatepatternsbasedonthisshifted3-pulsepattern.Noticethat thenoteon4 in the secondmeasure coincideswith the last 4-pulse.Alsonoticethattherelationshipofthis3-pulsepatterntothe4-pulseis:“after-before-together.”

Here’sthenewpatternwiththetimelineonthecountrow.Noticetheycoincideon 6 in the first measure and 4 in the second:

Thisshifted3-pulsepatterncreatesadifferentsetof threegroupsoffourbeatswecall“set2.”Tomake thegroupsstandout,we’ve filled thespacebetweeneach note of the shifted 3-pulse pattern with the alternate voice:

Nowchangethevoicingsothateachfour-notegroupcontainstwopairs:

In the next chart you arrive at this same pattern by compressing two parallelfigures.Notice that the pattern endswith a stabilizing note onONE before theimplied 3-pulse has a chance to get firmly established:

Nowplaythethree-notefiguresofset2:

The3-pulseimpliedbythesefiguresisweakerthanthe3-pulseimpliedbythesamefiguresofset1,mainlybecausethepatterndoesn’tstartonONE.Butyoucan strengthen the implied 3-pulse by accenting it with voicing:

Nowcreatespace in thispatternbytakingout thesecondtwonotes in the lastfigure:

Nowcombinevariations:

Nowcreateevenmorespaceinthepatternbytakingoutthesecondtwonotesinthefirstfiguretoo:

Nowgobacktothethree-notefiguresofset1andseewhathappenswhenyoucreatespaceinthosefiguresinthesameway.

lesson 29

Set3

Shifting the 3-pulse another beat to the right creates three newgroupsof fourbeatswecall”set3.“Thenotesofthe3-pulsepatternnowfallonbeat3inthefirst measure and beats 1 and 5 in the second:

Notice that the relationship of this shifted 3-pulse pattern to the 4-pulse is“before-together-after.”

Here’s the new pattern with the timeline on the count row. Notice the twopatterns coincide only on 3 in the first measure:

Nowfillthespacewiththealternatevoicesotherearefournotesineachgroup:

When you take the fourth note out of each group and create the three-notefiguresofset3,thepatternendsonONE:

Youcanemphasize thatnoteonONE byplaying itwitha techniquedrummerscallaflam.Aflamisproducedbyplayingtwonotesalmostsimultaneously,oneonthebeatandonejustbeforeit.Whenbothnotesinaflamareplayedwiththesamesound,theysoundlikeasinglenotewithathicktexture.Ifyoucan’tplaytwonoteswiththesamesoundonyourinstrument,playanothernotejustbeforethe beat like a grace note. A small “x” above and to the left of a large “X”

indicatesaflamonourcharts:

You can accent with a flam by substituting it for any note you want toemphasize.

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Accentwithaflam

Nowcombinevariationstocreatealongerpattern:

If you change the voicing to accent the third note in each figure, you canusethese set 3 figures to imply the 3-pulse from set 1:

You’regoingtousethesamevoicingforthefiguresinthenextchart,whereyou

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start with two parallel three-note figures in the first cycle and then compress

them:

Now take the compression a step further, until there’s no space between thefigures:

Aseriesofcompressionscansoundlikeacarbeingstartedonacoldmorning.Theengineturnsoverslowlyatfirst,butrevsupwhenyousteponthegas.

lesson 30

Set4

hifting the3-pulseoveranotherbeatcreatesset4.Thenotesof the3-pulsepattern now fall on beat 4 in the first measure and beats 2 and 6 in the

second. The relationship of this 3-pulse pattern to the underlying 4-pulse is

“together-after-before”:

Here’sthis3-pulsepatternwiththetimelineonthecountrow.Thetwopatterns

coincide on 2 and 6 in the second measure:

Set4isthelastsetofthreegroupsoffourbeats.Ifyoushiftthe3-pulseagain,soitstartsonbeat5,you’rebacktoset1startingonadifferentbeat.

Herearethethree-notefiguresofset4.Westartthepatternon6inthesecondmeasurebecauseit’sclosesttoONE.Usethereferencepointonthatbeat inthetimeline to find your starting point and put in ghost notes if you need to:

This pattern and the timeline are similar in structure, so it’s easy to alternateplayingthetwopatterns:

In the next chart, we add a cycle of pairs reinforcing the underlying 4-pulsebetween the timeline and the three-note figures of set 4:

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Asyou can tell from this pattern, playing figures implying a3-pulse for threefullcyclesandemphasizingthe3-pulsewithvoicingmakesitverytoughtoholdontotheunderlying4-pulse.

owstartandendthethree-notefiguresonbeat4inthefirstmeasureusingvoicing that emphasizes the shifted 3-pulse:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Isolateandrepeat

We’re going to use this pattern to introduce the technique of isolating andrepeatingapartofapattern.Startbyplayingthefullpatterntwice.Thenisolateandrepeatjustthefirstrow,whichcreatesthesuspendedeffectofendingonthebeat beforeONE. Then play the full pattern again to conclude the sequence:

Nowpracticethetechniqueof isolatingandrepeatingpartofapatternonyourownusinganypatternsyoulike.

n addition to playing three-note figures based on a 3-pulse, you can also play

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pairs. Here are the pairs of set 4:

Afteryou’recomfortablewiththesepairs,gobackandexperimentwiththepairsofsets1,2,and3.

ow you’re going to use the technique of expanding a pattern, which issimplytheoppositeofcompressingit.Whenyouexpandapattern,youadd

spacebetweenorwithin repeating figures so fewerof them fitwithin a cycle.The next pattern starts with pairs that reinforce the 4-pulse. By adding spacebetweenthepairs in thesecondcycle,youexpandthepatternandendupwiththepairsofset4(whichyouinturncompresswhenyourepeatthepattern):

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Expand

Here’sthetimelinepatternexpandedtotwiceitslength:

Inoneofhis instructionalvideos, thecongadrummerGiovanniHidalgoplaysthis expanded timeline in one hand while playing the normal timeline in theother.Youmaywanttotrythisyourself.Butyouhavetoplaythecombinationreallyfastbeforetheexpandedtimelinebecomesrecognizable.

lesson 31

3-beatcross-rhythmsinfour

cross-rhythmisarepeatingfigureplayedforlongerthanacycleofthetimelinethathasanunevencycleinrelationtothecycleofthetimeline(orwhateverpart

Adefinestheunderlyingcycleofarhythm).Twocyclesareunevenwhenyoucan’tevenlydividethenumberofbeatsinthelongercyclebythenumberin

theshorter.

Let’s bring this definition down to earth with an example. The next chartcontainsasimplerepeatingfigurewitha3-beatcycle.Rememberthatthecycleofarepeatingpatternis thenumberofbeatsfromthestartofonerepetitiontothestartofthenext.Sotheemptybeataftereachfigurecountsasoneofthe3beatsineachcycle:

Becausethefigureisrepeatedformorethanacycleofthetimeline,andbecausethe number of beats in the longer cycle of the timeline (16) can’t be evenlydividedbythenumberofbeatsintheshortercycleofthefigure(3),thispatternisacross-rhythm.

Notice that the figures in pattern 31-1 alternate between startingonnumberedbeatsandoffbeats,andthatthestartingpointscyclethrougheachsubdivisioninturn: pulse, offbeat before the pulse, upbeat, offbeat after the pulse, etc. Thisshifting of starting points in relation to the pulse gives cross-rhythms theirvitality,butitalsomakesthemchallengingtoplay.

It’salsochallengingtorememberthelongpatternscross-rhythmscreate.Noticethat the figure inpattern31-1 startswith the timelineonONE but that it takesthree cycles of the timeline before it starts togetherwith the timeline onONEagain.Thecompoundcycle– thenumberofbeats it takes thecombinationofthetwopatternstorepeat–is48beatslong(16times3).

Butyouwon’tusuallywanttoplaythefullcompoundcycleofacross-rhythm.Cross-rhythms–likeallpatternsthatobscuretheunderlyingpulseandcreatealot of rhythmic tension – usually work best in small doses. Playing a fullcompound cycle will often confuse your audience and try the patience of the

musiciansyou’replayingwith.Thinkofacompoundcycleasadatabase.Onceyouhaveitinyourvocabulary,youcandecidehowmuchofittoplay.

Onewaytouseacompoundcycletogenerateideasistopickanyrowandplayitasarepeatingpattern.Thisisalsoagoodwaytolearnthecompoundcycleinstages. For example, here’s the third row from the compound cycle as arepeatingpatternonitsownchart:

Thisrowworkswelljustasitis.Butoftenyou’llwanttochangearowinonewayoranother.Here’sthefirstrowfromthecompoundcycleroundedoffattheendsoitflowsmoresmoothlywhenrepeated:

Here’sanothersectiontakenfromthecompoundcycle:

Ifyouplaythefullfirstrowofthecompoundcycle,youcanendthepatternonONEofthesecondcycleofthetimeline.Thenyou’llhavesomeemptyspacetoplaywithbeforethepatternstartsover:

In the next chart,we create a longer pattern by repeating the pattern you justplayedtwiceandthenfinishingwiththefullcross-rhythm.Playingpartsofthecross-rhythmandthenplayingthefullpatternfeelsalittleliketakingafewtestrunsatasteephillbeforefinallyworkingupenoughmomentumtomakeitallthewayoverthetop.Noticethetimelineisshadedonthecountrow:

Nowcreatea sparse3-beatcross-rhythmbyplaying just a singlenoteevery3beats. We’ve charted the full compound cycle, but remember that in mostplayingsituationsyou’llonlywanttousepartofit:

Noticethatthispatternnotonlyformsacross-rhythmwiththetimeline,italsoformsapolyrhythmwiththepulse.Ithas4evenly-spacednotesover3evenly-spacepulsesinthesamespanoftime:

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Infact,all3-beatcross-rhythmsinfourcreatepolyrhythmsbecausetheyimplyapulseevery3beatsthat’sunevenwiththeunderlyingpulseevery4beats.

lesson 32

6-beatcross-rhythmsinfour

repeating figure with a 6-beat cycle can create a cross-rhythm in fourbecauseyoucan’tevenlydivide16(thenumberofbeatsinthelongercycle

ofthetimeline)by6.Andthecompoundcyclewillbe48beatslong(threetimesthrough the timeline) just as it is with a 3-beat cross-rhythm. But instead ofcyclingthefiguresthroughallsubdivisions,6-beatcross-rhythmsinfoureithershiftthefiguresbetweenpulsesandupbeatsorbetweenoffbeatsbeforeandafterthepulse.

Here’s the compound cycle of a common 6-beat cross-rhythm that shifts thefiguresbackandforthbetweenpulsesandupbeats:

Webringinasectionofthiscross-rhythminthenextchartafterstartingwithasimilarpatternconsistingofparallelfigures.Youcanthinkofthefiguresinthecross-rhythmasisolatingandrepeatingthelastthreenotesoftheparallelfigures(noticethatyoustartonthelastnoteofthechart):

Wheneveryoustarta6-beatcross–rhythmonanumberedbeat,eachfigureinthe compound cyclewill start on a numbered beat. If youwant the figures tostartonoffbeats,justshiftthewholepatternoverabeat:

Noticethefiguresnowshiftbackandforthbetweentheoffbeatsafterandbeforethepulse.

Whenyoucreatethesetwocompoundcycleswitha6-beatcross-rhythm–onewiththefiguresstartingonnumberedbeatsandonewiththefiguresstartingonoffbeats – you generate all possible shifted versions of the repeating figure.Then,nomatterwhatbeatyouwant tostarton,you’llbeable to finda figurethatstartsonthatbeatsomewhereinthetwocompoundcycles.

Inthenextpattern,voicingturnsthenumberedbeatsintoa6-beatcross-rhythm:

Althoughyou’llrarelyhearthefullcompoundcycleofthiscross-rhythm,you’ll

hearsectionsofit inalotofcongasolos.Inthenextchart, thefirstrowisthecascara patternwe introduced on page 69 and the second row is the first rowfromthecompoundcycleofthecross-rhythm:

Shiftingthiscross-rhythmoverabeattransformstheoffbeatsintoa6-beatcross-rhythm:

Now take the first row from this compound cycle and add a note to end thepatternonONE:

Thenext6-beatcross-rhythmusesfive-notefigures.IfyoustartonONEandplaythreefigures,thelastnoteofthelastfigurewillfallonONEinthenextcycleofthetimeline:

Inthenextchart,we’vegonerightfromthecross-rhythmintoastraightpatterninfour:

Nowvarythefiguresofthecross-rhythmbysubstitutingtwosixteenthnotesforthefirsteighthnoteandchangingthevoicingofthenexttolastnote:

Inthenextchart,webringinthissame6-beatcross-rhythmonthelastbeatofthe fourth row. Notice that the structure of the figures in the cross-rhythm issimilar to the structure of the longer parallel figures that come before them,creatingtheillusionthattheoriginalpatternhasbeencompressed:

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owit’syour turn.Pickoutwhicheverof thesecross-rhythmsyoulikebestandwork themintoyourown improvisations.Thenmakeupyourown6-

beatfiguresanddothesame.Ifithelps,writethepatternsdown.Whenyoufindapatternyoureallywanttomakeapartofyou,takeitforarhythmwalk.Youcangetalotofmileageoutofasinglecross-rhythm.

lesson 33

8-beatcross-rhythmsinsix

ocreate cross-rhythms in sixyouneed toplay figureswith cycles that areunevenwiththe12-beatcycleofthetimeline.Figureswith3-beator6-beat

cycleswon’tworkthewaytheydidinfourbecause12isevenlydivisibleby3and6.Andthefigureswith4-beatcycles(basedona3-pulse)youplayedinthelastchapterwon’t technicallycreatecross-rhythmseither(eventhoughtheydosoundlikethem),because12isalsoevenlydivisibleby4.

But12isnotevenlydivisibleby8,solet’sstarttheretocreatecross-rhythmsinsix.Here’san8-beatcross-rhythmusingafigureyou’vealreadyplayedinfour.Playingpatternslikethisat thetriple-weavelevel ischallenging,butit’sworththe effort to experience the beautiful songs theymakewith the pulse and thetimeline:

Noticethateachfigurestartsinadifferentspotinrelationtothepulse.Thefirstfigure starts on the pulse, the second on the offbeat before the pulse, and thethirdontheoffbeatafterthepulse.Any8-beatcross-rhythminsixwillcyclethefiguresthrougheachsubdivisioninturn.

Alsonoticethatthecompoundcycleofan8-beatcross-rhythmandthetimelineinsix isonly24beats, just twice through the timeline.Thatmeans the figuresrepeat only three times before the compound cycle starts over.To hear all thevariationsofan8-beatcross-rhythm,youneedtoshiftitseventimes.Here’sthesongyougetwhenyoustartthepatternon2:

Playing a cross-rhythm like this at the triple-weave level requires the kind ofintenseconcentrationthatcaneasilyleadtoastateoftrance.Inthenextchart,the single-cycle pattern repeated in the first two rows will prevent the cross-rhythminthesecondtworowsfromtakingyoutoofaroff-center:

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Here’san8-beatcrossrhythmconsistingofseven-notefigures:

Youmayhavenoticed that the lessspace there isbetweenfigures, theeasieracross-rhythm is toplay.That’sbecause the steadymotion inyourhandskeepsyou from losing your place. There’s nothing wrong with feeling your waythroughapatternevenifyoucan’thearthesongyet.Sometimesyourhandscanteachyourears.

In thenextpattern,weusevoicing to turn theeven-numberedbeats intoan8-beatcross-rhythm.Itreallyherksandjerksagainstthepulse.

Thetimelinegivesyoulotsofreferencepoints,sowe’veshadeditonthecountrow:

henext8-beatcross-rhythmisanotherfamiliarpatternyou’veplayedinfour.Tomakeiteasiertoplayinsix,we’veswitchedfroma4-pulsetoa3-pulse.

This pattern only gets interesting at the triple-weave level, so turn on thetimeline,getyourfeetgoingonthe3-pulse,andthenplaythepattern:

Did the timeline sound different? If it did, here’swhat happened.You started

feelingthethreefiguresasapatterninfourinsteadofasacross-rhythminsix.(Andthat’sperfectlynaturalsincethe8-beatcycleofeachfigureisexactlythesamelengthasameasureinfour,andthe3-pulseinsixfallsoneveryfourthbeatjustlikethepulseinfourdoes.)Onceyoustartfeelingthefiguresasapatterninfour,youstarthearingtworepetitionsofthetimelineasasinglethree-measurepatterninfour.Here’swhatthatlookslike:

Whenever your perception of a timeline shifts, you get a new framework forimprovisation that’s bound to inspire new ideas in your playing. To help youdevelop the ability to consciously shift your perception of the timeline in six,turn off the CD and practice playing two repetitions of it as a three-measurepatterninfour.We’vebrokenthepatternintothreeone-measuresectionssoyoucanmaster it a piece at a time.When you’ve done that, put the whole thingtogether:

Onceyoucancomfortablyplaythetimelineinsixasathree-measurepatterninfour,you’llbeabletoeasilyshifttohearingitinfour.Andonceyoucandothat,playing8-beatcross-rhythmsinsixwillbeabreeze.

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lesson 34

5-beatand7-beatcross-rhythms

igures with 5-beat cycles can create cross-rhythms in both four and sixbecauseyoucan’tevenlydivideeither16or12by5.Thecompoundcycleof

the timeline and a 5-beat cross-rhythm in both four and six will be fiverepetitionsofthetimeline.Andinbothfourandsix,a5-beatcross-rhythmwillcyclethestartingpointsofthefiguresthrougheachsubdivisioninturn.

Startinfour.Youalreadyplayed5-beatcyclefigures(“5’s”forshort)whenyouplayed5/⅚patternsinlessons24and25.Tocreateacross-rhythm,allyouhavetodoisplaymore5’s.

Thenextcharthasthefullcompoundcycleofasimple5.Althoughit’sagreatlong song, you shouldmainly think of this chart as a database you can drawupon rather thanasapattern toplay.Notice that the figures alternatebetweennumberedbeatsandoffbeats:

We especially like two rows of this compound cycle: the last followedby thefirst. In thenext chart,we spend a fewcycles creating a contextbeforegoinginto the cross-rhythm.We’ve also substituted a flam for the first note in eachfiguretospicethingsup:

Nowswitchtosixandplaythesame5-beatcross-rhythmyoujustplayedinfour. The compound cycle here is unusually fruitful. Every rowmakes a

goodrepeatingpatternallbyitself:

If you want to play the full compound cycle straight through, it may help tonotice the sequence in the numbers of the beats the figures start on. The firstfigure starts on 1, the next on 6, the next on 5, the next on 4, and so on indescending order until the seventh figure starts on 1 again and the sequencerepeats.

Nextweworksomeofthese5’sintoalongerpattern.Repeatanyroworsetofrowsasmanytimesasyoulike:

Now that you have charts of the compound cycles created by 5-beat cross-rhythms in fourandsix,youcanplug indifferent figuresandexperiment.

Hereareafewtogetyoustarted:

Thelastcross-rhythmswe’regoingtocoverare7-beatcross-rhythms.We’renotgoing to spend a lot of timeon them,partlybecause they’re less common

thantheotherswe’vecoveredandpartlybecauseyouknowenoughnowtobeable to generate 7’s on your own. Butwewillmake a few points to get youstarted.

Inbothfourandsix,7-beatcross-rhythmscyclethestartingpointsofthefiguresthrough each subdivision in turn. But the sequence of starting points has adifferentnumericalpatterninbothfourandsix.

Infour,a7-beatcross-rhythmhasonelessbeatthanthe8-beatmeasure.Soifapatternof7’sstartson1,thesecondfigurewillstartontheANDof4,thenexton4,thenextontheANDof3,andsoonindescendingorder.Youcanseethestartof this sequence in the next chart,wherewe run 7’s for twomeasures beforecuttingthepatternshortandlettingitrepeat:

Insix,on theotherhand,a7-beatcross-rhythmhasonemorebeat than the6-beatmeasure.Soifapatternof7’sstartson1,thesecondfigurewillstarton2,thenexton3, and soon inascending order.Youcan see this sequence in thenextchart,wherewerun7’sforfourmeasuresbeforecutting thepatternshortandlettingitrepeat.Noticethatthis7-beatcross-rhythmcreatestheshortbellonthefirstrowandthelongbellonthesecond:

Here’sthethirdrowofthispatternasarepeatingpatternonitsown:

Nowmakeupyourown7-beatcross-rhythmsandplayaroundwith them.Butwhen you play them in public, remember that because they obscure theunderlying pulse you need to handle themwith care. Always consider how across-rhythmwill affect themusiciansyou’replayingwith andyour audience.Don’t abandon the dancers. Strive for the right balance between tension andrelease,betweenplayinginsideandoutsidethegroove.

lesson 353over2eighthnotesinfourandsix

n Lesson 16,whenwe introduced 3 over 2, we defined a polyrhythm as twopatternsperceivedatthesametimethata)createorimplyunevenpulsesorb)

Ihaveunevengrids.Allthepolyrhythmsyou’veplayedsofarhavehadunevenpulses.Inthischapter,wefinallygettopolyrhythmscreatedbypatternswithunevengrids.Twogridsareunevenwhenneithercontainsall thesubdivisionsoftheother.

Inthesecondmeasureofthenextchart,we’vesuperimposedeighth-notetriplets–3notesplayedevenly in the samespanof timeas2eighthnotes–over theeighth-notegrid.Theeighth-notetripletgridisunevenwiththeeighth-notegridbecause–althoughthetwogridscoincideoneachnumberedbeat–neithergridcontains all the subdivisions of the other:

Allyouneedtodotoplayaneighth-notetripletaccuratelyisplaythefirstnoteonanumberedbeatandspacetheothertwonotesevenlyacrossthedistancetothenextnumberedbeat.(It’spossibletostartatripletonanoffbeat,butit’salotharder.Fornow,sticktonumberedbeats.)Wheneverweusethesignofacurvedlineoverthreenotesinthespaceoftwo-eighthnotes,itindicatesthatthenotesunderitformaneighth-notetriplet.Wesuperimposetheeighth-notetripletsovertheeighth-notegridtoshowthepolyrhythmicrelationshipbetweenthetwo.Tofeelthisrelationship,itreallyhelpstoplaythepatternsalongwiththetimelinebecausethetimelinehelpsdefinetheunderlyingeighth-notegrid.

Youcansubstitutea triplet forany twoeighthnotes.That’swhatwedoat thebeginningofthesecondfigureinthenextpattern:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Substituteatriplet

Inthesecondmeasureofthenextchartwecamouflagetheeighth-notetriplets.Camouflaging is the use of voicing to disguise the underlying structure of a

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pattern. Here the three-note structure of the triplets in the second measure iscamouflagedwithvoicingthatchangeseverytwonotes:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Camouflage

Inthenextchart,we’vetakenapatternyouplayedinlesson32andsubstitutedtripletsfortheO’sinthefiguresinthefirstrow:

e careful to maintain a clear distinction in your playing between twosixteenth notes followed by an eighth note and an eighth-note triplet.

Focusingonthefirstnotethatmarksthereturntotheeighth-notegridwillhelpyoudothat.Forexample,inthefirstmeasureofthenextpattern,afteryouplaythetwosixteenthnotesyouneedtolockintotheeighth-notegridontheANDof2.Butinthesecondmeasure,whenyouplaythetripletyouwon’tlockintotheeighth-note grid until 3:

Funkandjazzplayersoftenswingnotesinfourfromtheeighth-notegridtotheeighth-notetripletgrid.Todothat,justtakeanynotethatfallsonanoffbeatandplayitasifitwerethethirdnoteofaneighth-notetripletstartingonthepreviousnumberedbeat.Whenyouswingthosenotes,theycomejustalittlelater,closerto the following numbered beat – exactly howmuch later and closer is often

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affectedby individual style and the tempoof themusic. In thenext chart, thestraighteighth-notepattern in thefirst rowisswung in thesecondrow.Noticethatwhenanoteisomittedfromatriplet,weindicateitwithadash:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Swing

owswitchtosix.Becausetheodd-numberedbeatsareanalternativepulseinsixandaneasypathwaythroughtheeighth-notegrid,theeasiestwayto

playaneighth-note triplet is tostart itonanodd-numberedbeat.Thenallyouneed todo toplay the triplet accurately is space the3notes evenlyacross thedistancefromoneodd-numberedbeattothenext.Startingonaneven-numberedbeatisharder.

Inthenextchart,therearetripletsstartingoneachoftheodd-numberedbeatsinthesecondmeasure.Makesureallthenotesinthetripletsareevenlyspaced,andthe X’s in the second measure are as even as the X’s in the first:

Thetripletsinthesecondmeasureofthenextpatternstarton1and3.MakesureyouplaytheXinthesamespotinbothmeasures:

In the second row of the next pattern, we substitute triplets for the first two

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eighthnotesineachthree-notefigure:

We’veonlyscratchedthesurfaceonthesubjectofeighth-notetriplets,butwe’vegivenyouenoughtogetyoustarted.Onceyougetthefeelforthisgridanditspolyrhythmic relationship to an underlying eighth-note grid, go ahead and trysubstitutingeighth-notetripletsforanytwoeighthnotesinanypatterninfourorsix.

lesson 36Subdividingthepulseinfourinto3

henyoudivideapulseinfourinto3subdivisionsyoucreatequarter-notetriplets.Inthesecondmeasureofthenextchart,wesuperimposequarter-

notetripletsovertheeighth-notegrid.Acurvedlinespanningadistanceoffoureighthnotes (equal to twoquarternotes) indicates that thenotesunder itareaquarter-notetriplet.

Theeasiestwaytolearntoplayquarter-notetripletsinfouristousethepulsesas your reference points. Then all you have to do is space three notes evenlyacross thedistancefromonepulse to thenext.Again, tofeel thepolyrhythmicrelationshipbetweenthetripletsandtheunderlyingeighth-notegrid,playalongwith the timeline:

Now practice switching from eighth notes in the firstmeasure to quarter-notetripletsinthesecond:

Thenextexercisecombines theprevious twopatterns, soyougo fromquarternotestoquarter-note-tripletstoeighthnotesandback:

Nowyou’re going to play quarter-note triplets through thewhole cycle.Keepusing the pulses – not the timeline – as your main reference, and focus ondividing each pulse evenly into 3. Let the timeline play at the edge of yourawarenessmostofthetime,butcheckinwithitwhenitcoincideswiththepulseon its first and last notes. Once it’s easy for you to play steady quarter-notetriplets,you’llbeabletotuneintothesubtlepolyrhythmicrelationshipbetweenthe triplets and the three middle notes of the timeline:

Youcancamouflagequarter-notetripletswithvoicingtocreatethreegroupsoffournotes:

Nowcreatespacebyleavingoffthefirstnoteineachmeasure.Noticeagainthatwhen a note is omitted from a triplet, we indicate it with a dash:

Nowplay the samepatternwithO’son just 3 and4.You’ll be able to switchspeeds more easily if you consdously feel the missing notes on 1:

Thenextpatternusesbotheighth-noteandquarter-notetriplets.Italsoillustratesthe technique of playing offmarks.Marks are notes in a pattern that remainconstantwhileeverythingaround themisvaried. In thispattern, themarksarethe notes on 4 and theAND of 4 in bothmeasures. But even thesemarks arevariedslightlyinthelasttworowswhentheyareincorporatedintothequarter-notetriplets:

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Playoffmarks

Youcanfeelhowshiftingtoanunevengridcanaddspicetoarhythmwithoutdisturbing the groove.That’s because polyrhythmswith uneven grids – unlikepolyrhythms with uneven pulses and most cross-rhythms – don’t obscure theunderlyingpulse.Theysimplydividethespacebetweenpulsesdifferently.

lesson 37Subdividingthepulseinsixinto2and4

Whenyoudividea4-pulseinsixinto2subdivisions,eachnoteisadottedeighthnote. A curved line spanning a distance of three eighth notes with two notesunder it indicates that thenotesaredottedeighthnotes.Here’swhat they looklike on our charts (you don’t need to play the pattern yet):

Notes on this dotted-eighth-note grid form the polyrhythm 2 over 3 with theeighth-notegrid.Thefirstofeachpairofdottedeighthnotesfallsonthepulseand thesecondfallsmidwaybetweenpulses.Playing thenote that fallson thepulse isnoproblem.Butwhenyou’re feeling theeighth-notegrid, finding thespotmidwaybetweenpulseswheretheelusiveupbeatinsixfallscanbetricky.

Theeasiestway to learn the locationof thebeatmidwaybetweenpulses is toworkoffasixteenth-notegrid.Thatgridhasabeatmidwaybetweeneach twopulses – the second sixteenth note under beats 2 and 5 in each measure:

By gradually creating space in this grid, you’ll eventually get to the dotted-eighth-note grid. That’s what you’ll do in the following patterns. Play themwithout the timeline at first if you need to.But to create the polyrhythmof 2over3–andtoreallybringthepatternstolife–youneedtoplayeachpatternwiththetimeline.

Startwhittlingawayat thecontinuoussixteenthnotesbytakingoutthesecondsixteenthnoteonbeats1and3:

Trytohearthedotted-eighth-notegridbyplayingitwiththealternatevoice:

Whenyougetcomfortablewiththispattern,starttakingouttheX’sonebyone.AtthefirstsignofshakinessontheOmidwaybetweenpulses,slidethoseX’s

backintosteadyyourself:

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henyou’recomfortablewiththedotted-eighth-notegrid,you’rereadytoswitchbetweenitandtheeighth-notegrid.Inthenextpattern,allthenotesareon

theeighth-notegriduntilthesecondhalfofthesecondmeasure.Thenthedottedeighth notes make time slow down:

The next pattern consists of phrases played on the lead drum in theGhanaianrhythmagbaja(ahg-bah-zha).Noticethatthebottomrowcombineseighthnotes,sixteenth notes, and dotted eighth notes:

hen you divide a 4-pulse in six into 4 subdivisions, each beat equals adotted sixteenth note. A curved line spanning a distance of three eighth

notes with four notes under it indicates the notes are dotted sixteenth notes:

There’s noway tomicro-manage the 4 over 3 relationship of dotted sixteenthnotestoeighthnotes;everythinggoesbytoofast.Theonlywaytoplaydottedsixteenth notes in six is to use the 4-pulse as your reference and focus ondividingeachpulseinto4.Tofeelthepolyrhythm,youneedtoturnthetimelineon,evenifyouplayitattheslowestspeed.Hereareconsecutivedottedsixteenth

noteswithalternatingvoicing:

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You won’t often hear the pulse in six divided into 4 subdivisions because itcreatessuchadensepolyrhythmwiththeeighth-notegrid.Butwedidwanttoatleastintroduceittoyousoyou’llknowenoughtogetstartedincaseyouwanttoexploreitonyourown.

lesson 38Bendingapatternbetweenfourandsix

ending a pattern back and forth is like performing rhythm magic. Bybendingwemeanmovingapatternbetweentheeighth-notegridinfourand

theeighth-notegridinsixwhilekeepingthepulseconstant.

VARIATIONTECHNIQUE

Bend

Tomakethis techniqueclearwe’vecreatedaspecialchart.Onthe topithasacountrowandaneighth-notegridinfour.Onthebottomithasacountrowandaneighth-notegridinsix.Thegridinsixiselongatedsothepulsesinfourand

sixlineup:

Before you try bending any patterns, practice going back and forth betweencounting a cycle in four and counting a cycle in sixwhile keeping a constantpulseinyourfeet.

owyou’rereadytobendthesetofparallelpairsconsistingofthetwobeatsbeforeeachpulse.Leaveout the timeline fornowand just concentrateon

keepingthepulsesteadyasyoualternatebetweenplayingthepairsinfourandplaying them in six:

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Noticethatwhenyoubendfromfourtosix,thenotesstretchout,andwhenyoubend back from six to four, the notes get tighter.Movement in each directioncarriesadifferentemotionalcharge.Bendingfromfourtosixslowstimedownandheightensdrama;bendingfromsixbacktofourspeedstimeupandrestoresmomentum.

Ifatimelineorotherpartsplayedontheeighth-notegridinfourcontinuewhileyoubendapattern tosix, thebentpatternwill ineffectbeon thequarter-notetripletgridinfour.Thiswillcreateanuneven-gridpolyrhythmandyouandyourlistenerswillfeelthatyou’rebendingagainstsomeresistance.Youcanfeelthiseffectbyplayingallthepatternsinthislessonalongwiththetimelineinfour.

Ontheotherhand,ifallthemusiciansyou’replayingwithbendwithyoutotheeighth-notegridinsix,there’snopolyrhythm.You’llsimplyhaveswitchedfromfour to six. You can feel this effect by playing all the patterns in this lessonwithoutthetimeline.Werecommendyoutrybendingbothways.

hefirststep tomastering the techniqueofbending isknowinghowtopickpatterns that bend well. Some don’t. For example, because there are 4

subdivisionstoapulseinfourbutonly3toapulseinsix,ifyoufillthegridinfourwithconsecutiveeighthnotesyou’llhavetroublebendingthepattern.Oneoutofevery fournoteswillhavenowhere togoon thegrid insix.Toavoidagameofmusical chairswhenyoubend, choosepatterns in fourwith nomorethanthreenotestoapulse.

Here’sanexampleofapatterninfourthat’sagoodcandidateforbending.It’sthe essence of the tumbao pattern you played back in lesson 3:

SincetheO’sineachmeasurearethetwobeatsbeforethepulseinfour,whenwebendthispatternthey’llmovetothetwobeatsbeforethepulseinsix(justastheydidinthelastpattern).ButwhataboutthelonelyXon2ineachmeasure?Todecidewhere tomove itweneed to takeacloser lookat themechanicsofmovingindividualnotesfromthegridinfourtothegridinsix.

Notesonthepulsesinfourareeasy; theymovetothecorrespondingpulsesinsix.Andnoteson thebeatsbeforeorafter thepulse in fourareeasy too; theymovetothecorrespondingbeatsbeforeorafterthepulseinsix.Buttheupbeatsinfour–beats2and4–don’thavecorrespondingbeatsontheeighth-notegridinsix.Soanindividualnoteonanupbeatneedstogoeithertothebeatbeforeorafter the pulse in six, depending on the pattern:

Deciding where to send an individual note from an upbeat in four requiresmusical judgment.Whenever possible, try out both possibilities to findwhichworksbest inaparticular situation.Herearebothpossibilities forbending thetumbaopattern.Youneedtodecidewhichfitsbestinthemusicalcontextyou’re

playingin:

Here’sanothercandidateforbending.It’sthemelodyoftherumbaguaguancoinabstractform:

NoticethattheO’sinthispatternfallonupbeats,sowehavetodecidewheretoput themwhenwe bend.Moving them to beat 5 in sixworkswell because itpreservestheemptybeatbetweentheOinthefirstmeasureandthefollowingX:

Thenextpatternconsistsofthree-notefiguresinfour:

Whenyoubendthispattern,thenoteoneachpulseinfourwillgotothepulseinsixandthenoteonthebeatbeforeeachpulseinfourwillgotothebeatbeforeeachpulseinsix.Thenoteoneachupbeatinfourwillthenhavenowheretogobuttothebeataftereachpulseinsix.Soinsixthispatternwillfillthegrid,andbendingwillcreatethesameeffectasplayingsteadyquarter-notetripletsinfour:

Youcanbendthesonclavetimelineinfourtoformtheskeletonofthelongbellin six if you move the two notes that fall on upbeats in four (4 in the firstmeasure and 2 in the second) to the beat after the pulse in six. Turn off thetimeline on the CD for this one:

Bending therumbaclavepattern in thesamewayproduces theskeletonof theshortbellpatterninsix(alsocalledthe6/8clave).KeeptheCDoffforthisone

too:

BendingapatternfromfourtosixisacommontechniqueinAfro-Cubanmusic.Onceyougetfamiliarwithit,youcanthenbegintoexplorethepossibilitiesofbending a pattern only part way, so that it’s neither in four nor six butsomewhereinbetween.Butthatsubtletytakesusbeyondwhatcanbeexplainedandtaught,andintotherealmofwhatcanonlybeheardandfelt.

There is little consensuson thedefinitionsofmanyof themost basic termsrelatedtorhythm.Ourdefinitionsareintendedtobepracticalandfunctional,

not to cover every conceivable mathematical possibility For the sake ofsimplicity,someterms–like“polyrhythm”and“compoundcycle”–aredefinedinreferencetotwopatterns,buttheycanalsoapplytomorethantwopatterns.When terms are readily understood by anymusician – like “eighth note” and“measure” –we’ve taken advantage of that and avoided thework of defining

them.Followingeachdefinitionisthenumberofthepageonwhichthetermisintroduced.

accent:afeatureofasoundthatmakesitstandoutfromitssurroundings(58)backbeats:everysecondpulse(72)

beat:anindividualsubdivision(12)

bending: moving a pattern between the eighth-note grid in four and thecorresponding beats on the eighth-note grid in six while keeping the pulseconstant (185) camouflaging: the use of voicing to disguise the underlyingstructure of a pattern (175)clave (klah-vay): a timeline inAfro-Cubanmusic,usuallyplayedontwocylindricalpiecesofwoodcalledclaves(14)compositepattern: the pattern created by playing all the notes of two patterns with thesamesoundwithoutdoublingthenotesonbeatswherethetwopatternscoincide(95)compoundcycle: thenumberofbeats it takesfor thecombinationof twopatterns to repeat (154) compressing: taking out space between or withinrepeatingfiguressomoreofthemfitwithinacycle(128)counter-rhythm:thepatterninapolyrhythmperceivedasbeingplayedoverthepatternthatcreatesorimplies the underlying pulse or grid (94) cross-rhythm: a repeating figureplayedforlongerthanacycleofthetimelinethathasanunevencycleinrelationto thecycleof the timeline(orwhateverpartdefines theunderlyingcycleofarhythm)(154)cut-time: thetimesignatureinwhichapulsefallsoneveryhalfnoteandthereare twohalfnotes toameasure(13)cycle: thenumberofbeatsfrom the start of one repetition of a repeating pattern to the start of the next;whenweusethetermwithoutfurtherexplanationwe’rereferringtothecycleofthetimeline(15)dynamicaccent: theaccentcreatedwhenasoundstandsoutbecauseofhowloudorsoft it’splayed(58)expanding:addingspacebetweenorwithin repeating figures so fewerof them fitwithin a cycle (150) flam:aneffect produced by playing two notes almost simultaneously, one note on thebeatandonenotejustbeforeit(145)figure:ashortrhythmicpattern(36)

four: our shorthand description of the time signature of a pattern that canlogically be represented on a chart with four pulses divided into foursubdivisionseach(13)4-pulse:thepulseinfourorsixwith4pulsestoacycleofthetimeline(92)ghostnotes:barely-audible,timekeepingtaps(65)

grid:anysetofequalsubdivisions(12)

half-time:a2-pulsefeelinfourorsix(98)

marks:notesinapatternthatremainconstantwhileeverythingaroundthemisvaried (180)metricmodulation: switching fromone pulse to another unevenpulsewhilekeeping the subdivisions the same length (135)offbeats: all beatsbetweenpulses(exceptupbeats)(64)

onbeats:allbeatsthataren’toffbeats(65)

ONE:thefirstbeatinacycle(32)

pair:twonotesonconsecutivebeats(36)

parallelfigures:twoormorefiguresthathavethesamestructureandthesamerelationshiptothepulse(36)polyrhythm:therhythmcreatedwhentwopatternsareperceivedatthesametimethata)createorimplyunevenpulsesorb)haveunevengrids(93)prefix:anoteornotesattachedbeforeanothernoteorfigure(80)

pulse: the steady, metronomic, underlying rhythm people feel in their bodieswhen music is played (12) pulses: individual, regularly-spaced, kinestheticeventsmakingupapulse(12)reverseimage:apatternderivedbyplayingnotesontheemptybeatsofanotherpattern(121)shifting:keepingapatternthesamewhile starting it on a different beat (54) six: our shorthand des cription of thetimesignatureofapatternthatcanlogicallyberepresentedonachartdividedintotwomeasuresofsixbeatseach(14)6/8time: the timesignature inwhichthere are six eighth notes to a measure (14) 6-pulse: the pulse in six with 6pulsestoacycleofthetimeline(92)

subdivisions: the smaller units into which the time span between pulses isdivided(12)suffix:anoteornotesattachedafteranothernoteorfigure(81)

swing:totakeanoteonanoffbeatinfourandplayitasifitwerethethirdnoteofaneighth-note triplet startingon thepreviousnumberedbeat (176)3-pulse:thepulseinsixwith3pulsestoacycleofthetimeline(134)

timeline:anaudible,asymmetrical, repeatingrhythmicpatternaroundwhicharhythmisorganizedthatisusedasareferencerhythmbytheplayersinagroup(14) triple-weavepracticing: playing a patternwhile tapping a pulse in yourfeetandlisteningtoatimeline(28)2-pulse:thepulseinfourorsixwith2pulses

toacycleofthetimeline(alsocalleda“half-time”feel)(98)unevencycles:twocycles are uneven when you can’t evenly divide the number of beats in thelonger cycle by the number in the shorter (154)uneven grids: two grids areuneven when neither contains all the subdivisions of the other (174) unevenpulses:twopulsesareunevenifneithercontainsallthenotesoftheother(whenthetwopulsesarestartedtogether)(94)upbeat:abeatfallingmidwaybetweentwopulses(61)

voicing:thesoundofanote(40)

Ifyoureallywanttogetrhythmsintoyourbones,there’snothinglikerhythmwalking. Rhythm walking is a fun method for practicing patterns with justyourbody.Therearetwowaystodoit.Youcansimplywalkapulsewhileyouclap or vocalize a pattern. Or you can do triple-weave rhythm walking bywalking a pulse, clapping a timeline, and vocalizing a pattern all at the sametime.

Rhythmwalkingisaformofrhythmiccross-trainingyoucandoanywhere:ata

park,onabeach,downacitystreet.Itloosensupthosemusclesandjointsthatgetstiffandsorewhenyouoverpracticeonyourinstrument.Andit’sagreatwaytoworkonyourrhythmicvocabularywhileyougetsomeexerciseandfreshair.

Toshowyouhowit’sdone,weexplainwhattodowithyourfeetfirst,andthenbuildfromtheretoyourhandsandvoice.

Feet

Inrhythmwalking,thepulseisalwaysinyourfeet.Sotogetthepulsegoing,allyouhavetodoisstartwalking.Onceyou’removingyoushouldn’thavetothinkaboutyourfeetatall.Butyoudoneedtodecideatthestartwhichpulseyou’resteppingbecausethatwillaffectanypatternyouaddinyourhandsorvoice.

When you rhythm walk in four, one way to think of your steps is as pulsesfalling on 1 and 3. This will work fine on simple patterns and patterns youalreadyknowwell.Butwhenyou’retryingtocoordinatefeet,hands,andvoiceonanewordifficultpattern, thispulsemaymake itmove too fast.Toslowapatterndownwithoutchangingyourwalkingspeed,thinkofyourstepsaspulsesfallingoneverynumberedbeat:

Whenyourhythmwalkinsix,youcanthinkofyourstepsaspulsesfallingon1and4.This4-pulseistherightspeedformostpatterns.Butifyouneedtoyoucanslowapatterndowninsixbythinkingofyourstepsasa6-pulsefallingontheodd-numberedbeats:

If youwant to speedup a pattern in six or justwant a changeof perspective,thinkofyourstepsasa3-pulse:

Hands

Whileyouwalkthepulse,youcanaddasecondpatterninyourhands.Toplayatimelineorapatternwithonlyonevoice,youcansimplyclapit.Oryoucanhitanytwoobjectstogether:claves,coins,keys,sticks,stones–whatever’shandy.

But having to bring your hands together while you walk prevents you fromswingingyourarmsfreely.Ifyouwanttowalknormally,youneedtobeabletomakeasoundwithjustonehand.

Onesimplesolutionistotapeonequartertoyourthumbandanotheronetoyourmiddlefinger.Thenyoucancreateaclickbybringingthemtogether.Ifyouusebuttonsinsteadofquarters,youcanstrapthemtoyourfingerswithlittlestripsofelastic.Ifyouwanttoplayapatternwithtwovoices,justusemetalinonehandandwoodorplasticintheother.

Youcanmakearichersoundwithonehandusingafrikyiwa(free-kee-wah),asmall,egg-shapedbellusedinGhanaandotherAfricancountries.Traditionallythebell is slippedover themiddle finger and struckwith ametal ring slippedoverthethumb.Buttomufflethebellandavoiddisturbingothers,youcancupitin thepalmofyourhandand tap it lightlywith themetal ringonyourmiddlefinger:

To keep one hand from getting tired – and to keep yourself from becomingrhythmicallyunbalanced–it’sbesttoalternatehands.Youcanalsoavoidfatiguebychoosingsimpletimelinesorpatternswithouttoomanynotes.Thetimelineinfourweusethroughoutthisbookworkswell,becauseithasonlyfivenotes.Butthetimelineinsixhassevennotesinthespaceof12beats,soyoumaywanttosimplifyittothefollowingpattern:

Ifyou’relookingforothertimelineoptions,you’llfindtheminlessons14and21.

Voice

Whileyouwalkthepulse,insteadofaddingasecondpatterninyourhands,youcanadditinyourvoice.Orifthepulseisinyourfeetandatimelineisinyourhands,youcanuseyourvoicetoaddathirdpattern(orputthetimelineinyour

S

voiceandthethirdpatterninyourhands).

Tovocalizeapatternwithjustonevoice,chooseanysoundyoulike.Ifapatternhas two voices, choose contrasting sounds forX’s andO’s.Use any syllablesthat feel natural to you. (We like “bop” forX’s and “doo” forO’s.) Then tryusing twodistinctpitches for the twosounds,with theXhigher than theO. Ifyoufeellikeit,singmelodies.Beforeyouknowit,you’llbemakingupsongs.

o get out of the basement. Put on your walking shoes and give yourroommatesabreak.Goforarhythmwalk.Thechangeofscenerywilldoyou

good.

Rhythmwalkingwhenyoucan’twalk

Sometimesit’sjustnotpossibletowalk,butthatdoesn’thavetoslowyoudown.Let’s say you’re stuck in line at the grocery store or the post office.You canalwaysstepapulsewhilestandinginplace,clapatimelinelightlyinyourhands,andmutterapatternunderyourbreath.Ofcourseyouhavetogetusedtopeoplestaringatyou.Justsmileandtrytolookharmless.

Ifyou’resittinginawaitingroomorridingonatrain,youcanstillrhythmwalk–justtapapulseinyourfeetlikeyou’vebeendoingallalong.Rhythmwalkingistheperfectactivityforpeoplewhocan’tsitstillanddon’tliketokilltime.

You can even rhythm walk lying flat on your back by twitching your toes.Remember:Nomatterwhereyouare,orhowrestrictiveyourenvironmentmayseem,there’salwaysroomtogroove.

Sources:books,videos,CDs,andaudiotapes

Books on African or Afro-Cuban rhythms (and accompanying CDs orcassettes)AfricanRhythmandAfricanSensibilitybyJohnChernoff,TheUniversity of Chicago Press, 1979. Afro-Cuban Grooves for Bass andDrums: Funkifying the Clave by Lincoln Goines and Robby Ameen,Manhattan Music, 1990. Includes two CDs. Afro-Cuban Rhythms forDrumset byFrankMalabe andBobWeiner,ManhattanMusic, 1990.CDalsoavailable.CongaDrumming:ABeginner’sGuidetoPlayingwithTimebyAlanDworskyandBetsySansby,DancingHandsMusic,1994.IncludesCD. Drum Gahu: The Rhythms of West African Drumming by DavidLocke,White CliffsMedia, 1987. Cassette also available. The Essence ofAfro-CubanPercussionbyEdUribe,CPPMediaGroup,1996.

IncludestwoCDs.Afro-CubanGroovesforBassandDrumsbyLincolnGoinesandRobbyAmeen,ManhattanMusic,1990.IncludestwoCDs.

Kpegisu:AWarDrumof theEwebyDavidLocke, featuringGodwinAgbeli,WhiteCliffsMedia,1992.Cassettealsoavailable.

Practical Applications Using Afro-Caribbean Rhythms (Parts 1, 2, and 3) byChuckSilverman,CPP/Belwin,1991.

RhythmsandTechniquesforLatinTimbalesbyVictorRendon.Salsa Guidebook For Piano and Ensemble by Rebeca Mauleon, Sher Music,1993.

WestAfricanRhythmsforDrumsetbyRoyalHartiganwithAbrahamAdzenyahandFreemanDonkor,ManhattanMusic,1995.IncludesCD.

Vide os on African and Afro-Cuban drumming (and accompanyingbooklets)

AdvancedCongawithRolandoSoto,MVP.CongaDrumming:ABeginner’s VideoGuidewith Jorge Bermudez, DancingHandsMusic.

LatinSoloingfortheDrumsetwithPhilMaturano,HalLeonard.

MasteringtheArtofAfro-CubanDrummingwithIgnacioBerroa,WarnerBros.MozambiquewithKimAtkinson,PulseWavePercussion.The Rhythms of Guinea, West Africa with Karamba Diabate, 3rd EarProductions. ShowMe theRhythms forBongoswithKalani,KalaniMusicVideo ShowMe the Rhythms for Jembe with Kalani, KalaniMusic VideoCDsoftraditionalAfricanandAfro-Cubandrumming

Obo Addy (Earthbeat) Okropong – Traditional Music of Ghana ClaveyGuaguanco (Xenophile): Songs and Dances Adam Drame (Playasound):MandingoDrumsVolumes1 and2EnsembleNational de laRepubliquedeGuinee(MusiqueduMonde):LesBalletsAfricainsFamoudouKonate(BudaRecords): Malinke Rhythms and Songs Farafina (RealWorld): Faso DenouandBolomakoteFatala (RealWorld):GongomaTimesMamadyKeita (FontiMusicali): Mogobalu, Wassolon, Afo, Hamanah, and Nankama LesPercussionsdeGuinee(BudaRecords):Volumes1and2

LosMunequitosDeMatanzas(Qbadisc):FolkloreMatancero,CongoYambumba, and Rumba Caliente Doudou Ndiaye Rose (Virgin Records):Djabote

Totico y sus Rumberos (Montuno Records): Totico y sus Rumberos YorubaStreetPercussion(OriginalMusic)

Miscellaneousothersources

Bayaka–TheExtraordinaryMusicof theBabenzelePygmiesbyLouisSarno,EllipsisArts,1995(bookandCD).

TheBigBang,EllipsisArts,1994 (boxedsetof threeCDsofdrumming fromaroundtheworldwithaccompanyingbooklet).

Djembefola,Interama,1991(documentaryvideoaboutMamadyKeita).Drummingat theEdgeofMagic–A Journey into theSpirit ofPercussionbyMickeyHart,HarperCollins,1990(book).

DrumSolosVolumes1,2,and3,LatinPercussionVentures,1978 (audiotapesonsoloingoncongas,bongos,andtimbales).

Ta Ke Ti Na – The Forgotten Power of Rhythm by Reinhard Flatischler,LifeRhythm,1992(bookwithsupplementalCDorcassetteavailable).