Rhythm Sheet 3-D
Review of 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3
1. Warm-up drills.
In each case the lower part (to be tapped by the left hand) is realized in bass drum timbre and the upper part (r.h. or sung) is wood block timbre. The background (beat subdivision into two or three parts) is a high triangle-like timbre, and the composite rhythm (the combination of the lower and upper parts, is timbre similar to a cow bell. In each practice exercise, you will hear all of these together at first, then the composite and background tracks fade out and then are eliminated. The tempo changes gradually so that you can get used to performing these polyrhythms at different speeds. Toward the end of each exercise, the background and composite tracks are re-introduced very softly so that you can make sure you are still "in the groove." In each case it is vital that you are aware of the background groupings -- simple (two subdivisions of the beat) or compound (three subdivisions). You should also strive to learn and internalize the composite rhythm of each pattern.
2. Combining the rhythms
Exercise 2 combines all of these patterns in succession, with the lower part (l.h.) keeping a constant beat. The various versions realized below are designed to help you learn to perform them accurately. Practice each exercise until you can do it with the recording exactly.