I can't for the life of me come up with a unique rhythm.

So with two hand tapping; let's say your right hand is playing something in 6/8 and your left is playing something in 4 over top? When the two patterns meet based on different tempos, wouldn't that be considered a polyrythm?

Or am I way off. I have done two different patterns on my bass like that an I always thought that was called a polyrythm. I'm learning a lot from this post please continue.

/popcorn.

 

...and yet the OP has probably dreamt lots of stuff but doesn't have a recorder right near his bedstand......

 

"Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythms, that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter.[2] The rhythmic conflict may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhythm), or a momentary disruption."


"This polyrhythms bass lesson is designed to accelerate your learning curve for learning how to play polyrhythms and musically apply polyrhythms to your bass playing."
http://www.mutantbass.com/polyrhythms-play-them-now/

Mutant Bass: Potent Polyrhythms

 

I'm sorry, but you are blatantly incorrect. A tuplet is an "irrational rhythm", a division of the beat or beats that runs contrary to the normal division of the meter.

http://www.treblis.com/notation/tuplet.html

(By the way, I've never encountered the "slurred" tuplet notation described in that link. Seems pointless at best and ambiguous/confusing at worst.)

A polyrhythm involves tuplets, but only if two or more such rhythms are occuring simultaneously. Polyrhythm necessitates at least two voices playing contrary divisions of a beat.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469088/polyrhythm

Compare this to polymeter, which is when two or more meters (distributed among two or more voices) share a common metric division (quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, etc.), but have different downbeats. And example:

D-u-u-u-D-u-u-u-D-u-u-u
D-u-u-D-u-u-D-u-u-D-u-u

The top line is a four-beat pattern, and the bottom line is a three-beat pattern. When played simultaneously, you have polymeter. However, if you are trying to cover both with one voce, it is not going to be heard as polymeter - just a syncopated rhythm that may be recognizable as a composite of the two rhythms.

 

Polyrhythm:
Triplets over duplets in all four beats

 

^ This.

 

Try playing along with very unique drum beats...I've been surprised at what has come out when I played with something besides your typical "hat - kick - hat - snare" beat. Depends on if you are a very reactive musician or not, but listening to very different genres of music can open up your horizons quite a bit. Reggae is an EXCELLENT place to get your feet wet in some irregular rhythms as understood by your typical state-side musician.

 

Pick up Jean-Luc Ponty's "Tchokola" album.

 

Okay, dis gon' be good!

Nothing in either the britannica nor treblis pages you cited contradicts what I've been saying.

Yet the bolded part of your contention is most decidely misguided, and, to quote your own assertion, "blatantly incorrect".

Now, how do we go about preventing this from simply being a run-of-the-mill internet pissing match?

Dueling graduate degrees at 20 paces?

 

It's in the word, dude. Poly-rhythm. Poly, multiple. You can't say that any tuplet by its own constitutes a polyrhythm - there needs to be a cross rhythm. If you can't hear it, it's not there. Unless you want to somehow substantiate that "nothing" constitutes a perceivable rhythmic pulse.

 

Here's an example of poly at work. Lee Morgan's "Angela" written and played by bassist Jymie Merritt

 

You're thinking of 12/8, I believe.

 

Regarding polyrhythms, Peter Magadini is a drummer/educator who's particularly well-versed where polyrhythms are concerned:

 

I highly recommend checking out COMPLETE. This is what you need.

 

What I hinted at simply works if one tries it no matter how you define it or classify it. Simply come up with a 4 bar beat. Break it down to 16ths. After you get the first beat under you hands start your next one on the next 16th, or 8th note. This is one way to come up with different sounding rhythms which is what this thread is about. If you can't make one up by yourself, copy the rhythms from a rhythm card(s) to make up a 4 bar beat and go from there.

 

who would you rather play like Anthony Wellington, Victor Wooten or Brainbridge!!!!!!!! do yourself a favor and search on youtube for modes of rhythm and you'll see the concept explained.

 

I don't have any of the formal training like a lot of posters on this thread but I have been writing original material in various bands for about 15 years. What you really need is to jam with a good drummer who can feed off of you and you off of him.

 

It would probably be useful for you to try exposing yourself to more drums if you want to have more rhythms in your head. Try checking out famous drum solos and intros, from Krupa and Rich, to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, to Keith Moon, to live Led Zeppelin, to Phil Collins, to that great intro into "Hot for Teacher."

If you want to expand your rhythms, why not start with just rhythms? When you steal from drummers, it's not near as obvious as when you steal from other bass players.

 

I've probably transcribed more drum and hand percussion parts than I have bass parts. It's a great excercise that forces you to focus on parts you may not be used to actively focusing on. I would definitely encourage you to check out different styles of music - from all over the world, not just North America.

 

Yeah, I thought of that after I posted. Especially SO many Middle-Eastern and African rhythms.