#26 Polyrhythms: How to Play and Clap a Polyrhythm

[00BuCkErZ00]

thought poly meant 5 instead of many. because 3 in RH + 2 in LH = 5. Anyway, fantastic video didn't realise I was playing polyrhythms, really good at explaining them thanks :-)

[augie150]

bow down to the polyrhythm king cause now i know how this goes thanks andrew

[qwert789456]

Your counting for 4 vs 3 doesn't work well, because it suggests having the beats in "dif-i-cult" evenly spaced, which in fact is not correct. I learned it with: Pass the god-damn butt-er. That counting is not as motivating as yours, though. :)

[mose0109]

Rondo in C by Beethoven is quite annoying because of the Poly Rhythm! :P

[ToolPuritan]

Thank you so much for this! I can play 2 versus 3 now, which I've been trying so hard for so long.

[thepactissealed]

ze wrong ahi u sux

[TheDropismVlog]

You rock



[SuperMegaPeanut]

Radiohead - Bloom is full of polyrythms. It sounds so chaotic and off-beat.

[linnaes]

I don't think the counting for the 3 vs. 4 works perfectly...it gives you 4 16th notes against 2 dotted 16ths followed by a 16th, as opposed to even triplets. Oh well, this video still helps a lot, thanks very much :D

[kirstenization]

Hi Andrew what is the piece you are playing in this video called?

[keksnicoh]

"my tarzan ... me king of the polyrithaaams "

[MrNadav1995]

thanks a lot need mor to show the piano while playing in a slow motion for beginners like me

[LeechesInMyBlood]

after you watched this video please leave a like!!! It deserves it!!!

[LeechesInMyBlood]

wow finally ,now i understand ! in chopen nocturne in c charpe are o lot of polyrhythms and i did not understand everything , but now i am happy ,huaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarayyyyyy­yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!

[ImCalebRosengard]

I freaking loce this dode

[ImCalebRosengard]

@ImCalebRosengard Love* and dude*

[CallingTheNight]

@ImCalebRosengard Oookaaayyy, learn to spell or type quickly and I would agree with you :)

[Eamon1390]

dude you high?

[KH2fanatic2010]

THANK YOU

[ronalsanchezdotcom]

excellent lesson. thank you very much

[renegeesnegnar]

This was helpful. Don't pay attention to the negative comments

[meginis8]

This guy is such a skivey wierdo.

[kitsukawa]

thank you for uploading!

[v2vroth]

The Shermanator from American Pie..

[elsrocks]

Yo your hair looks weird.

[jazzadellic]

this video makes takes something easy and makes it difficult. The easy way to understand the polyrhythm of 3 against 2 is to simply think of quarter, eighth+eighth quarter, i.e. 1, 2&, 3. One voice gets 1 2 3, the other gets beat 1 and the "and" of 2.

[jazzadellic]

@swordchucks4life first off, you are flat wrong. It is a true 3 against 2 rhythm. Do the math. Secondly, I was trying to be nice and not mention what a horrible video lesson this is. Learn your shit.

[Lehmann108]

@jazzadellic Everybody has their own way of figuring out polyrhythms and explaining polyrhythms. You just have to take your time until the light goes on.

[blastamos]

Indeed even though I never knew what a polyrythm was I realised that 3/4 polyrythm was wrong.

Since you happen to have 2 metronomes I'd suggest you set one at 60bpms and the other at 80bpms and start them at the same time. You will hear the correct polyrhythm.

I really think you should reupload a fixed version of this lesson since these piano lessons are so great it would be a shame to leave something like this wrong.

[yudhamaria]

mas'e sampeyan ki kog ga maen dii piano tow?saya kan nda' ngerti sampeyan ki ngoceh opo...woalah dalah...piye iki...

[13binghiroots]

great and simple explanation!

thank you!

[helmige]

Sorry, but your 3 against 4 rhythm is WRONG!!! „not very difficult“ ist NOT 3 against 4.

[helmige]

search youtube for: How to Do the 4 Over 3 Motion on Drums. this is the correct rhythmical pattern.

[hairong5258]

Thank you so much! This video in collaboration with my daughters piano teacher helped her play Arabesque 1# By Debussy!

[godthegourd]

you have some good mnemonic tools, thanks! check out 'animals as leaders' for some polyrhythms on guitars and drums and stuff.

[thesimplefineline]

CHEERS FOR THE LESSON >> A GREAT HELP !!

[tambian89]

this is really helpful, thank you for posting! You know you've made a good lesson when a drummer can find use in a piece meant for pianists!

[sk8ter3699]

hahahahahahahahahaha

he kicks Austin McBride's ass.

SSSOO HAARD when it comes to piano teaching

hahaha if you havent seen his videos you should

its like a epsiode of roseanne

FUCKING HILARIOUS!!!

[myrddin021]

i think that 3+4 is heard in the pirates of the caribbean intro.

[humbleleon991]

tool anyone????? lol

[calvinandhodge]

@humbleleon991 how is he a tool? hes seems cool, albeit awkward and quirky... but thats awesome

[margotlorena1]

ok but 4/3 cant be just played any way I like it, the third 8th note has to be right before the 4th 16th note, can't be played in the middle of the two or just right after the 3rd 16th note, otherwise the triplet would sound weird. That's what happens to me, I can't get the 3rd 8th note in the right place, I either get the right hand ok or the left hand, cant do both, I tried singin about the butter, writing everything as a 12/4 measure, recording, listening to a midi file...

[freakoutguitarsolo1]

polyrythm is playing 2 different time signatures at the same time. usually they will meet up at the same amount of bars every time and start over again. like if you are playing 4\4 timing on one hand and 9\8 timing on the other hand they meet up at the 5th bar. for drumming lessons you normally should start learning 4\4 on the hi hat doing quarter notes with left foot, and do a 6\4 snare roll using quarter notes.

[gErgx12]

i dont think it takes 12+ minutes to explain polyrythems

[Arachnidius]

Sorry, but TheApocalypseKid is right, your 3 vs. 4 was what I came to learn (I already knew the 3 vs. 2), and what you played wasn't a polyrhythm. The 4 semiquavers (I'll count that as 1 + 1 + 1 + 1) underneath were right (as in consistent, all note lengths equal) but the other hand played a grouping of dotted quaver + quaver + dotted quaver (1.5 + 1 + 1.5). To be a polyrhythm, that other hand would need to change to a group of 3 quaver triplets, so (1.333 + 1.333 + 1.333). Thanks, though...

[dewulf2]

Hi, just started looking at your vids - seem like there's some great stuff in all of them, but i just noticed this youtube clip for #26 seems to be broken - it consistently stops at about 3:27 into the clip (only accesses about 8mb of the 30+ mb file). Hopefully this is easy to fix?

[GregoryGraveyard]

the saying i use is "cold-cup-of-tea" HAHAHA

[MrDbeni]

hello Mr. Andrew you are realy great .

you are my best hero in the world.

And I am your best fan from India by

Beni

[mexrilla]

dude, you helped alot with that sheet music in the back.......!

[p52xtra]

@mexrilla "alot" is not a word. That should help you "a" "lot".

[mexrilla]

@p52xtra

This is youtube, not english class buddy :)

[p52xtra]

@mexrilla If you are not going to apply what you were taught in a public forum, then when would you ever bother to spell correctly?.... BUDDY

[mexrilla]

@p52xtra

When it is neccessary, buddy :)

[p52xtra]

@mexrilla when would you deem it necessary,.... BUDDY? :-)

[mexrilla]

@p52xtra

As soon as i get a grade for it ....buddy :^)

[p52xtra]

@mexrilla you get a grade for it NOW buddy, and it is a failing grade. Self respect should give you the inspiration to apply the proper language you learned in school. We studied to prepare ourselves fou society, but now everyone wants to act like the ignorant black people, thinking that shit is cooooooooooool. Your daily life is your classroom now, it's time to apply what you cost your parents to send you to school to learn.

[partygurl41]

Thank you so much! This tutorial really taught me how to play polyrhythms!

[partygurl41]

OMG thank you so much!! This tutorial helped me so much in learning how to play polyrhythms!

[christopher100]

I've played wind instruments for 30 years and just re-started piano. I avoided polyrythms like the plague. You've given me hope!

[nuggetowow]

this helped me alot

[1091Floyd21]

This is so boring, & far to advanced. We should have been practising with actual songs up until now. Not just video after video of theory

[HairGlitter]

Thank you:0 this was very helpful!

[ibanezxiphos700]

is there a differnce between 3 vs 4 and 4 vs 3

[skyelof]

Like a few of your other viewers have pointed out: The way you use the word string 'Not very difficult' does not bring out the 3 vs 4 nor the 4 vs 3.

I have made a video which may elucidate it.

In stead I use the strings 'We can feel the rhythm' and 'A polyrhythmic flow' - whose natural accentuations respectively bring the two different polyrhythmic layers in to focus.

[imperfection32]

this is a stupid question but whats the time signature for the first one? is it 5/8?? im not real good with time signatures

[razz11]

ask a decent drummer they can explain it alot better :D this guy is pretty funny lol

[Lohnerider]

Lol, dancing, cats is SOO, funny! That, dude must have a, looo,ong PENIS!

[rololoo]

Good video and you seem like a nice guy, but yeah you play the 3 over 4 wrong. I mean you're playing the triplet unevenly.

[iampalpal]

thanks, this helps a lot.

[jim48shaker]

proper gimp man lol good videos that ur a good teacher

[vindikation]

Yeah the 3 over 4 is slightly off on the piano (as he admits) but the notation is correct.

The best way to think of 3 over 4 would be a measure of 12/8:

1 and a, 2 and a, 3 and a, 4 and a

LH: (1) and a, (2) and a, (3) and a, (4) and a

RH: (1) and a, 2 (and) a, 3 and (a), 4 and a

Tap the first parentheses with your Left Hand and the second parentheses with your Right Hand.

[kankertriest]

It's a nice tutorial but this is not true 3 against 4. This is just a method to learn the sequence of the notes. But the durations of the notes aren't quite right.

[mtabet02]

i can play infinity over negative infinity

[JackETProductions]

I can play 7/4 over 11/4.

[hairlessdog101]

you should explain the hard ones like 7 over 4 or 5 over 4 or o on

[redheadhistorian]

4:55

It decided to hypnotise us all with his evil polyrhythm stare beat

[jlaw666]

sweet video thanx!

[Fartan117]

hm when its slow it sounds like 1 2and3. then when i do it faster i just count the triplets and that seems to work for me. i didn't know it was so simple thanks.

[fluentc]

For three over four I worked with a metronome, isolating three over one in one hand, then four over one in the other, and alternating between the two. I found you really need to be able to feel one, which is hard a such a slow tempo.

[drPeabody]

You gave me a Cerebral front-end alignment! Thank you for your time. This is a virtuoso explanation.

[Patfromhutto]

Not Difficult!

:)

[MickeyLWalker]

Raise your camera up man,

Feel'n short down here.

[redheadhistorian]

you made me smile :)

[polyopulis]

just by writing it out and goin really slowly, i found it quite easy. for 3 against 5, i wrote down 15 lines and on every three i put a black dot and every 5 i put a blue one and i just counted one two three and added the five on top, i then got the feel of it and sped it up.

[deadheadchemist]

the more we discover the intricacies of music theory, the more we realise the true genius of inspirational composers such as chopin debussy, stravinsky, and liszt.

[rvorti01]

Excellent lesson. I think I understand now. I had a hard time playing 3 over 2, but it's getting easier now. Also, what is the piece you play at 1:30? Thanks!

[billmorgan]

That's Debussy Arabesque. Very pretty. Good practice for polyrhythms in both hands

[KillingBosby]

Speak up!

[sprite384]

Nice hair.

[jimmayl1]

will the 3vs4 work with 4 32nd notes vs 3 16ths in 2/4 time?

[arrieweb]

Thank You very much for best lesson, Dear Sir.

[Williepe]

Thanks for this! I'm 50 and have played on & off since I was 8. Only had about 5 years of lessons (often skipping months in between). Different L/R hand rhythms (esp. Chopin Impromptu #4) had me stumped. This was helpful (and entertaining).

Any videos you might do on fingering?

[sellyoursoulformusic]

for the 16th against the triplet

1. count and tap sixteenths with the left hand '1-ee-an-uh 2-ee-an-uh...'. 

2. the syllables 'not' 'ver' 'diff' 'cult' correspond with the sixteenth. the syllables 'not', 'ee(y)', and 'i' correspond with the triplet. tap sixteenths while saying 'not' 'ver' 'diff' 'cult'.

3. add the right hand on 'not'.

4. add the right hand on 'ee(y)'.

5. add the right hand on 'i'. it may have fallen into place already.

[sellyoursoulformusic]

if you're having trouble, try this:

1. count steady triplets while tapping with the right hand. '123123...'.

2. the triplet corresponds with the syllables 'not', 'diff', and 'cult'. the eighth corresponds with the syllables 'not' and 'i'. say the corresponding syllables, 'not' 'diff' 'cult' while tapping the triplet with the left hand.

3. add in the left hand on 'not'.

4. add in the 'i' syllable with the left hand, between the 'diff' and 'cult' syllables.

[thinsulate007]

Lol @ 5:07. As soon as you started beating your chest I knew what was coming.

[kayamo]

Actually you do the four over three wrong, its more like three over two, but then ending with a flam.

[krone191]

then it's like counting 16ths ?

[krone191]

i mean; when i'm saying "Not Dif-i-cult" I devide the beat into 4 equal parts - that's the same thing like counting 16ths , or not ?

[Pauliwog13]

This is great and after so many years of playing Piano I finally got an answer. The only problem is whit Fantasy Impromptu it is so fast you have to say not ve-ry-dif-fi-cult really fast. I guess it just means that you have to start slow :/. Great 5/5!

[qualityfruits]

"Not Dif-i-cult" and"Not Ve-ry Dif-i-cult"

is SOOOOO brilliant

i was always confused by the cross rhythms

but your funny slogan really helped me clear up my problem

and i love your crazy wackiness

[bubnjarovski]

friend, you would make a hell of a drummer

[professorlamp]

how would i apply 'not difficult' to guitar?

[mathiusvoodoo]

Yeah some one tell us?

[blackerjack123]

you could either use a two handed tapping technique a bit like eddie van halen, or for chords you could try hammering on and pulling off added notes

[mhm2341]

Oops, I meant that the obnoxious but insightful commenter is "TheApocalypseKid". Anyway, thank to Andrew for the great video.

[mhm2341]

Of course, another important aspect of this is that once you start playing the approximated polyrythm your hands should find the real rhythym naturally, since each hand will eventually seek equal intervals. Anyhow, Kudos to Lypur! This series is awesome, thought provoking, instructive and filled with humour and grace. Cheers!

[mhm2341]

Now, my interpretation of the "Not-ve-ry-dif-fi-cult" approximation is: 1/4, 1/8. 1/8, 1/8, 1/8 1/4, and repeat... Which is very cool because approximation takes a complicated progression and give you something in 1/4 and 1/8 notes. The difference between the true and approximated rythym is just that you tweak the second note of the 3-rythym forward by 1/24 and the 3rd note backward by 1/24...

[mhm2341]

Yesterday I came upon this excellent video and was by intrigued the obnoxious (but kind of insightful) comment by "Lypur". He claims your "Not-ve-ry-dif-fi-cult" method is mathematically incorrect. So I made a little diagram to check out his claim. Well, it turns out that a perfect 3-4 polyrhythym has the following mathematical rythym... Starting with the two hands together: 1/4, 1/12, 1/6, 1/6, 1/12, 1/4, and repeat ...

[tearup]

erm... surley the 3 v 4 one was wrong. you weren't playing an even triplet. ??? so its not really a polyrhythm.

the guy below that said you should use 'pass the golden butter' has the right idea!

[elhibassplayer]

Thanks for this lesson!

[amrob]

lol ur 4vs 3 are not even at all...

[randomxemoxperson]

I can't wait to get to the Für Elise toturial now^^ Thanks for another great lesson, 5 as always:)

[GrandPatzer]

Was that him playing the Heroic Polonaise at the beginning?

[Lypur]

yep, that's me playing a clip from Heroic Polonaise ^_^ It's my favorite piece to play by far.

[chopinandliszt]

I don't think "Not-ve-ry-dif-fi-cult" is a very good method to use. There has to be a long pause between the notes corresponding to "dif-fi". I attempt polyrhythms by counting 12 beats, and playing as the following

RH: @ooo@ooo@ooo@ooo

LH: @oooo@oooo@oooo

the RH plays a note every 3 beats and LH plays every 4 beats. This method helps me get a feel for polyrhythms, but the problem with it is that, although it's accurate, it's impossible to use this in difficult ones like 6 against 7.

[deadheadchemist]

i agree with you 100% on the "Not-ve-ry-dif-fi-cult" phrase i find "Pass the gol-den but-ter" comes much more natural to me.

Why is impossible to use TUBS notation for 6 against 7 though? Surely if you find the lowest common multiple of both numbers, this will indicate the number of arbitrary units of time you will need? e.g 3 against 4 =12 units, 6 against 7 = 42 units

[chopinandliszt]

Thanks for the lecture. when I first practiced Fantaisie Impromptu (an example of pieces that use 3/4 rhythm) I thought I was supposed to just play the notes fast to make them sound like a polyrhythm. Now I see that it requires practice. How long did it take you to master 2/3, 3/4 rhythms? I have been so frustrated about them. The middle part of Chopin Sonata No.3 Finale, Op.post Etudes in F minor, in A flat major. My major problem in these pieces is polyrhythm! I must get it right eventually.

[SwiftUK]

For 3 against 2 I was taught "nice cup of tea". I suppose being from England that makes sense. It's always worked for me but I still drink too much tea.

[th3man12341]

thanks a lot! your method helped me a lot!

[FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

Thank you for this tutorial. It was very entertaining and effective. It makes me want to practice my polyrythyms. I used to hate them but now I'm on better terms.

[mrtyles]

i would use pass the golden butter for the 3 against 4. its smoother.

[saxomojo]

great stuff bro! engloti,please dont watch! ur boring!

[comet03]

thanks andrew, u're a great teacher

[Lypur]

then stop watching, no one is forcing you.

[TheApocalypseKid]

your three beats over four sounds completely wrong. you are playing the rythm like you might play eighth sixteenths, and it does not sound mathamatically correct at all.

[Lypur]

please make a video and demonstrate your way of doing things. :) I've had nothing but compliments on this way of working out polyrhtyhms. It was taught to me by a well known teacher in Canada, it does produce the results needed to get your mind wrapped around the polyrhythm. Anyway, if for some reason all this time I've been doing it wrong, I'd love to be enlightening so please show me what you mean. If you're going to present an argument you must present the solution as well.

[luigiperso]

@Lypur , some people just talk but don't walk......thank you for your videos.

[luigiperso]

@TheApocalypseKid , you, make a video and show us how 'mathamatically correct' you are.

[kkbbccgg]

I'm glad to see this video, I saw/heard you playing this piece and I got a copy of the sheet music. Have have been having my teacher help me, but I really struggle. Getting the hang of the timing is tough.

[thomandy]

Just finished historyhour - awesome =)

This I know, but damn you got some great paste on posting videos now, hehe.. Soon finished! :)