Polyrhythms are perhaps one of the most misunderstood rhythmic concepts in music theory.

If you’re just getting started with music you might have written polyrhythms off as being too complicated and hard to understand.

Yes—you will need some basic understanding of rhythm and meter.

But, with a few basic concepts, polyrhythms aren’t actually that difficult to understand.

The truth is, polyrhythms are really cool and they can add another dimension to the rhythms you write and play within your own music.

Once you’ve studied and learned them you’ll hear them used everywhere in music, from the top 40 charts down to the most complex avant-garde compositions.

So let’s take a look at how polyrhythms work and learn some easy ways to feel their unique rhythmic characteristics in your own playing.

Polymeter vs. polyrhythm

Before we get started let’s get a few confusing terms out of the way.

Polyrhythm and polymeter often get confused. They utilize some similar ideas but they’re both very different.

What is a polymeter?

In music, a polymeter occurs when two or more rhythmic meters are played against one another creating a phase-in, phase-out effect.
To put it in simpler terms, have you ever found yourself sitting in a busy turning lane—watching the signal light of each car in line blinking on and off in and out of phase with each other?

What you’re watching is a polymeter! Albeit a very complicated one.

Each car has its own pulse that goes in and out of phase with the other cars in line.

Polymeter occurs when two or more rhythmic meters are played against one another creating a phase-in, phase-out effect.

Every now and then the pulse of the turn signals lines up with each other as the timing of each car eventually intersects.

That’s basically how polymeters work in music too! Except that you will be counting two opposing time signatures against each other very precisely, like 5/4 versus 4/4.

What is a polyrhythm?

A polyrhythm fits unequal numbers of beats spaced out equally within the same amount of time—or within the same measure.

So for example, a three over two polyrhythm will fit three beats of one instrument and two beats of another into the same amount of time.

Odd time vs. polyrhythms

Small note here—polyrhythms are not odd time!

You can write polyrhythms in 4/4 time—the most common time signature of all!

In fact the most basic polyrhythm patterns are most commonly expressed in 4/4 or 3/4 time.

Yes—it is possible to write polyrhythms in odd time signatures like 5/8 or 7/8, but for simplicity’s sake it’s better to start off with learning polyrhythms in common time.

Two over three

Let’s start with the most simple polyrhythm of all—two over three.

Let’s start with the most simple polyrhythm of all—two over three.

Two over three can be expressed in either 3/4 time (triple meter) or 2/4 time (duple meter)—it doesn’t matter which one you choose, but the one you choose will affect how you visualize the polyrhythm and how your polyrhythm fits within the context of the music you’re writing

It’s also a bit easier to visualize any polyrhythm by using a different instrument for each—say a woodblock played in two’s and a snare played in threes.

So, in 3/4 you’ll have a quarter note snare beat on each of the three beats in the measure

And you’ll have a dotted quarter note played on the woodblock equally space two beats within the three quarter note measure.

Here’s how it looks and sounds on sheet music and in a MIDI editor.

If you wanted to write a two over three polyrhythm in 2/4 you’ll essentially superimpose a quarter note triplet played on the woodblock over two quarter notes on the snare.

Hot tip: Polyrhythms are easy to remember and feel by memorizing specific phrases that emphasize their rhythm. In the case of two over four “DING-fries-ARE-done” is a pretty classic phrase.

Three over four

Moving on to three over four it’s good starting to talk about steps within a bar.

Since four is multiple of two, you might expect it to sound the same as two over three. But that is not the case.

Remembering that what polyrhythms do is fit unequal numbers of beats spaced out equally within the same amount of time is key for understanding this and more advanced polyrhythms.

So if we look at a 3/4 four measure, you’ll have three-quarter notes on each pulse of the measure superimposed over four dotted eighth notes that mathematically equal out to three quarter notes.

Here’s how three over four can be visualized on paper and in a MIDI editor.

Three over four polyrhythms are often used in pop music breakdowns. You can very clearly hear it in Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” during the pre-chorus.

Three over four polyrhythms are often used in pop music breakdowns.

Just listen to how the synths come in and out of phase.

Hot tip: The best phrase to hear and memorize three over four feel is “PASS-the-GOSH-darn-BUT-ter”.

Four over five and beyond

Alright now, we’re getting to the more advanced stuff.

Before we dive into Euclidian rhythms, the last polyrhythm to wrap your head around is four over five.

This is more advanced because thinking in multiples of five will definitely challenge your rhythmic sensibilities.

As I said, four over five doesn’t necessarily have to be expressed with an odd time signature.

You could write out this polyrhythm in 4/4 time by superimposing a quarter note quintuplet over a quarter note pulse.

Here’s what that looks like.

But, mostly it’s about applying the same principle of fitting different numbers of equally spaced notes into the same measure of time.

Except that in this case, we’re fitting pulses of four and five into the same space.

Euclidean rhythms

So what about polyrhythms with six pulses or more? Are there other ways to combine rhythms into polyrhythms?

I think the Euclidian rhythm system is maybe the best way to visualize and discover more complex polyrhythms.

The Euclidian rhythm system is maybe the best way to visualize and discover more complex polyrhythms.

The Euclidian rhythms use a circular format, with each point of the circle representing a pulse, and the number of points representing a meter.

It’s best explored by playing with a Euclidian sequencer.

If you’re wondering why I used a circle with dots in each one of the visuals for the previous three polyrhythms, those are Euclidian representations of those polyrhythms!

Those are some pretty basic examples–It’s mind-boggling how many funky and complex rhythm patterns you can easily come up with using a sequencer like this.

Polyrhythms are fascinating

In high school when I first got interested in music, one of the first things I wanted to learn about was polyrhythms.

I thought they were a super interesting way of thinking about rhythms.

Knowing how polyrhythms work is an awesome gateway for deepening your skills as a player or writer of music.

So I hope this quick dive into the world of polyrhythms sets you off on a lifetime of noticing them around you and using them in your music.