Category: Chapter 2: Rhythm

  • Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”

    The guitar and drums play what’s called a 3-against-4 polyrhythm in Led Zeppelin’s 1975 song “Kashmir.”  To practice it, count “ONE TWO three” with the guitar while a friend counts “one two THREE four” with the drums. The upper case letters indicate claps and the lower case letters indicate taps or silence. The resulting pattern repeats after…

  • Flamenco clapping music

    Flamenco is a dance form from Andalusia, Spain that is associated with the Roma peoples.  Here is an explanation of the rhythm patterns and a demonstration of clapping.

  • Clapping Music

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qS3oc_tK4 Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music” uses a single repeated rhythm pattern.  The two players start by clapping the 12-beat pattern together in unison.  After eight measures, one performer shifts the pattern forward by one beat and they clap the new pattern for eight measures.  This process is continued until the two patterns align again. Here’s…