Mastering Polyrhythms

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Two Against Three (4)

Two Against Three

The first cross rhythm we have to deal with in piano playing is two-against-three, or duplet against triplet. One hand plays in beat divisions of two while the other hand plays against it in divisions of three (three notes in the time of two). As with any cross rhythm, we can solve the mathematics of it by finding a common denominator between the two rhythms. Simply multiply one number in the ratio by the other. Thus 2 x 3 = 6 To find out how this works in practice, draw six evenly-spaced lines and divide equally into two and three:...

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