Simultaneous contrasting subdivisions (e.g., 3:2, 4:3).
Polyrhythm occurs when two or more rhythmic patterns with different beat groupings sound together. Each rhythm keeps its own internal logic, yet the parts fit into a repeating cycle. The result is tension, complexity, and motion—a conversation between layers of time.
A simple example is 3 against 2: one player divides the same span of time into three equal notes while another divides it into two. Both finish together after a shared pulse, but their accents cross, creating rhythmic friction. Mathematically, it’s the ratio 3:2; aurally, it’s push and pull.
Drummers often internalize this through counting (“1-trip-let, 1-&”) or by feeling overlapping grids. Afro-Cuban and West African traditions are built on this interlock, where hand drums, bells, and shakers each emphasize different subdivisions that resolve in a common cycle. Jazz musicians such as Elvin Jones or Tony Williams brought these concepts into modern drumming, creating rolling, multilayered swing.
In Western composition, composers from Stravinsky to Steve Reich used polyrhythms and phase shifting to create evolving texture—Reich’s Drumming is an entire study in layered rhythmic ratios. In modern electronic music, producers achieve similar effects with step sequencers set to different step lengths or loop lengths, producing shifting, hypnotic grooves.
To work musically, polyrhythm needs a stable reference pulse—usually the tempo grid or the drummer’s hi-hat. The listener perceives both contrast and cohesion. When done right, it adds dimensionality: rhythm that feels alive, continuously realigning itself.