Scores and discussions of each piece...
I feel that writing/learning to play these pieces has stretched my mind
in good ways. Reading these discussion won't be nearly as
enlightening as learning to play the pieces yourself, so I encourage you
to try.
I welcome any questions or feedback: me(at)rob-cohen(dot)com
Polymorphism
[Written between Feb and April '09]
Polymorphism 1.01
[Written between September '09 and January '10]
Note to the student
I have found the following 3 methods alternatively
helpful while learning to play various polyrhythms
(1) intellectual/mathematical:
remember finding the least common denominator to fractions in
elementary school? figuring out 4 against 3 can feel like banging your
head against a wall in two not-so-independent ways, but figuring out
where to play 7 eighth notes in a bar of 12/8 is not so difficult. the
key is counting, but you may need to figure out what to count first.
(2) visual: either
looking at the spacing of notes on the page or at any other spacial
representation of the rhythms can provide the approximation of where
the "beats are supposed to be".
(3) cramming them:
don't treat this method less seriously than the others! there's much to
be said for simply cramming the necessary beats unevenly into the bar and trying to smooth them out from there.