Essential
 Polymeter
  Studies in 4/4:
     

    Introduction
    
   
   
   
  
 


The Concept

Both polyrhythm and polymeter have been a part of the jazz language from the
beginning. I define them as follows:

         
  


      
In polyrhythm, two or more distinct beats are played simultaneously. For example, three
notes played against two:
  
      


                              
    
     

                       





 






In effect, you can hear and feel two different tempos being played at the same time.
  




In polymeter,

the beats
remain constant,

but the



organization (subdivision) of the notes


in the
 combined
   beats implies
 different
  meters.
   For
 example, 3/4 over 4/4, by virtue
 of
the structure of the melodic line (in treble clef):
          




                       
   
       
      

    


   

  





This, in effect, maintains the same tempo between the two voices (pulses), but suggests
twodifferent meters being played at the same time. (I’ve placed

the accent
 marks in to




help clarify the contrast between meters.)

One of the staples of the jazz sound is this juxtaposition of meter, as it enhances the
feeling of syncopation that is at the heart of the swing feeling. It creates a friction, a kind
of energy and tension that invites resolution. From the very beginning of the jazz
tradition,

through
  the bebop
 revolution
  and allthe way to the most
  sophisticated
    artists

   

improvising
 today, polymeter is interwoven into the
 jazz language. 

                       



    

You can hear polymeter

 in many classic jazz recordings.
 Lester Young’s ground

breaking solo on Oh! Lady Be Good provides several excellent examples. Here’s one:


 
   
       


    
         
     


Notice how he displaces the “E” (starting here in the 3rd measure) to create an
interesting thematic/rhythmic
  tension, which resolves
  6th measure.
nicely to the “A” in the
Depending on how you look at it, you can see metric organizations of threes and twos
(implying a 5/4 meter starting on the 4th beat of the 3rd measure), emphasized by the
placement of one single note. This polymetric tendency in Lester Young’s improvising
contributed
 significantly
 to his legendary “floating”
 time feel and phrasing,as he seemed
to play “across the bar lines” in a more “horizontal” manner.

Though the use of polymeter grew to become an element of the bebop lexicon, it was
Lennie
 Tristano and  his disciples who took it to a whole new level. Besides his
compositions (e.g., Lennie’s Pennies), Tristano’s improvisations reflected an exploration
and mastery of polymeter. (His solo on Line Up is a great example!) But it was his
student, the brilliant tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, who used polymetric phrasing and
control to create some of the most consistently surprising, free and imaginative
improvisations ever played over chord changes.

And certainly, many classic jazz compositions employ polymeter. (The final measures of
Thelonious Monk’s Blue Monk, and the bridge of Monk’s Played Twice immediately
come to mind.)

In this book, my aim is to introduce polymeter in a mindful, methodical and

practical way, with the hope that it will help you find greater freedom and control
in your improvisation.

Because the harmonic structures of most standard songs and jazz compositions are
based upon two-beat and four-beat cells, it can be a strong stimulus for the improviser to
hear, think and imagine within this structural framework, often to the point of stating the
structure of the composition at the expense of expressive freedom. Besides adding an
unwanted sense of predictability to an improvised solo, this can also place considerable
limits on the structure of melodic lines. It can tend to put your playing “inside a box”, so
to speak. (Or as I sometimes describe to my students, “hardening your phrasing”, as
opposed to letting it stay free and flexible.)

Gaining freedom with meter can open up many possibilities, and will give you seemingly
endless ways of organizing melodic content when you improvise. In fact, you’ll find that

 
 
you’ll use your harmonic knowledge in surprisingly new ways to create melodies when
you are “free from the bar line”.

 
 
There

are essentially
 three ways
  to imply polymeter. (Each
  example below 


 
  
demonstrates
  3/4
 over4/4.)        
One,

by rhythmiccontent and

 organization
 (rhythmic
 patterns):
   
          

      



  



  
            
   



 

Two,

bythe
organization
    of pitches
   (contour
   of melodic line):

    
 

      






                           

         




                
Three, by articulation:

     


      
  

        
           


  

      
             

         
This book deals with first two exclusively:That is, polymeter implied


                byeither
   is
rhythmic

patterns and/or organization ofpitches. (Polymeter by means of articulation
      
     
an entire topic unto itself, which I plan to address in another book.)
    
One thing I learned
 from studying Balkan
 folk music some  years ago is that allodd
meters
 are really just combinations of twos and threes. For example in one of the
   
Bulgarian dances, called the Kopanitsa, the meter is 11/8, which is typically subdivided
as:
2, 2, 3, 2, 2.   

    

    
   
 
                    

    



And so it is with all odd metered music. For that reason, I’ve presented what I think
are the most common polymetric

   subdivisions over 4/4: 3, 5 and
 7. Specifically,
    3/4
(and the 3/8
  cell foundinside 3/4); 5/8 (and
 the combination
    of 5/8 cells to imply 5/4); 7/8

   
  
(and the combination of 7/8 cells to imply 7/4). Through a series of notated exercises,
I’ve attempted to present these metric subdivisions in a logical, methodical way. In doing
so, I’ve aimed at keeping things simple, approachable and ultimately practical. That’s

why
 I’ve chosen to limit the rhythmic content of all exercises
 to eighth notes and quarter

notes (including any ties):

 
   

   
       
      

The above pattern (5/4 over 4/4) of eighth notes and quarters can easily be varied and
made more complex, still maintaining the basic polymetric pulse:


    






     
       
    

         

I consider the eighth and quarter note structure as the “skeleton” of the pulse.

Tobecome fluent in using polymeter,  you’ll need to develop

 two things:cognition
and imagination. For you to become confident in “going over the bar”, or otherwise
“turning the time around”, you must have a sense of where you are with respect to the
time and the form, at all times. For that too happen, you need to be able understand
what I call the “math”. In essence, you must have a cognitive knowledge of how an odd-
   
metered pattern returns to its starting point. In 3/4 over 4/4, for example, if you begin on

beat one, the cycle returns to beat one every three measures, as follows:

 




         

Once you develop this cognitive knowledge, and start working through some patterns
with
 it, you’llgo from “thinking the
 math”,
 to intuitively
 knowing/feeling
 where
 you
 are at
all times. This is a vital first step.
 


                   
 



As you develop this skill, you’re imagination can grow alongside it. You can start hearing
and feeling the push and pull of odd over even meters.
    

 



        

    
To help you along in cultivating these skills, I’ve included lots of exercises that challenge,
strengthen and clarify your cognitive ability, while at the same time giving you lots of
patterns to practice to help feed and spark your imagination. By devoting sufficient time
to this work, you’ll likely be amazed at how your improvising transforms, opening up (and
even surprising you!)

The aims of this book

I’ve developed and practiced the material in this book with specific aims in mind. I offer
this work:

• To help you establish a clear understanding of basic odd-metered subdivision

cycles over 4/4 (and how these cycles return to their starting point).
• To demonstrate to you a simple and effective approach to playing in odd meters
(in general).
• To broaden your rhythmic imagination in both odd and even meters as you
improvise.
• To deepen your sense of structure and form as you improvise over chord
changes (and other closed-ended forms).
• To give you more tools to create tension and release in your improvisations
through time, feel, and rhythm.
• To inspire you to organize the harmonic/melodic materials you’ve already
mastered in surprisingly new ways.
• To challenge your sight reading of rhythms.

Format

I’ve organized this book into four chapters. The first three chapters address each of the
three specific odd-metered polymetric subdivisions over 4/4: 3 (3/4); 5 (5/8, 5/4); and 7
(7/8, 7/4), one chapter per metric subdivision.

Each of these first three chapters has four sections:

1. The chapter begins with an exercise laying out the basic rhythmic subdivisions of the
odd meter (e.g., 3/4) as it fits over 4/4 (and how it completes it cycle by returning to its
beginning).

2. Next are exercises constructed upon some of the most basic rhythmic patterns in the
odd meter (as they are rhythmically displaced over the measure in 4/4).
3. Following that are exercises using some of these basic rhythmic patterns over four-
measure ii-V7-I cycles.

4. The chapter concludes with scale studies that present various patterns of the odd
meter as it is imposed upon 4/4.

The final chapter of the book is devoted to rhythmic displacement of 2/4 patterns (the
displacement of 2/4 is another aspect of implying polymeter in 4/4.)

I’ve chosen to use tonalities common in the jazz language for most of the exercises:
Specifically, the scales (major, minor, dominant 7, blues, diminished and augmented)
and tensions over V7 chords (such as raised and lowered 9ths), as well as passing
tones. My aim here is to give you a chance to take the familiar (these tonalities) into the
unfamiliar (the polymetric pattern). This assumes you have at least a basic
understanding and some experience with these tonalities, as I never offer to analyze or
explain the tonalities. All but a few of the exercises are put into all twelve keys, usually
moving in cyclical order.

The range of all the exercises is reasonably moderate. The lowest note is low Bb (below
middle C) and the highest is F# (above the staff). Each melodic pattern is kept in a fairly
narrow range (usually no more than an octave and a fifth), so if any pattern goes beyond
your range, you can, of course, feel free to transpose the octave.

And as I stated earlier, the rhythmic language of all exercises is the quarter note and
eighth note (and any ties).

How to practice this material

There are three very important guidelines that I want to stress from the start:

First, it is absolutely essential that you practice every exercise in this book with a
metronome. You must learn to understand, hear and feel these odd meters as they are
imposed over the even meter (4/4). Without a metronome this will be nearly impossible,
as each exercise will simply feel like any other odd-metered pattern you’ve played
before. But by placing the odd-metered pattern within the pulse and subdivision of the
metronome in 4/4, you’ll begin to transform your perception, and will start being able to
think and feel two meters simultaneously.
Second, your aim should be to always know where the downbeat of beat “one” is
in every measure you play. If you don’t know where “one” is, you’re not really feeling
both meters at the same time.

Third, you must know how each polymetric subdivision returns to its starting
point. Again, if you don’t know how and odd-metered pattern “resolves” (returns) you
aren’t really feeling both meters simultaneously, and you’ll be reluctant to actually use
the subdivision in your improvisation.

You should use the metronome in the following ways:

• With the click on all four beats- Start with this in order to feel the “pull” of the
polymetric pattern against the 4/4 meter cycle. (Set your metronome to click
loudly on beat one.)
• With the click on beats one and three- Move on to this and stay with it until you
feel confident that you can always anticipate beat one. (Again, set your
metronome to click loudly on beat one.)
• With the click only on beat one-As you gain more confidence, let go of the click
on beat “three” and feel the 4/4 as one long pulse. Make this the standard to aim
for in your practice.
• With the click on beats two and four-This is optional (just to give you a sense
of how the polymeter feels against a swing backbeat), and I recommend doing it
only after you are quite confident that you always know where one is.

You can also use a drum loop or other backing track (of various time feels) once you’re
confident about knowing where “one” is. All of the exercises should be played at first
with a straight eighth-note feel. Once the exercise is clearly in your ear and under
your fingers, move on to a swing feel.

I strongly recommend that you follow the order of the exercises in the manner in
which I’ve organized them. I’ve attempted to present this subject in a logically
progressive order. The exercises at the beginning of Chapters One, Two and Three
(Basic Rhythmic Subdivisions) must be mastered! (As I will emphasize at the beginning
of each of these chapters), you must know with great certainty how each odd-metered
subdivision fits into 4/4, not just from the downbeat of “one”, but also, from any other
downbeat or upbeat in the measure. So spend lots of time speaking (the beats) and
playing the simple melodic exercises that follow in these exercises.

You’ll find that some of the patterns feel very “polymetric” (i.e., more metrically “tense”
and “over-the-bar”) and others less so. (This is especially true as you change from a
straight feel to a swing feel.) You might even be surprised to discover that you’re already
utilizing polymeter from time to time as you improvise.

After you’ve thoroughly practiced and studied the material from the first three chapters,
you can view Chapter Four (Displacement of 2/4) as a sort of suggestion for various
ways of taking patterns from within two-beat cells and reorganizing them polymetrically.

As I’ve already mentioned, most of the melodic patterns I’ve used in the exercises are
quite familiar to the studied jazz musician. My hope is that you play as much as
possible by ear. In other words, once you recognize a particular melodic pattern, your
focus can shift to what’s happening metrically/rhythmically rather than what’s happening
with the pitches. The idea is to start seeing and hearing patterns of the various ways odd
meter can be displaced over even meter. (Again, this is why I choose highly familiar
tonal material.)

Finally, take what you learn right into your improvisation. For example, once you’ve
become skilled in the exercises in Chapter One (3/4 Over 4/4) start consciously
incorporating some of these rhythmic patterns and metric subdivisions as you practice
improvisation. Again, feel free to make variations from the eighth-note and quarter note
language to add interest, complexity and excitement to your improvising. Ultimately, this
is about changing how you imagine, hear and feel music. Make it yours! Enjoy!