Two Against Three Polyrhythm Explained

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that I’ve been working on practical uses of the 2 vs 3 polyrhythm. Here’s an example: Eighth Note Cymbal vs Eighth Note Triplet Independence Part One. In that article, I explored some uses of playing triplet ideas while maintaining the eighth note cymbal pattern, which I find exciting because I don’t hear the idea used often by drummers.

Working on things that are new and unexplored is exciting to me because one of my important goals as a drummer is to sound different from other drummers.

One criticism that I received after writing the article was that it was difficult to understand how the rhythms sound. My explanation was not sufficient. Hence, the words you are reading now.

I looked into the easiest explanation, and you’ll find it on the attached worksheet, which you can download as a PDF from the following link: “The Simplest Way to Explain 2 vs 3”

I hope this makes things easier.

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Mark Feldman

Mark Feldman is a professional drummer based in NYC. He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart. He's played with Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists. His band, LEVEL5, is releasing their debut, "The Sybil EP," on February 22nd, 2019. The EP features Oz Noy on guitar and Will Lee on bass.

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Latest posts by Mark Feldman (see all)

• The Ghost Note Groove System 1, Part 1 - November 4, 2018
• Top 5 Books for Drumming Career Advice - October 26, 2018
• Understanding Sixteenth Notes - October 18, 2018