Peter Magadini's Polyrhythms is acclaimed the world over and has been hailed by Modern Drummer magazine as "by far the best book on the subject." Written for instrumentalists and vocalists alike, this book/CD pack contains excellent solos and exercises that feature polyrhythmic concepts. Topics covered 6 over 4, 5 over 4, 7 over 4, 3 over 4, 11 over 4, and other rhythmic ratios; combining various polyrhythms; polyrhythmic time signatures; and much more. The CD includes demos of the exercises. To purchase Peter Magadini's stand-alone CD Polyrhythm (different from the CD that accompanies this book), you can visit www.petermagadini.com.
This is a more advanced book for musicians. This book is a method designed to teach the creative musician and music student the art of playing polyrhythms. In simple it is "many rhythms" played simultaneously, or against each other. Polyrhythms can also be thought of as two different meters (time signatures) played against (or more accurately, with) each other.
There are three sections of the book: 1. 3 against 2 or 6 against 4(1 1/2 beats to 1 ratio)
2. 3 against 4 (3/4 beats to 1)
3. 5 against 4 (1 1/4 beats to 1)
Each section has polyrhythmic patterns, variant exercises, and solos.
The beauty of this is the student can practice without an instrument (clapping and counting), with percussion and drums, string and wind instruments, and the piano. This book is designed to facilitate rhythmic versatility and rhythmic thinking.
I still struggle with this book sometimes because of the attention to detail required when playing these challenging exercises. Overall a great book and would recommend it to an intermediate musician who can confidently read music. Thanks!