Polyfill

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flickr:28120675898
hard.png
players.png ~3-3
time.png 10 min

Quick composition and an algorithm to apply. The result is a short rhythmic break from improvisation for three people.

Setup

Allot time signatures. Each Player choses among 7:4, 6:4 and 4:4, one for each — adjust the choice best to fit the skill level and preference of all three participants.

Compose the fill-in. There will be a recurring short theme in the piece. It should be of 3:4 length, should have a distinctive rhythm and is best to be played in rhythmic unison. Agree on the fill-in comfortable to play by all participants.

Compose your riff. Every player will have a repeating pattern in the allotted time signature. The riff should have a distinct strong sound at its last measure — it can be marked by timbre, number of compounds and/or register. When you have your riff, present it to other players so they can adjust their riffs how they prefer.

Tempo and starting method. It's the last thing to agree upon before playing. If you want to enter one by one, don't leave much space between the second and the third player. If you want to enter all at once, notice that there is no single time signature, so figure out counting-in beforehand.

Gameplay instructions

Players play a polyrhythmic pattern and every time when two players align with their strong sound they play the fill-in together before getting back to their riff.

With the aforementioned time signatures and when obeying the rules properly every pair of players should every now and then play the fill-in pattern in rhythmic unison.

For one-by-one entering method: If after some time you can't reach the end of the piece, the 7:4 player should add one fill-in played alone and everything else then continues as defined above.

Game end

Finish the piece when all players play the fill-in at the same time. Don't get back to your riffs after that.


Variants

To make a fill-in stand out more, you can agree to play it very differently than riffs. For example fill-in might be done vocally while all the rest is instrumental. This approach tends to add also a bit of comedic effect.



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