Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, and Hybrids

Euclidean, PolyRhythm,
PolyMeter, PolyTempo,
and Hybrids
Constructions, Comparisons, and Analyses
David Collett
Seattle, Washington
tangled.rhythms@gmail.com
© 2022, 2023 David S.Collett, v1.9

Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, and Hybrids
Constructions, Comparisons, and Analyses
David Collett
Seattle, Washington
tangled.rhythms@gmail.com
Introduction
In the rst half of 2022, Paul Barnard (4pockets) and I collaborated to greatly expand the AUv3 Euclidean AUv3
Sequencer (EucSeqiOS) app to include two new modes: PolyRhythm and PolyMeter. Together with Euclidean, these
three modes create a trio of multi-rhythm algorithms, capable of producing a wide range of complex rhythms that are
used across a wide range of styles: from pop, rock, and experimental to classical, jazz, and a wide range of world music.
In 2023, Paul and I once again collaborated to create the nal type of rhythm algorithm – PolyTempo, which opens a
window into another type of interesting multi-rhythms. The drifting rhythms can create extremely complex percussion
parts to slowly phasing ambient music.
In addition to adding the PolyTempo mode, this update introduces many additions which enable you to customize all
four modes of rhythms using accents, gating, repeats, and glitching – each with separate, advanced probability settings;
a random walk mode to create more melodic, rhythmic lines; a new graphic view that shows the polygon structure of
each rhythm, which makes it easier to see how the rhythms interact.
This paper is for anyone interested in an overview of some or all of these types of multi-rhythms. Learning more about
how they are constructed helps to better understand the resulting, often complex cross-rhythms and to expand your
listening acuity and enjoyment when composing with them.
Paul has already written an excellent manual inside EucSeqiOS, so this paper is not a tutorial for this or any other
program. Many references to Paul's app are given as needed to explain certain parameters related to timing. Although
the examples are adapted speci cally to take advantage of the many rhythm and timing parameters in EucSeqiOS, the
explanations, comparisons, terminology, formulas, and examples are general and useful for learning more about these
rhythms, with or without a computer app.
Additionally, this is not a formal, scienti c paper with rigorous proofs or complicated math. Instead, this is an informal
exploration of rhythms. Hundreds of books and technical papers explore the details of these rhythms. The purpose of
this paper is to give you a comprehensive introduction to many of these fascinating rhythms. Although a few formulas
are presented to help you understand and calculate various timings, examples are always included to show the
computations, which require only simple math.
In my teens and 20s, I was fascinated, both analytically and compositionally, by works of composers such as Cowell,
Ives, Carter, Nancarrow, Stockhausen, and Xenakis. This interest led to more explorations of di erent types of multi-
rhythms. When Paul released EucSeqiOS v1.0, my interest in these rhythms was rekindled. The result is this paper.
Any errors are my own, and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
I hope this article brings you a better understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of these complex rhythms.
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Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, PolyTempo, Hybrids © 2022, 2023 David S.Collett, v1.9 Page 1 of 83
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Table of Contents
Families of Rhythm – A Brief Overview 4
• Euclidean Rhythm and Maximal Evenness 5
• PolyRhythm 7
• PolyMeter 8
• PolyTempo, Phase Music, Hybrid Rhythms 9
Visual Representations 11
Euclidean, PolyRhythm, and PolyMeter – Comparison 12
A Closer Look
• Notation 13
• Euclidean 15
- But how does it translate into rhythm? 14
- Algorithm 1: Toussaint 16
- Is this a Euclidean rhythm – or not? 16
- Summing Euclidean rhythms 18
- Interesting cases of Apples + Oranges = Apples 18
- Algorithm 2: Simpli ed Bjorklund 19
- Rotations – Overview 21
- Why might we want to start on a silent step? 22
- Algorithm 3: Generalized computer program 23
- Euclidean Rhythms – Timing 24
- LCM – Rounding and computing 26
- Inversion 27
- Writing Euclidean rhythms on manuscript 27
- Aksak (Bulgarian) rhythms 29
- Euclidean strings and Euclidean rhythms 30
- Selected Euclidean rhythms 31
• PolyRhythm 32
- PolyRhythms – Timing 33
- Learning to hear and play 35
- The aural combination of polyrhythms 36
– Polyrhythms in Carnatic talas 38
• PolyMeter 43
- Euclidean and Polymeter – A Comparison 46
- Reverse and Ping Pong 47
- How do band speeds a ect rhythms? 48
• PolyTempo 49
• Phase (Shifted) Music 54
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Hybrid Rhythms
• Introduction 55
• Computing the number of possible sequences 56
• Ten popular African bell patterns 58
• Doudoumba African rhythm 59
• Inversions and Rotations 60
• Deepness
• Introduction 61
- Two classi cations of deepness: Winograd and Erdös 62
- What does this tell us, and how can we use this? 63
- How can we translate the concept of deepness from scales to rhythms? 64
- Is there a direct relationship among deep scales, deep rhythms, and Euclidean? 64
- Why is Winograd-deep often assigned to scales but not with rhythms? 64
• Generated deep rhythms 66
• Deep and Euclidean rhythms 67
• Chaotic rhythms 68
- Generating chaotic rhythms 68
• Comparisons of selected deep, Euclidean, and Chaotic rhythms 70
• A few generalizations about deep vs. Euclidean vs. chaotic rhythms 71
• Inverse (Complementary) chaotic rhythms 72
• Hybrid rhythms – Conclusion 73
Summary of Six Rhythm Types

• Euclidean 74
• PolyRhythm 74
• PolyMeter 75
• PolyTempo and Phase music 75
• Hybrid 76
• Deep scales, deep rhythms, chaotic rhythms, and inversions 76
Measuring the Evenness of Rhythms 77

• Areas of polygons 78
• Chordal distances and area 80
• Size of n and maximum evenness 81
Tangled Rhythms 82
Conclusion 83
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Families of Rhythm – A Brief Overview
Euclidean AUv3 Sequencer can work in one of three modes: Euclidean, PolyRhythm, or PolyMeter. The di erences
among the modes are the number of steps (pulses), the placement of events (notes), accent locations, note timing, time
signatures, and the cross-rhythms created when multiple bands are playing. These di erences produce noticeable and
unique rhythms that are distinctive to each mode.
Following a discussion of each of these, I discuss PolyTempo and Phase Music, which are important because they
embrace many concepts of the other modes yet o er a di erent approach and audible rhythmic di erences – from
coarse to extremely ne-grained multi-rhythms. Many rhythms in jazz, world, classical, and popular music use Euclidean,
PolyRhythm, and PolyMeter modes, whereas PolyTempo and Phase Music are generally used in more experimental,
ambient, tape-based, or computer music.
Following this is a section called Hybrid rhythms, a loose term for rhythms that use patterns outside the rules that
govern the other types. Almost all rhythms could be classi ed as subsets of hybrid rhythms, but I'll use this term
speci cally for those that don't t exactly into the strict de nition for the other types discussed in this paper.
This is an important category because thousands of rhythms used in world music may be close or derived from one of
the above rhythm modes but not t exactly. For example, there are 56 ways to arrange 5 notes among 8 beats – but only
8 of these patterns are Euclidean. Which ones? Why only 8? And what about the other 48 arrangements that are not
Euclidean? Some of these remain popular in world music and have been used for hundreds of years, but others not.
Also in this Hybrid section, I present an introduction to non-Euclidean rhythms, Winograd-deep and Erdös-deep
scales and rhythms, chaotic rhythms, inversions of rhythms, and nally two methods to measure the evenness of
rhythms. All of these are inextricably linked and often used in parallel or in sequence within compositions.
All types of rhythms can be used e ectively and musically with percussion (pitched or non-pitched), instruments (single
notes and chords), sound e ects, and even pads. Playing two, three, or four parts together, each playing di erent
instruments, can produce amazing cross-rhythms
Whereas there are many apps that produce only Euclidean rhythm, EucSeqiOS enables you to create all the above
families of rhythms (except for PolyTempo). The nearly limitless possible parameter combinations in EucSeqiOS make
these rhythms even more exible, musical, and interesting.
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Euclidean Rhythm
More than 2300 years ago, Euclid described a simple algorithm in his treatise Elements for computing the greatest
common divisor1 of two numbers. During the past several centuries, this algorithm has led to dozens of important
discoveries, including the process of subdividing n pulses (steps) into k events to create a sequence in which the events
are spaced as evenly as possible among the pulses. Such sequences are used today in widely diverse elds outside the
eld of music, such as spallation neutron source (SNS) accelerators in nuclear physics, Sturmian sequences in the study
of combinatorics, string theory to unite quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of relativity, Markov numbers, number
theory, drawing digital straight lines for computer graphics, calculating leap years for the Jewish calendars, and others.
And, of course, in music.
But for millennia preceding Euclid's mathematical algorithm, many of the world's cultures were using these Euclidean
rhythms, as well as others. Today, Euclidean rhythms remain popular in almost every music genre, including jazz,
classical, pop, rock, experimental, electronic, and world music. If you've ever heard Elvis Presley's Hound Dog,
Radiohead's Codex, Brubeck's Rondo a la Turk, you've heard Euclidean rhythms.
Maximal Evenness
The polygon view of the events wheel is often used to show the "time shape" of a
sequence, that is, how evenly or unevenly the events are spaced.
One of the key aspects of a Euclidean rhythm that distinguishes it from other types of
rhythms is that all Euclidean rhythm sequences are maximally even – the k notes
(events) are spaced as evenly as possible among the n evenly-spaced steps (pulses)
along a timeline or circle.
Of course, if the number of steps (k)is a multiple of the number of events (n),
the spacing will be even. But for less trivial (and far more interesting, non-symmetrical)
sequences, Euclidean rhythms, whether created by ear and culture or by algorithm, have
remained an important compositional and performance method for thousands of years.
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1
The greatest common divisor (GCD) of two numbers is the largest positive integer that can divide evenly into both of the two
numbers. For example, GCD(8,12)=4. More info about GCD and its relationship to Euclidean rhythms is below in the
Euclidean Rhythm section (p. 14).
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When using a Euclidean sequence, remember that every dot on a band (whether the dot
is brightly colored or dimmed) represents exactly one time unit. For example, if we have
a metronome set to quarter note = 60, then each step will be 1 second apart from the
next. If your sequence has 12 steps, it will complete one cycle in 12 seconds.
Looking at the events wheel to the right, every dot = 1 second (assuming the bpm=60),
Band A will take 5 seconds for one cycle (revolution), Band B: 7 seconds, Band C: 10
seconds, and Band D: 11 seconds. So although each hand of the wheel is moving at a
di erent speed (because every band has a di erent number of steps), each of those
dots represents one second.
Because Euclidean rhythms use evenly spaced units of time (but not necessarily evenly Events wheel
spaced events), the patterns are easy to clap or play on an instrument. For this reason, Above are four bands (A, B, C, D).
these types of rhythms have been and remain popular (and even de ning) in sub- Each bright dot represents one
event (note). Each dimmed dot
Saharan African, Cuban, Latin American, Persian, Rumanian, Bulgarian, Arab music and
represent a step without a note
many others. (silence).
Suppose you have two performers playing together, preferably on di erent instruments. You can see that Band A (red)
has 5 events and 3 events = E(3,5)
The rst plays the pattern E(3,8)1 while the other plays E(5,8)1. Or you could tap Band B (orange) = E(6,7)
your left and right hands. The result will be: Band C (green) = E(3,10)
Band D (aqua) = E(13,11)
Player 1 (or R hand): 🔴 ◌◌🔴 ◌◌ 🔴 ◌ Image courtesy of 4pockets
Player 2 (or L hand): 🔵 ◌ 🔵 🔵 ◌ 🔵 🔵 ◌
where 🔴 or 🔵 = a note (event), and ◌ = a silence
By using 3 or 4 parts, each with a di erent number of steps and events (and possibly di erent instruments) with at least
two people, you can create many fascinating cross-rhythms. Obviously, EucSeqiOS makes this process simple:
Band A: Steps = 8 Events = 3

Band B: Steps = 8 Events = 5
Euclidean rhythms, their properties, and notation are covered in more detail in A Closer Look section below.
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1
E(3,8) denotes a Euclidean rhythm constructed with 8 steps (pulses) and 3 events (notes). Similarly, E(5,8) also has 8 steps
but with 5 events (notes). Later in this paper, we explore this rhythm, variations of it, and dozens of other Euclidean rhythms, including
the construction and analyses.
How are these simple rhythms formed? As you'll see later, there are 56 possible ways to put 3 notes into 8 steps (or 5 notes into 8
steps). Why have these remained so popular? What happens when these rhythms are combined with others? What happens when they
are inverted or rotated? This paper will explore these and other Euclidean rhythms in detail to give you a better understanding and
appreciation of them.
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PolyRhythm
Whereas the events for Euclidean rhythm usually distributed non-symmetrically, the events for a PolyRhythm sequence
are always spaced symmetrically. Therefore, a polymetric sequence doesn't use steps. If there are 5 events on a band,
each will be spaced exactly 1/5th of the way around the band. All bands complete a full revolution in the same amount of
time.1 The nal speed of the events and a complete revolution is determined by the bpm, the band speeds, and the
global speed. To set every event so that one quarter note = 1 second, set the bpm=60, band speed=1.0x, and global
speed=4x (or a ratio of 2:2, or 4:1).
Also, default polymetric sequences don't use rotation because any rotation is identical to the original. However,
EucSeqiOS allows you to disable any events on a band as well as set di erent speeds on each band in order to create
even more variety in the cross-rhythms. As an example:
These four bands have their events Seven of the events have been In addition to the same seven
set to 7, 3, 5, and 2. All band turned o (dimmed) so they won't events turned o , each band is
speeds are equal, so all the hands play. The other ten events play now using a di erent speed. This
move together, and therefore nish every rotation. Notice how this increases the complexity even
one rotation at the same time. All increases the complexity of cross more because the pattern doesn't
17 events play every rotation. rhythms because the silences repeat every rotation. In this
(Images courtesy of 4pockets) interrupt the regular pulses. example, the red band needs to
rotate 6 times in order for all the
bands to align at the top again
(a full cycle).
How are Euclidean and PolyRhythm di erent? Remember that in a Euclidean sequence, every step takes exactly the
same amount of time, so the hands are rotating at di erent speeds. If Band A has 4 steps and B has 10 steps, then B is
playing each of its events at the same time as A, but B is rotating 10/4 = 2½ times faster around the wheel than is A.
Conversely, in a PolyRhythm sequence, every rotation for all bands takes the same amount of time; therefore, all hands
move at the same speed around the wheel.1 The cross-rhythms are generated using multiple bands. For the maximum
number of cross-rhythms among the bands, the number of events should not be divisible by any of the others, and prime
numbers are the best candidates. For the fewest cross-rhythms, use all (or mostly) numbers that are divisible by others.
For example 3-6-4-8 creates a 2-against-3 rhythm.
In addition, EucSeqiOS allows you to turn o some of the events on a band, which creates sequences that are hybrids of
both asymmetrical Euclidean and symmetrical PolyRhythm modes. But because the event speeds and rotation speeds
of the two modes are di erent, they each create their own, unique rhythms.
Later in this paper are more details about both of these modes and examples comparing similar sequences.
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1
This assumes that all band speeds are set to the same value.
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PolyMeter
This mode is quite di erent sounding than the other modes. Euclidean and PolyRhythm are "meter-less." By default,
the initial event is placed at the top of each band. However, in Euclidean, the hands play that top event at di erent times
because the hands are rotating at di erent speeds, and that top note is not accented. In PolyRhythm, all the hands play
the top events simultaneously (assuming all hands are set to the same band speeds) and create a stronger pulse at that
point (only because all four bands play that note at the same time), indicating that this is the rst count. However, there is
no sense of meter – is one rotation 3/4, 4/4, 7/8?
Conversely, in PolyMeter, all events on all bands use the same duration1, but each band can play using a di erent time
signature with a strong accent on the rst beat. A band of 3/4 will have three events (notes) equidistance from the others.
This causes each band to spin out of sync with other bands, coming back into an alignment (a complete cycle) after a
few or many revolutions. These "drifting" cross-rhythms enable you to create bands of metered measures that drift and
evolve over time.
The simple example below shows how using two meters (3/4 and 4/4) simultaneously creates a drift of meters. The X
represents the rst accented note of each measure; the . represents the other notes. You can see that, although every
event (note) is played at the same rate, it takes 4 measures of 3/4 and 3 measures of 4/4 for them to coincide, for a total
of 12 notes in each band. At this point, the sequence will repeat. Obviously, the more time signatures you use, especially
when the number of beats per measure are not multiples of any others, the longer a complete cycle takes, and the more
drifting cross-rhythms you will create.2
one
cycle
3/4: |X . . |X . . |X . . |X . . |X . . |X . . |X . . |X . . |X etc
4/4: |X . . . |X . . . |X . . . |X . . . |X . . . |X . . . |X etc
Every step in Euclidean and every event in PolyMeter is played using the same time unit; that is, if bpm=60, every event
will be played at one-second intervals. But because each band in PolyMeter may have a di erent time signature, the
bands are moving at di erent speeds. Every rotation in PolyRhythm takes the same amount of time and every note in
PolyMeter uses the same time unit (like Euclidean). Therefore, PolyMeter is a hybrid of both the other rhythm modes.
EucSeqiOS allows you to choose quarter notes, eighth notes, or eighth-note triplets independently for each of the
bands. In addition, you can turn o any event (notes); set speci c velocities (volumes) on di erent notes (or use
randomization); select among nine independent band speeds; and select from four global speeds. Coupled with setting
multiple time signatures and note types, the PolyMeter mode in EucSeqiOS enables you to create almost unlimited
variations in multi-rhythm sequences.
Later in this paper are more details and examples about PolyMeter.
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1
Using the default settings
2
In EucSeqiOS, the maximum number of revolution required for a band before one cycle is completed (all hands align, and the
sequence starts again): 990 revolutions (6,930 notes)! This is using four bands whose time signatures are set to 11/4, 10/4, 9/4,
and 7/4. Notice that none of these is a multiple of any other.
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PolyTempo, Phase Music, and Hybrid
PolyTempo is the fourth mode o ered in EucSeqiOS. Also referred to as multitemporal, polytempo techniques have
been used by many composers from the 1920s until today. Cowell, Ives, Carter, Stockhausen, Xenakis, Gann, Zappa and
others used multi-track tape recorders. Nancarrow created extremely complex multi temporal music using player piano
rolls. But today, because of the complexity of timing, these sequences are most commonly written for computers, which
can easily perform fractional counting.
PolyTempo is similar to PolyMeter, in terms of the drifting cross-rhythms over a long stretch of time. However, the drifting
rhythms in PolyMeter are created when the bands use di erent time signatures (such as using 2/4, 3/4, 5/4, and 11/4
together).
PolyTempo sequences (whether for 2, 3, 4, or more simultaneous parts), generally use the same time signature.
However, the drifting cross-rhythms in PolyTempo are created because every part uses a di erent metronome setting
(bpm), which, depending on the accuracy of the program, can be a nearly in nite number of combinations.
The following diagram illustrates the timing in PolyTempo. We have 2 parts playing: one at 5 bpm, the other at 4 bpm
(very slow for the sake of this example). At 5 bpm, every quarter note is spaced at exactly 60/5 = 12 seconds apart.
Similarly, at 4 bpm, every quarter note is 60/4 = 15 seconds apart.
So each part is playing a quarter note on the beat; but each part's beat length is di erent. Part A is playing 5 quarter
notes, and Part B playing 4 quarter notes. T indicates that they play together. How many seconds does it take them to
coincide again? It's the LCM(12,15)1 = 60 seconds. So every minute, the sequence repeats exactly. If this were to be
played much faster, you would hear a 5:4 pattern.
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1
LCM(a,b) is the Least Common Multiple: the smallest positive integer that is evenly divisible by both a and b.
For example, LCM(2,3)=6 and LCM(6,10)=30
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Phase music (rhythm phasing) is a subset of PolyTempo. The principal difference between the two is whereas polytempic
parts gradually and continuously drift out of sync then back into sync, the parts in phase music abruptly shift out of phase
with the other rhythm(s).
For example, the parts begin in sync and after so many measures or counts or seconds, one or more parts shift by an 8th
note, or quarter note, or perhaps by a certain number of seconds. Usually, these compositions are written so the parts
realign (return to phase) by the end of the composition.
You can can nd many recordings and articles about composers who have used phasing, most notably Steve Reich, Kyle
Gann, Terry Riley, Earle Brown, many 20th/21st century classical composers including Kyle Gann, Karlheinz
Stockhausen, György Ligeti, and Iannis Xenakis, Conlon Nancarrow, experimental artists, and many others.
Details and examples of Phase Music are in A Closer Look section.
Hybrid Rhythms are those types of rhythmic patterns that don't t into the strict de nition and analysis of the above
rhythm types. They may be similar to some of the above rhythm types or completely di erent. In this category are
hundreds of popular patterns that are used in jazz, classical, pop, rock, experimental, and have been an important part
of world music for hundreds of years.
Details and examples of Hybrid Rhythms are in A Closer Look section.
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Visual Representations
1
Unless the number of steps and band
speeds are identical among the bands
2
Unless the band speeds are identical
among the bands
3
Unless the time signatures and band
speeds are identical among the bands
Euclidean with four bands,
4 If S%E=0 (S mod E), then the events are
whose steps:events are 5:2, 6:3,
evenly distributed around the wheel.
7:4, 11:5. Notice that three of the
Otherwise {S%E≠0}, if there is an integer n
bands (red, orange, and blue)
have asymmetrical placement of such that n(S%E)=S, then the events are
evenly distributed. More concisely,
then the events are evenly distributed

around the wheel; otherwise, the events
are distributed unevenly as calculated from
the Euclidean algorithm, which results in a
pattern of events and rests that is
maximally even.
5
PolyRhythm with four bands, Always
whose events are set to 5, 6, 7, 6
If both S and E are even, then there is an
11 – the same number of steps in axis of symmetry; If S is odd, there is no
axis of symmetry; that is if (S%E)%2=0,
there is an axis of symmetry; if S%E≠0,
there is no axis of symmetry.
7
If E is odd, there is no axis of symmetry; if
E is even, there is.
8
If the time signature numerator is even,
there is an axis of symmetry; otherwise
not.
9
Except when the band speeds are
Polymeter with four time identical; the number of steps and/or
signatures: 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, and events does not a ect the timing between
11/4. All notes are placed steps
symmetrically and have the same 10
Except when the band speeds, time
time length. The top notes are signatures, and note types are identical
accented ( rst beat of every 11
Except when the band speeds and number
of steps are identical
12
cycle = when all hands align again at the
top
13
bpm, global speed, band speeds, and
number of steps. The number of events
does not a ect cycle time.
14
bpm, global speed, band speeds. The
number of events does not a ect cycle
time.
15
bpm, global speed, band speeds, and time
signature. The note type does not a ect
cycle time.
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Euclidean, PolyRhythm, and Polymeter – Comparison
A Closer Look
Notation
We de ne a Euclidean rhythm by two numbers, n and k
(and optionally by a third number r):
• n = the number of steps (pulses). Each step is one unit of time (which could be
seconds, minutes, measures, etc.)
• k = the number of events. Each event represents one note, and are placed on one of
the Steps.
Events wheel
• n-k = the number of silences. These are steps without an event (note) on them. Above are four bands (A, B, C, D).
• r (optional) = the number of rotations. This will be explained later. Each bright dot represents one
step (note). Each dimmed dot
represent a step without a note
The six most commonly used types of notation for Euclidean Rhythms are: (silence).
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You can see that Band A (red)
Events wheel1 (upper image) has 5 events and 3 events = E(3,5)
Band B (orange) = E(6,7)
1s and 0s 1001010 often shown as [1001010] Band C (green) = E(3,10)
Band D (aqua) = E(13,11)
1 = event (note) 0 = no event (silence)
X and dots X..X.X. often shown as [X..X.X.] Image courtesy of 4pockets
X=event (note). . = no event (silence)
Event positions {0,3,5}6 digits = clockwise position of events, 0 to n-1
subscript number = n
Distance2 (322) digits = clockwise distance in steps between consecutive events
Polygon (lower image)

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The Event position {0,2,3,5,6}8 is the position starting from step 0 of the Xs:
X . X X . X X .
{0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7}8
Notice that if you take the di erence between the successive step numbers of Xs
(that is, the distance in steps between the successive pairs of teal colored numbers), Events wheel with Polygon
you get the Distance notation (21212) = 2-0, 3-2, 5-3, 6-5, 8-7 Often a polygon connecting the
events is drawn to help visualize
the spacing of events.
Visually, an events wheel (having multiple bands) is the best way to view Euclidean
rhythms because it's easy to see when each note plays (or doesn't) and when the hands Additionally, it is also used in the
analysis of the degree of
on each band make a full revolution (the top dot of every band). A cycle is when all hands
evenness, the area, lines of
coincide at the top; then the sequence starts again. symmetry, rotations, etc.
Analytically, however, the last ve notations are used extensively.
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1
EucSeqiOS uses the terminology Events Wheel as the name shown in the image above. The wheel consists of 4 separate colored
bands (A, B, C, D). Each of these can hold its own, independent rhythmic sequence. Therefore, in this paper, the term band refers
to any one of these colored circles, whereas events wheel refers to the collection of all of them.
2
Toussaint and others have given this type of notation the overly complicated name:
Euclidean adjacent-inter-onset-duration-interval vector; so, I'll call it Distance.
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Abbreviated Distance
To shorten some of the Distance notation when there are repeated sequences of digits, we will notate them as ( )n
This can make the comparison of di erent sequences easier, especially when they have similar, repeated patterns.
For example, the Distance notation for E(7,11) is (21 21 21 2), which we can abbreviate as (21)3(2)
In X-dot notation: X.X X.X X.X X.
Example: here are all four notations for E(5,12):

1-0: 100101001010 X-dot: X..X.X..X.X. Event pos: {0,3,5,8,10}12 Distance: (32322)=(32)2(2)
sum=n=12
Example: here are all four notations for E(7,13):
1-0: 1011010101010 X-dot: X.XX.X.X.X.X. Event pos: {0,2,3,5,7,9,11}13 Distance: (2122222)=(21)(2)5
sum=n=13
Rotation notation:
When discussing rotations, the notation E(k,n,+r)denotes a clockwise rotation of r steps.
For example, E(5,8,+2)indicates that we have rotated the E(5,8)pattern clockwise by 2 steps.
This will be covered in the Rotations section below.
0 0 0 1
1
2 2
E(5,8) E(5,8,+2) E(5,8,+3)

= X.XX.XX. = X.X.XX.X = XX.X.XX.
= {0,2,3,5,6}8 = {0,2,4,5,7}8 = {0,1,3,5,6}8
= (21212) = (22121) = (12212)
The vertices of the yellow polygons touch the events and help to show the clockwise rotation by 0, 2, and 3 steps.
Multi-Rhythm Types
In this paper, we discuss ve rhythm types and will abbreviate them as:
E(k,n) Euclidean where n = number of steps, k = number of events

R(e1,e2,e3,e4) PolyRhythm where ei = number of events on each band
M(t1,t2,t3,t4) PolyMeter where ti = numerator of time signature on each band: ti/4
T(m1,m2,m3,m4) PolyTempo where mi = metronome speed (bpm) for a quarter note: ♩= mi
H( pi ) Hybrid Rhythm the parameters pi will depend on the type of hybrid rhythm we are using
Other Notation
A few other notations will be presented as necessary. A few math symbols will appear to make the formulas more
concise, but explanations and examples will follow. Any math involved is basic.
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Euclidean Rhythm
In about 300 B.C., the famous mathematician described a simple way to nd the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two
numbers, that is, the smallest number that can divide both numbers evenly with no remainder. For example, the
GCD(20,15) = 5 because 5 is the largest number that can divide both 15 and 20 evenly with no remainder.
It certainly isn't necessary to use Euclid's GCD method to construct Euclidean rhythms, but a brief understanding of it
will help you not only to see how the method works but also to understand why the method of rhythm was inspired by
and named after Euclid's simple algorithm.
To easily nd the GCD of any two numbers, divide the largest by the smallest and write down the remainder. This
remainder now becomes the smallest, and the previous smallest now becomes the largest. Repeat this process until you
have a remainder of 0. For example:
GCD(5,8): 8/5 has remainder = 3 → 5/3 R = 2 → 3/2 R = 1 → 2/1 R = 0

We stop when the remainder is 0. The GCD is the previous remainder. In this example, GCD(5,8)=1 because
1 is the largest value that can divide both 5 and 8.
Therefore, GCD(5,8) = GCD(3,5) = GCD(2,3) = GCD(1,2) = GCD(1,0)
The following recursive algorithm computes gcd(k,n) for n>k:
gcd(k,n): As this loops for gcd(5,8), these calls will be made:

if k=0
gcd(5,8) → gcd(3,5) → gcd(2,3) → gcd(1,2) → gcd(0,1)
return n
else gcd(n%k,k) which are the same as we found above. (% = mod = remainder)
But how does this translate to rhythm?

In 2003, E. Bjorklund wrote an article for Los Alamos National Laboratory. The paper wasn't about rhythm or even music
in general. His goal was to devise an algorithm that would insert k events among n time interval steps (such as beats or
seconds) as evenly as possible, where 0 ≤ k ≤ n. Because we have k events, we will have n-k empty steps.
Bjorklund found an easy method, using Euclid's simple GCD algorithm from over 2300 years ago. He was researching
spallation neutron source (SNS) accelerators used in nuclear physics and needed to nd a way to map k pulses as
evenly as possible onto n time intervals.
In 2004, the year after Bjorkland wrote his paper, Godfried Toussaint used the same algorithm, this time applying it to a
single stream (one "voice") of notes and silences. He was researching single-line rhythms used around the world that
have become de ning rhythms of di erent cultures. For example, 8 steps with 3 events results in one of the most
famous rhythms – the Cuban tresillo, often called the habanera. This rhythm has been widely used over the years in pop,
rock, West African music, and many others. Using the notation described below, Toussaint matched various single-line
rhythmic patterns with the names and countries where they either originated or are most widely used.
Suppose you have 8 steps (it could be 8 beats in a measure, or 8 seconds, or any other unit of time), and we want to
place 5 events (notes) as evenly spaced as possible onto those 8 steps. Because we have 5 events and 8 steps, we will
have 8-5 = 3 steps without an event (a silence, a rest).
To make this notation easy, mark each event (note) with an X and each rest with a dot ( . ) What's the best placement of
these 5 notes ( XXXXX ) and 3 rests ( . . . ) to achieve the most evenly spaced distribution?
Is it X.X.XX.X or XXX.X..X or XX.XX..X ?
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Algorithm 1: Touissant
This algorithm is easy to do by hand, taking just a few steps to obtain an optimal spacing for n pulses (steps)
with k events (notes) and n-k rests:
1. We will nd the sequence for E(5,8) [n=8 steps with k=5 events and n-k=3 rests]
Write k=5 Xs (events), followed by n-k = 8-5 = 3 dots (.)(silences): X X X X X . . .
2. Starting on the far right side (the rightmost dot) and moving to the left, move one dot after every X (starting at the
far left of the Xs) until every X has a dot, or until you run out of dots: X.X.X. X X
We have only 3 . but 5 Xs, so the 2 Xs are the remainder.
3. We now have 2 groups: three X. elements, and the remaining two X elements
4. Move one of the remaining Xs after every X. until every X.has an X , or until you run out of Xs:
X.X X.X , and we have one X. as our remainder.
5. We now have two groups: the rst group of two elements: X.X X.X
and the remaining group of one element: X.
6. If the remaining group now has zero or one element (such as X.), which ours does, go to Step 7;
otherwise, repeat the above process again: Move elements from the last group into the rst, always starting on
the far right side moving to the left, until you have only one or zero groups as a remainder.
7. When you reach this point, the result is a Euclidean rhythm that has the notes (X) and rests (.) optimally
distributed. Now write it as a single string: X.XX.XX.
Therefore, E(5,8) = X.XX.XX. = 10110110 = {0,2,3,5,6}8 = (21212)
Notice above that we rst had: a group of 3 X. (in Step 2),

then a group of 2 X (in Step 3),
then a group of 1 X. (in Step 5).
These are exactly the remainders that we calculated above for the GCD(5,8) on the previous page.
Is this a Euclidean Rhythm – or not?

As you see from using the algorithm above (or the Bjorklund algorithm below), the k events (notes) are always distributed
as evenly as possible among the n steps. For this reason, the absolute di erence between each pair of event distances
can never be more than 1; otherwise, it is not a Euclidean rhythm.
Another way to say this: if the maximum distance between events – minimum distance between events >1, it is not a
Euclidean rhythm. This is easiest to see using the Distance notation:
For example: 100010110 =(4121)is not a Euclidean rhythm because the di erence between one or more of the pairs
of distances >1, for example: |4-2|=2, |4-1|=3.
Similarly, 10011001=(3131) is not Euclidean because the max distance (3) minus the min distance (1) > 1.
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Example: E(7,17)
Find the Euclidean sequence for 17 steps with 7 events:
Below, 1 and 0 will be used instead of X and . to make the movement of the colors easier to see.
E(7,17)will require 7 events (1) and 17-7=10 rests(0).
We start with this: And this is our remainder:
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 transfer 7 0 after each of the 1s
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 transfer remaining 3 0 to first 3 1s
100 100 100 10 10 10 10 transfer 2 of the 10
10010 10010 10 10 transfer 2 of the 10 again
1001010 1001010 10 only 1 group remaining: Stop!
E(7,17) = 10010 10010 10010 101

= X..X. X..X. X..X. X.
= {0, 3, 4, 8, 10,13, 15}17
= (3232322) = (32)3(2)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 As explained, when there is only one or zero remaining group, you have nished (colored purple above). However, be aware that
some authors append that last, single group to the rst group. In the example above, they might move the single, remaining group of
10 to the end of the rst group, creating: 1001010 10010 10010
Is this wrong? No, but it's completely unnecessary. Moving the single, remaining group 10 to the rst group simply creates a
clockwise rotation of 7 steps compared with the "standard" one we created above; that is:
1001010 10010 10010 = E(7,17,+7) (see the section "Rotations" below for a more detailed explanation)
Therefore, you should stop when you have zero or one group as the remainder. This arrangement is optimal with no rotations applied,
and will be the form you'll nd in most books and papers written on Euclidean sequences.
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Summing Euclidean Rhythms
When two or more sequences are played together, the resulting rhythm can often be more complex than either of them
separately. For example, suppose we play E(2,7) with E(3,7), where both have the same number of steps:
E(2,7) : X..X... (34)

E(3,7) : X.X.X.. (223)
Together: X.XXX.. (2113) which is a di erent rhythm
When the number of steps is di erent in each sequence, the resulting rhythm can evolve. For example, suppose we play
E(3,7) with E(4,9). The number of steps and events are di erent.
E(3,7) : X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..| etc.

E(4,9) : X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..X.X.X.X..| etc.
Together: X.X.X.XX.X.X.XXXX.X.XXXXXX.XXXXXXX.XXXXXX.X.XXXX.X.X.XX.X.X.X..
Notice that the sequence for E(3,7) (marked in alternating blue and pink) needs to repeat a total of 9 times before both
sequences align again. This is a total of 9*7=63 steps. Similarly, E(4,9) (marked in alternating green and yellow) needs
to repeat a total of 7 times before the two sequences align. It also plays 7*9=63 steps.
In general, it will take LCM(steps in A, steps in B) steps for the two sequences to complete one cycle, at which
point both hands will align, and the pattern will repeat.
The Interesting Cases of: Apples + Oranges = Apples

Sometimes, the combination of two or more di erent sequences can result in the same cross-rhythms:
E(4,5) x.xxx E(4,5) x.xxx E(4,5) x.xxx

E(1,5) x.... E(3,5) x.x.x E(2,5) x.x..
= x.xxx = x.xxx = x.xxx all three results are the same
= (2111) = (2111) = (2111) using the Distance notation
Sometimes, the combination of two or more di erent sequences can be the same as one of the others:
E(2,9) x...x....
E(4,9) x.x.x.x..
= x.x.x.x.. the result is the same as E(4,9)
= (2222)
But in which cases? Using only the E(k,n) notation for the two Euclidean sequences won't indicate whether or not
one combination is identical to another, or if the combination is identical to one of the two. You need to work out the
rhythms as shown above in order to know. Once you do, the Distance notation is the easiest way to compare them.
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Algorithm 2: Simpli ed Bjorklund
Some people prefer this method because it is more visual and easy to do. Instead of using rows, the k events and
n-k silences are arranged in columns.
In 2003, E. Bjorklund1 described an algorithm for generating Euclidean sequences. He wrote this not for music but for
neutron beam timing systems. However, the process can be greatly simpli ed as shown below and is fast to do.
This example is for E(7,17), as we did above.
Example: E(7,17) = 7 events, 17 steps, 10 silences 1111111 0000000000
Step 1: Write 7 1s followed by 17-7 = 10 0s

1111111
0000000 000
Step 2: Starting on the right side of the 0s,
transfer as many 0s as possible to go under the 1s 111 1111
(in this case, you can transfer 7 0s). We have 3 0s leftover: 000 0000
000
Step 3: Continue this process until you have placed all the 0s:
111 1
000 0
000
Step 4: The rst 3 columns each have 3 rows, but the last 4 columns have 111
only 2 rows, so these become our remainder. 000
Transfer as many of them as possible (3 in this case) with one
column ( of 10) remaining. 111 1 (1 col left)
000 0
If only zero or one column remains, go to Step 5. 000
Otherwise, repeat this step. 111
000
Step 5: Concatenate the columns into one row, starting from the left: 10010 10010 10010 10
It's easier to see the events (notes) and rests by replacing the 1s with Xs, and the 0s with dots ( . ):
E(7,17) = 10010 10010 10010 10 = X..X. X..X. X..X. X. = {0,3,5,8,10,13,15}17, (3232322)

See the Notation section above for a description of these.
You have now constructed the Euclidean rhythm E(7,17) in which the k=7 events(X)are spaced as evenly as
possible among the n=17 steps (pulses), with n-k = 17-7 = 10 silences (.)
The Toussaint and this simpli ed Bjorklund algorithm are both fast and easy once you've done them a few times.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 E. Bjorklund, The theory of rep-rate pattern generation in the SNS timing system, SNS ASD Technical Note SNS-NOTE-CNTRL-99,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA, 2003.
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Example: E(13,17)
Find the Euclidean sequence for 17 steps with 13 events:
Below, 1 and 0 will be used instead of X and . to make the movement of the colors easier to see.
E(13,17)will require 13 events (1) and 17-13=4 rests(0).
We start with this: And this is our remainder:
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 only 1 group remaining: You're done!
E(13,17) = 1011 1011 1011 1011 1

= X.XX X.XX X.XX X.XX X
= {0,2,3,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,14,15,16}17
= (211 211 211 211 1) = (211)4(1)
Example: E(11,27)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0
1
0
E(11,27) = 10010 10010 10010 10010 10010 10

= X..X. X..X. X..X. X..X. X..X. X.
= {0,3,5,8,10,13,15,18,20,23, 25}27
= (32 32 32 32 32 2) = (32)5(2)
Rotations – Overview
Above, we calculated that E(7,17)= X..X.X..X.X..X.X. = (3232322)
To rotate this pattern clockwise by one step (+1), move the last object (X or .) from the right end (the red dot above)
to the left end. Here is the rst rotation, which we will notate as: E(7,17,+1)= .X..X.X..X.X..X.X You can see that:
E(7,17,0) = X..X. X..X. X..X.X.

E(7,17,+1) = . X..X. X..X. X..X.X
E(7,17,+2) = X. X..X. X..X. X..X.

E(7,17,+3) = . X. X..X. X..X. X..X
If you clap or tap the rhythm above with nothing else playing, the listener will hear the sequence starting from the rst
clap; that is, if one or more rests (.) begin the sequence, the listener won't hear these, so the sequence hasn't really
started for the listener yet. E(7,17,+1) starts with a single rest (silence). But the listener hears the sequence when you
start clapping the X.. To a listener, a rotation of +1 will sound identical to no rotation at all.
Below are all possible rotations of E(7,17)1. Notice that, with nothing else playing, the rotation for +1 will sound identical
to the original; the +3 rotation sounds the same as the +2; the +5 and +6 rotations both start with silences, so they will
sound identical to +4.
E(7,17,+0) = X..X. X..X. X..X. X. original

E(7,17,+1) = . X..X. X..X. X..X. X sounds the same as +0 (the original)
E(7,17,+2) = X. X..X. X..X. X..X.
E(7,17,+3) = . X. X..X. X..X. X..X sounds the same as +2
E(7,17,+4) = X. X. X..X. X..X. X..
E(7,17,+5) = . X. X. X..X. X..X. X. sounds the same as +4
E(7,17,+6) = .. X. X. X..X. X..X. X sounds the same as +4
Requiring a rotation to start on an event

Some apps and analysis always begin a rotation on an event. If so, then there will be only k-1 possible rotations.
For example, E(3,7) = X..X.X. = (322). From this Distance notation, it's easy to see that there can be only
k-1=2 possible rotations: +1:(232) and +2:(223). One more rotation puts us back where we started: (322).
The Distance notation always shows us exactly how many events are in a sequence and the number of rotations
necessary to go to the next event. For example,(211) shows that this sequence has 3 events(X.XX). To start on the
event on the right (the red 1), rotate 1 step clockwise (move the 1 to the left side): 121 If we have the sequence
E(4,15)=(4443)and wanted to start the sequence on the blue 4, add the numbers from right-to-left,
including the 4: (3+4+4=11), so we would rotate clockwise 11 steps, notated E(4,15,+11).
EucSeqiOS allows all n-1 rotations, which enables us to select any of the steps, whether the step is an event or a
silence. The next section discusses rotation using multiple bands.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
To optimize the randomization function, some Euclidean sequences in EucSeqiOS begin on a di erent rotation than generated
by the Toussaint or Bjorklund algorithms shown above, but the sequences are identical. This app selects one of the n-1 possible
rotations that starts on an event (X). However, when EucSeqiOS is set to Rotation=0, some of the sequences display a di erent
rotation than a 0-rotation used by these algorithms.
For example, the sequence E(7,17)above is X..X.X..X.X..X.X. = (3232322) but, when EucSeqiOS is set to Rotation=0,
the sequence starts with X.X.X..X.X..X.X.. = (2232323) = E(7,17,+13); that is, we need to rotate all
the blue steps to the left, starting from the right side. That is a total of 3+2+3+2+3 = 13.
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Why might we want to start on a silent step?
It would be unusual for any single rhythm such as the above to be played, by itself, for an extended period. Generally,
the rhythm will be the pulse that helps to de ne the meter (2/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc.), where (in time) each measure begins,
and the speed of each measure. Usually, other percussive instruments, melodic instruments, and/or vocals create
layers of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements which further de ne the rhythm.
Suppose we play a song with a well-de ned percussion part and one or more melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic parts. We
can usually hear where the rst beat of every measure is located, the meter, and the speed of each measure.
Suppose we start only with an a cappella voice part. You'll usually hear where the measures start and then expect the
percussion to be in sync. But what if the percussion that usually de nes beat 1 is delayed by 1 step? It would o set our
expectations because we would now hear the voice and know where its measures start, and we can also hear the
percussion measures – but they don't coincide. Now imagine that a 3rd and 4th instrument joined in, perhaps with their
parts also shifted by di erent number of steps.
This is exactly what rotation in EucSeqiOS o ers. Looking back at the six rotations we wrote for E(7,17) and assuming
that we have other percussion or instrument parts playing with it, we can now hear a di erence when our original
Euclidean track is o set (rotated) by +1, +2,... beats.
Rotations alter the character of the rhythm because every rotation creates a slightly di erent relationship in time with the
other beats. With two or more Euclidean sequences and rotations, you can create many di erent cross-rhythms. The
less symmetric a Euclidean sequence is, the greater the number of rotations that sound di erent from one another.
For example, E(5,10) = X.X.X.X.X. has only one (+1) rotation – any higher rotations will sound identical to either the
original or the rst rotation.
Compare that to E(5,13) = X..X.X..X.X.. This Euclidean sequence can be rotated +1, +2, +3, ..., +12 , and each
of them won't repeat with respect to the rst beat of the measure!
The Euclidean algorithm attempts to space the number of notes (events) as evenly as possible among the number of
steps. The more "uneven" this division is, the more variety you can obtain through rotations.
EucSeqiOS allows from 0 to 32 rotations.1 However, there is no point in using rotations (R) greater than S-1
(where S is the number of steps) because they would just repeat the previous rotations. For example, if you have a
sequence with 5 steps, you can rotate 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4. If you rotate it to 5, 10, 15, 20..., it will be identical to 0. If you
rotate it to 6, 11, 16,..., it will be identical to 1, etc. So, whatever number of Steps (S) you choose, you can rotate it from
0 to S-1; anything higher will be repeated.
In general, if n is the rotation value you have set, then:
Ex: if S=5 steps, then R(5) = R(5 mod 5) = R(0); R(6) = R(6 mod 5) = R(1); R(7) = R(7 mod 5) = R(2); etc.
if S=8 steps, then R(27) = R(27 mod 8) = R(3); R(31) = R(31 mod 8) = R(7); etc.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
Some Euclidean sequencers allow reverse (negative) rotations, but this is unnecessary because any reverse rotation (rev)
can be achieved by a forward (positive) rotation (fwd):
If S is the number of Steps, then:
Ex: if S=16, a reverse setting of 12 is the same as a forward setting of 4 (16-12)
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Algorithm 3: Generalized Computer Program
This algorithm is e cient because a marker advances through the array seq[ ] by k steps.
When the marker ≥ n, we jump back n spaces, continuing this process until we have looped n times.
Every time the marker ≥ n, we put a 1 (to indicate an event); otherwise, a 0 (to indicate a silence).
This optimally distributes the k events among the n steps.
For example, using the E(3,5)sequence, the marker jumps through the array (indexed 0–4) using these positions:
0, 3, 6->1, 4, 7->2
i = 0 1 2 3 4
value = 0 1 0 1 0 which is E(3,5,+1)
euclid(k,n):
seq = [] \\ empty array for our E(k,n) sequence
marker = 0 \\ jumps forwards & back through sequence
\\ by k to hit each index # of sequence
for i=0 to n-1; i++
marker = marker + k
if marker ≥ n \\ marker out of array bounds; jump back n spaces
marker = marker - n
seq[i] = 1 \\ put an event (1) here
else
seq[i] = 0 \\ put a silence (0) here
For E(3,5), this generates the sequence 0 1 0 1 1 . X . X X
But when generated by either the Toussaint or Bjorklund algorithms, it was: X . X . X
You can see that the rst one is simply a rotation of r+1
If you move (rotate) the X to the left end, you get the same sequence X . X . X
as the Toussaint or Bjorklund algorithms.
We can solve this easily by the following function rotate that takes as input the seq[ ] array we generated above, and
outputs a new, rotated array which we'll name rotSeq[ ]. We will pass in a rotation value of 1 so that our sequence
starts on an event rather than on a silence.
rotate(seq, rotSteps):
rotSeq = [ ] \\ array of length of seq, in our case n=5
offset = seq.len - rotSteps
for i=0 to seq.len - 1
rotSeq[i] = seq[(i+offset) % seq.len]
This will rotate our original sequence by moving the value from
seq[4] to rotSeq[0]
seq[0] to rotSeq[1]
seq[1] to rotSeq[2]
etc.
The algorithm presented above (and several variations) are the most common in applications and analysis.
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Euclidean Rhythms – Timing
As shown above, in Euclidean sequences, every step on a band is equidistance from the next step, every step takes the
same amount of time in all bands, and the time for one cycle is determined by the number of steps and the bpm.1
The number of events do not a ect the timing.
For example, suppose we have two bands: A has 3 steps, and B has 5 steps. Also suppose that we have bpm=60;
therefore, each step will take exactly one second. Band A will take 3 seconds (one for each step) to rotate once around,
whereas Band B requires 5 seconds for one rotation, so the hands are moving around the bands at di erent speeds.
How many revolutions of each band are required for both hands to align again at the top and start the cycle again?
What is the total time for one revolution on the wheel for each band?
How many events in total will each band play for one cycle?
These are all easy to calculate using the following formulas. In general, for any bpm:
vi = band speed adjustment

xi = number of steps for band i
bi = band speed for band i
L = total number of steps on each band in one cycle
ri = number of revs for band i in one cycle
q = number of seconds per beat (# sec per quarter note)
m = metronome setting (in bpm)
ci = number of events played by band i in one cycle
ei = number of events for band i
E = total number events played by all bands in one cycle
T = total time for one cycle (in seconds)
g = global speed
B = total number of beats (per the metronome)
See the example on the next page for 2 bands.
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1
In addition to bpm, EucSeqiOS has two other parameters that can a ect the timing:
a Band Speed control for each of the four bands, and a Global Speed control.
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Example using 2 bands:
vi = band speed adjustment

xi = number of steps for band i
bi = band speed for band i
L = total number of steps on each band in one cycle
ri = number of revs for band i in one cycle
q = number of seconds per beat (# sec per quarter note)
m = metronome setting (in bpm)
ci = number of events played by band i in one cycle
ei = number of events for band i
E = total number events played by all bands in one cycle
T = total time for one cycle (in seconds)
g = global speed
B = total number of beats (per the metronome)
See the next page for calculating LCM with decimal numbers
Summary:
• Band A has 5 Steps, 4 Events, with Band Speed 2x
• Band B has 4 Steps, 3 Events, with Band Speed 0.25x
• Global Speed = 2.0x, m = 90 (BPM)
• We found that each band will need to play 80 steps for a complete cycle (when the hands meet again).
• This will be 32 revs for Band A, and 5 revs for Band B.
• Every quarter note (metronome) takes 0.666... seconds.
• Band A will play a total of 320 events in one cycle; Band B will play 240. Together, they will play 520 events per cycle.
• The total number of seconds for one complete cycle is 26.666... seconds.
• The total number of beats (per the metronome) is 40.
LCM and rounding errors
When calculating the Least Common Multiple of numbers that have decimal places, rounding the accuracy is usually
necessary. For example, suppose you needed to nd LCM(0.963081861..., 1.0398613518...)
Because the decimal part is extremely long, we have to decide to what accuracy we want our nal results in terms of
total time, number of beats, number of measures, etc.
Regard of the number of decimal places we choose, our nal results will still be only an estimate.
For example, suppose we want to round the above values to 6 places: 0.963082 and B to 1.039861.
Now LCM(0.963082, 1.039861) ≅ 1001471, and if we are calculating the total number of seconds, this piece
would require will require a staggering performance time of 11 days, 14 hours, 11 minutes, and 11 seconds for all bands
to complete one cycle (when all hands align at the top) – to 6 decimal places of accuracy.
Realistically, however, nobody would be able to hear whether a piece ends exactly at 2 min 31.326184 sec
or 2 min 31.326187 sec. In fact, even one second is, in most cases, close enough accuracy.
Therefore, unless you're composing a piece that requires more accuracy, rounding the decimal to at most one decimal
place should be su cient.
How to compute LCM of decimal numbers

1. First, as discussed above, determine how accurate (in terms of seconds, measures, beats, etc.) you need to be.
2. Suppose you have decided that accuracy to one decimal point is close enough. Then set n=1.
For two decimal-point accuracy, set n=2. If you want to round o to the nearest integer, set n=0.
3. Round all the values to the nearest 1/10n

Ex: If n=2, 1.867052... ⇨ 1.87
Ex: If n=1, 1.867052... ⇨ 1.9
Ex: If n=0, 1.867052... ⇨ 2
4. Then multiply these values by 10n to eliminate the decimals. Now you have whole numbers.
Ex: If n=2, 1.87 x 102 ⇨ 187
Ex: If n=1, 1.9 x 101 ⇨ 19
Ex: If n=0, 2 x 100 ⇨ 2
5. Compute the LCM using these whole numbers
6. Finally, divide the result by 10n
Example: Suppose we wanted to nd the LCM of 1.3872 and 0.6381, rounded to one decimal of accuracy (n=1):
1. Round both numbers to 1.4 and 0.6
2. Multiply each of them by 101: 14, 6
3. Compute LCM(14,6) = 42
4. Divide this by 101: 4.2 is the LCM of 1.3872 and 0.6381, rounded to one decimal of accuracy
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Inversion
In addition to rotating a sequence from 1 to n-1 steps, we can also invert1 the distances. For example, suppose we have
the Euclidean sequence: E(5,8)=10110110. Simply ip all the 1s to 0s, and 0s to 1s: EI(5,8)=01001001
We will denote the inverse of E using EI.
But why would we want to invert a sequence? Alternating between a sequence and its inversion is compositionally
interesting because the same overall feel and cross-rhythms are present so it sounds closely related; that is, it " ts" with
the original sequence. Some popular rhythms, particularly some traditional African rhythms are, in fact inverses of others.
Suppose we want to invert E(5,12). We rst write it as 10010 10010 10, then ip every digit: 01101 01101 01
But there's an easier way to nd the inversion:
The inverse of any E(k,n)sequence is E(n-k,n,+(n-1)). For this example,

the inverse of E(5,12) = E(7,12,+11); that is, simply nd E(7,12), rotate
it 11 steps clockwise, and this is the same as the inverse of E(5,12).
Assuming that the original sequence begins on an event, then its inversion will start on a silence. If you want it to start on
an event, you need to rotate it as we have done above.
Some rotations and reversals have associated Euclidean strings; others do not. Quite often, a rotation of a Euclidean
(or non-Euclidean) sequence is a popular rhythm whereas the original is not.
Rotations, inversions, reversals, and Euclidean strings, when used at the same time as, or alternating with, the
original sequence can produce rhythms which are di erent yet strongly related and complementary to the original. This
can add a lot of rhythmic variety while preserving the cohesion of the original rhythm.
Also see the section below, Euclidean Strings and their relationship to Euclidean Rhythm.
Writing Euclidean Rhythms on Manuscript

Should you want to write Euclidean rhythms (or any of the other types of rhythms discussed in this paper) as standard
music notation, it's easiest if you rst write the sequence in the Distance notation. Using a Euclidean rhythm in which
n is one of the standard subdivisions of notes, such as 8, 16, 32 (for 8th, 16th, and 32nd notes), or 6, 12, 24 (for quarter
triplets, 8th triplets, 16th triplets) will make dividing the notes much easier. Of course, you can set n to any value you
want; it just becomes more di cult to subdivide a measure into 11, 19, or 31 notes.
As an example, suppose we create the sequence E(7,16) in EucSeqiOS. Each 16th note = 1 step in our sequence.
The Distance notation for E(7,16)=(3223222),

so we need a note length equal to three 16th
notes (= dotted 8th), followed by an 8th note,
another 8th note, a dotted 8th again, etc.
At the top is the conventional way it would be

written, followed by another way that some
musicians prefer, where each note's length can
be easily seen.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Some texts discuss a reversed (backwards, retrograde) sequence (that is, if you had 211 --> 112 ) and improperly name it
inversion. However, in this text, I make a distinction between a reversed sequence, and one that is inverted, as explained above.
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Example: E(3,8) and E(5,8)
E(3,8) = X..X..X. = (332)
This simple rhythm, introduced on page 6, is the tresillo (Spanish for triplet ). It remains a fundamental rhythm in Cuban,
Latin American, sub-Saharan African, Greek, and Indian music, as well as in jazz, hip hop, classical, and pop music
worldwide. Finally, this is a pseudo-aksak rhythm (see the next section)
If you invert each of the notes and rests of X..X..X. you get .XX.XX.X. Rotate that clockwise by 2 steps to get:
E(5,8) = X.XX.XX. = (21212)
Because this pattern has eight steps and ve notes, you can rotate it seven times (the eighth rotation brings you back to
the original). To start on a note rather than a rest, there are four di erent starting notes:
21212 22121 12212 21221 12122

E(5,8) E(5,8,+2) E(5,8,+3) E(5,8,+5) E(5,8,+6)
When played without rotation: X.XX.XX. = (21212) = E(5,8)

it is called the Cuban cinquillo,
the Egyptian Malfuf rhythm,
and the Korean Nong P’yoˇn drum pattern.
When started on the 2nd note (rotation 6): XX.XX.X. = (12122) = E(5,8,+6)
it is a popular rhythm in the Middle East,
Senegal (the Timini rhythm),
Benin (the Adzogbo dance rhythm),
the Spanish tango, and others.
When started on the third note (rotation 5): X.XX.X.X = (21221) = E(5,8,+5)
it is the Müsemmen rhythm in Turkey.
When started on the fourth note (rotation 3): XX.X.XX. = (12212) = E(5,8,+3)
it is the Kromanti rhythm of Suriname.
Double Tresillo
If we take a regular tresillo (332) and duplicate each of its rhythm durations in place, we get (33 33 22),
appropriately called the double tresillo. This has 6 events and 16 steps. In 4/4, the syncopation is:
4/4: X . . X . . X . . X . . X . X .
X X X X
Is this a Euclidean rhythm? No, because E(6,16) = X..X.X.. X..X.X.. = (323 323),
and no rotation of (323323) can get you to (333322).
So, what is this rhythm? What about so many other rhythms that may be close to Euclidean that are used in Cuban,
African, Asian, Indian music, as well as in jazz, classical, rock, pop, and experimental music? These are part of an overly
broad category of Hybrid rhythms, which will be explored later in this paper.
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Aksak (Bulgarian) Rhythms
These is a special type of rhythm where all the distances between events are 2 or 3. Many (but not all) popular aksak
rhythms are also Euclidean rhythms. Bartok, who composed with these rhythms extensively, used the term Bulgarian
rhythms (even though he was born in Hungary), whereas the composer Constantin Brǎiloiu (Romania) named these
aksak rhythms (a term borrowed from Turkish music theory). In 1951, Brǎiloiu published the article, Le Rythme Aksak1 in
which he explained the construction, then counted and diagrammed all possible aksak patterns using 4–9 notes. His
total was 1,472, but obviously only a small subset of these were or are still in use. In 2004, S. Arom2 created an inventory
of all possible aksak rhythms from 5 ≤ n ≤ 29 and notated which ones were used in traditional world music.
When you set the number of steps and events for one or more Euclidean rhythms, you will, either by choice or chance,
often use aksak rhythms. They remain popular in jazz, classical, and world music because of their strong rhythmic yet
asymmetrical pulse. You can, of course, use any of these rhythms with no knowledge of the theory behind them. But
understanding a bit more about how all the rhythms are formed and how they sound will help you in composing as well
as listening to them.
An aksak rhythm is one in which the following two conditions are met:
• only the durations of lengths (distances) 2 and 3 are used
• there must be at least one length 2 and at least one length 3
Using the Distance notation, this is easy to see.
For example, (2223),(3232),(32322) are aksak rhythms, whereas (3333),(222),(4232),(2221) are not.
There are three types of aksak rhythms, based on whether n is prime, odd but not prime, or even:
• Authentic: if n is prime E(4,11) = (3332)
• Quasi-authentic: if n is odd, but not prime E(4,9) = (2223)
• Pseudo-authentic: if n is even E(5,12) = (32322)
What values of k and n can we choose to be an aksak rhythm?

Suppose n=2k, for example E(3,6) or E(7,14). Then all the distances would be 2: E(3,6) = X.X.X. = (222).
Likewise, E(7,14) would be X.X.X.X.X.X.X. = (2222222).
Obviously, because at least one 3 is absent, these are not aksak.
On the other hand, suppose n=3k, for example E(3,9) or E(5,15).

Then all the distances would be 3: E(3,9)=(333). At least one 2 is absent, so this isn't aksak either.
Therefore, we know that n must be any integer value greater than 2k and less than 3k; that is, 2k < n < 3k
So, suppose k=4, then 2k<n<3k (2x4)< n <(3x4) 8<n<12; therefore, n = 9,10,or 11. For example:
E(4,11) = X..X..X..X. = (3332) = authentic aksak
E(4,9) = X.X.X.X.. = (2223) = quasi aksak
E(4,10) = X..X.X..X. = (3232) = pseudo aksak
All Euclidean rhythms meeting the requirement of 2k<n<3k are aksak rhythms, but not all aksak rhythms are Euclidean.
For example, the popular Bulgarian rhythm X..X..X.X.=(3322)is pseudo aksak because k=4,n=10 so 8<n<12.
However, (3322)is not maximally even, whereas all Euclidean rhythms are: E(4,10) = X..X.X..X. = (3232)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 C. Brǎiloiu: Le rythme Aksak, Revue de Musicologie, T. 33, No. 99/100 (Dec., 1951), pp. 71-108
2 S. Arom, L’aksak: Principes et typologie, Cahiers de Musiques Traditionnelles 17 (2004) 12–48.
Euclidean strings and their relationship to Euclidean rhythm
The terminology Euclidean string originated in the study of the combinatorics of words and sequences, but has some
interesting properties that relate to rhythms and, in particular, to Euclidean rhythms.
The de nition of a Euclidean string (denoted by ) is simple: Using the Distance notation for a sequence,
such as(3232),decrement the rst number by one, and increment the last number by one: (3232) (2323).
If the resulting sequence is a rotation of the original sequence, then it is a Euclidean string. We can see that if you take
the blue 2 from (2323) and move (rotate) it to the right side, you get the original sequence: (3232).
Conversely, suppose your string was, for example, E(5,8)=X.XX.XX.=(21212). If we decrease the rst number by
one, and increase the last number by one, we get: (11213). Clearly, there is no rotation you could perform to get back
to(21212). Therefore, E(5,8) is a Euclidean rhythm, but is not a Euclidean string.
Many rhythms that remain popular in classical music and jazz (and even many popular and experimental artists) are both
Euclidean rhythms and Euclidean strings. However, rhythms that are both types are generally not common in Africa.
A subset of rhythms that are Euclidean rhythms but not Euclidean strings are those that use only distances of 1s and 2s,
and those that use only 2s and 3s. The former rhythms are used primarily in African music, and the latter only in
Bulgarian music. A few examples are:
1s and 2s only (Africa) 2s and 3s only (Bulgaria)

E(5,8) (21212) E(5,13) (32323)
E(7,12) (2122122) E(7,18) (3232323
E(9,14) (212121212) E(8,19) (32232232)
E(9,16) (212221222) E(9,23) (323232323)
E(13,24) (2122222122222) E(15,34) (322232223222322)
Many rhythms that are not Euclidean rhythms but are Euclidean strings are popular in world music. For example,
(1221222) is a bell pattern used in Africa and Cuba. It is a Euclidean string but not a Euclidean rhythm.
Another example given before is the popular Bulgarian rhythm X..X..X.X.=(3322).

Again, although it is a Euclidean string, it is not a Euclidean rhythm.
Popular rhythms in world music can very loosely be categorized into one of these groups:
• Euclidean strings: most often found today in jazz, classical, pop, but are not common among African rhythms
• Reverse Euclidean strings: these are often found in music of India, North Africa, and Europe
• Neither Euclidean nor reverse Euclidean strings: these are the most popular in West African music.
If we want to create one or more Euclidean strings that are not Euclidean rhythms, EucSeqiOS allows us to turn on or o
any of the events in the Euclidean mode. This give us the exibility to create any type of Euclidean or non-Euclidean
rhythm or string. Additionally, the freedom to turn on or o events in any of the three modes makes it easy to create
almost any rhythms and polyrhythms we want.
One eld of active research in ethnomusicology is exploring why certain families of rhythms have remained popular over
time in some countries but not in others, how these various rhythms originated, which ones are Euclidean rhythms,
Euclidean strings, or neither, which combinations are used together, etc.
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Selected Euclidean Rhythms
EucSeqiOS allows you to choose from 1–4 bands. Each of these can have from 2–64 steps (n)and 2–64 events(k).
This enables you to select well over 682 billion di erent Euclidean rhythms. Of course, many of these will be multiples of
others; for example, E(4,12), E(8,24), E(3,63) are simply multiples (repetitions) of E(1,3). But suppose we limit
the number of steps to only the 18 primes that are less than 64. This would still allow approximately 2.6 billion Euclidean
rhythms. Obviously, only a small handful of those were and still are used throughout the world.
Below is a small subset of these. It's interesting to know whether or not the E(k,n) you've chosen is (or was) a popular
rhythm in some country at some point in time. For a more complete list of popular Euclidean rhythms used throughout
the world, see articles by Godfried Toussaint; "The distance geometry of music" by Demaine, Gomez-Martin, et al.;
"The Geometry of Musical Rhythm" by Toussaint (2013); and many other articles and videos online.
Also see the nal section Hybrid Rhythms where Euclidean rhythms and various world rhythms are discussed and
compared with other rhythms.
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PolyRhythm
In a PolyRhythm sequence, all hands move around the wheel at the same speed, but each band plays a di erent number
of notes during that revolution. If speeds are di erent on some or all of the bands, the hands move at di erent speeds,
and after several (to many) revolutions, all hands once again coincide at the top to start the sequence again.
The speed for one rotation is determined from only the bpm1; the number of events does not a ect the timing. For
example, if we set the bpm=60, the Global Speed=4.0x, the Band Speed=1x, and Events=3, then 3 notes will play in
4 seconds (one revolution); that is, every note gets 4/3 seconds (1.33 seconds each). If we change it to Events=21,
then those 21 notes will still play in exactly 4 seconds, so every note gets 4/21 seconds (about 0.19 seconds each).
Therefore, when analyzing PolyRhythm sequences using two or more bands, it's useful to look at the timing between
notes on di erent bands to understand their rhythmic interactions. Going through this a few times not only helps to
understand how and when these cross-rhythms occur but also increases your ability to hear polyrhythms.
As a simple example, suppose you have 2 bands: A has 3 events, B has 4 events. So every event in A takes 4/3 longer
than for an event in B; conversely, every event in B takes 3/4 as long as those in A.
Using the values above, we can see that the notes for A occur every 4/3 seconds, and those for B every 1 second.
Looking at the chart below, after both notes play together to start the sequence, the next B occurs at 1 second, and the
next B occurs at 4/3 seconds. Therefore, the distance t1 = 4/3-1 = ⅓ second. Continuing, t2 = 1-t1 = 1-⅓ = ⅔ sec.,
then t3=⅔ sec, t4=⅓ sec.
____________sa_________ _______________________ _______________________

| | | |
3: A A t2 A t4 A
4: B B t1 B t3 B B
|_______sb________|_________________|_________________|_________________|
|_______________________________________________________________________|
T
The sequence of notes forwards is: TBABABT with the 4 cross-rhythm times: ⅓, ⅔, ⅔, ⅓
The sequence of notes backwards is: TBABABT with the 4 cross-rhythm times: ⅓, ⅔, ⅔, ⅓
(T = bands A and B play an event at the same time)
Notice that the sequence is a palindrome – the same forwards and backwards2 in the notes and in the cross-rhythm
timing! Many polyrhythm and polymeter sequences and a few Euclidean sequences are palindromic.
More info about this is below.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
This assumes 1x for all band speeds and 4x for global speed (the default settings for PolyRhythm mode in EucSeqiOS).
Changing either of these will alter the revolution speeds and the total time for a complete cycle of all hands.
2
If asymmetrical notes have been turned o , or if the velocity (volume) or instrumentation of notes is asymmetrical going
forward and backwards, the sequence is of course no longer a palindrome.
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PolyRhythms – Timing
The diagram above assumes that the default band and global speeds in EucSeqiOS are used. If either or both of these
are changed for any bands, these will of course a ect the timing, not only the time for a complete cycle ( T ) but also for
the time for a single revolution, the times between events on the same band (si ), and the cross-rhythm times between
events on other bands ( ti ). However, the principal of nding all these timings is the same for 2, 3, or 4 bands.
If you change the band speeds, global speed, and the metronome, here are the formulas to compute all the revolutions
and speeds of the bands and events
g = global speed
m = metronome setting (BPM)
bi = band speed for bandi
vi = seconds per one rev for bandi prior to
adjustment for global speed and band speeds
a = adjustment for global speed and band speeds
ti = seconds per one rev for bandi
after speed adjustments
T = total time in seconds for all hands to complete
one cycle (align at top)
ri = total number of revs in time T for bandi
si = seconds between events for bandi
ei = number of events for bandi
d = decimal value (Ex: 2.6666 --> 0.6666)
m = multiplier (to eliminate decimals)
ki = decimal-free terms to use for LCM
= oor function = the largest integer ≤ k; that is,
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Case 1 Example, four bands:
None of the times for one rev
contain decimal places
Case 2 Example, four bands:

One of the times for one rev
contain decimal places
Screenshot courtesy of Paul Barnard

(4Pockets, UK). Only the parameters
directly related to this example are shown.
* I have included far more precision than

normally required only to show, even at this
extreme level of accuracy, how all the values
can be computed.
PolyRhythms – Learning to hear and play
Not only is the PolyRhythm mode an excellent way to generate fascinating cross-rhythms using 2, 3, or 4 bands, but it's
also useful as an excellent learning tool to improve your ability to hear and play two di erent rhythms at the same time.
For example, you may want to improve your polyrhythm technique on drums or keyboard1. The PolyRhythm mode of
EucSeqiOS can assist from the simplest (2 against 3) to increasingly complex rhythms, such as 5:3, 4:7, 9:5, 8:11, etc.
To practice di erent polyrhythms in EucSeqiOS:
1. Select the PolyRhythm mode.

2. Set the A band to Events=4. Set B band to Events=3. (or any other values you wish to practice)
3. Turn on Bands A and B only.
4. Choose two di erent percussion instruments for these bands, perhaps one low for the L hand, high for the R hand.
You can use your right hand to tap the notes of Band A while the left hand taps those of Band B.
Adjust the Band Speeds, the Global Speed, and the Metronome to be as slow or as fast as you wish,
and change the number of Events on one or both bands to practice playing and hearing other polyrhythms.
After you've mastered playing a 3:4 rhythm 5:3 rhythm

few of these polyrhythms, a
good way to practice hearing
them is to have a friend set the
number of events on the two
bands without you knowing the
values. Start with numbers 5 or
lower (such as 3:2, 4:3, 5:2, 5:3,
5:4). When you can identify
which two values were selected,
ask your friend to change them.
When you've mastered these,
then move on to 7 and lower.
See the section below, Rhythms in Carnatic Music. Using this method,
you can quickly learn how to count almost any polyrhythm.
________________________________________________________________________
1
A bit of interesting trivia: In 1993, after having worked as a specialist at NSA,
the famous actor, writer, and comedian Wanda Sykes worked several years
at Hal Leonard (music) publishing house, where she edited the book
by Peter Magadini entitled, Polyrhythms – The Musician's Guide.
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The Aural Combination of Polyrhythms
Earlier we looked at 3:2 and other polyrhythms in terms of timing. But when two or more metric divisions are played
together, what rhythm do we hear? Below are two examples of common 2-part polyrhythms – 3:2 and 4:3
Example 3:2
3:2 is called a hemiola and has been the primary polyrhythm (as well as the basic building block for many others) in Sub-
Saharan African, European, and Latin American music for more than a millennia, and has also remained popular in jazz,
rock, pop, classical, experimental, and other genres.
LCM(3,2) = 6, so it will take a total of 6 steps for the two parts to align:
X . . X . .
X . X . X .
X . X X X . = (2112) or (2211) = H(4,6)
There are 15 ways to arrange 4 events onto 6 steps.

Excluding all possible rotations, there are only 3 arrangements1:
XXX.X. This is the combination above (in blue), rotated 2 steps clockwise.
XX.XX. This is E(4,6)=X.XX.X rotated 1 step clockwise, E(4,6,+1)
XXXX.. This is the only deep rhythm (Erdös-deep) of (4,6)
If the two rhythms start in a di erent rotation, what will be the combination?
Depending on the complexity of the original two (or more) sequences, the result after shifting one or more of them may
be the same as one of the rotations, or it could be completely di erent.
For example, if we rotate the rst (purple) sequence, we have ..X..X then again combine it with X.X.X.we get:
. . X . . X
X . X . X .
X . X . X X which is a rotation of the result we had above (in blue), rotated 2 steps
However, what if we combined these two sequences:
. . X . X X
X . X . X X
X . X . X X = (2211)
But if we rotate the rst one, we get:
. X . X X .
X . X . X X
X X X X X X = (111111)
The above simply demonstrates that when we combine two or more patterns together, we hear a resulting rhythm that
may or may not be the same as the original (see the Apples + Oranges = Apples section earlier in this paper). Also, if any
of the original sequences are rotated, the resulting combination may be a rotation of the result we heard before, or it may
be completely di erent. In the extreme case, the result will be n events, one on every step, as in (111...), although
each part will presumably be played by a di erent instrument, so you will still hear all the cross rhythms, just no rests.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
See p.49 for more explanation about this formula
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Example 4:3
LCM(4,3) = 12, so it will take a total of 12 steps for the two parts to align:
X . . X . . X . . X . .
X . . . X . . . X . . .
X . . X X . X . X X . . = (312213) = H(6,12)
There are 924 ways to arrange 6 events onto 12 steps.
Excluding all possible rotations, there are 77 arrangements1:
We can quickly see that the resulting rhythm (312213) isn't Euclidean because the di erence between some of the
pairs of distances is greater than 1. We can also see that it isn't a chaotic rhythm because n isn't a prime number. The
only two deep rhythms with (6,12) are (122322) and (111117). So, (312213) doesn't t the "formulas" we use for
the standard types of rhythms. Because of this, we'll assign it to the large family of Hybrid rhythms.
Polyrhythms usually generate composites that are unlike any other type of rhythm, which gives them a di erent rhythmic
feel and compositional strength.
How does the meter a ect the resulting sound?
Using 4:3 as an example, how would a 3/4, 4/4, or 6/8 meter a ect the resulting rhythm? Suppose that for each of these,
we have another instrument playing a strong accent on beat 1, and for 4/4 and 6/8 a secondary accent on beats 3 and 4,
respectively:
X . . X X . X . X X . .
X . . X . . X . . X . . Try tapping these using your
L and R hands (or playing
them on a keyboard), putting
X . . X X . X . X X . . the accents where indicated.
X . x . X . x . X . x .
You'll be able to hear the
di erences and how meter
X . . X X . X . X X . . a ects the resulting rhythms.
X . . x . . X . . x . .
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
See page 54 for more explanation about this formula.
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Polyrhythms of Carnatic Talas
In addition to the long history of polyrhythms in African, Latin American, electronic, and experimental music as well as in
jazz and some pop/rock music, Carnatic talas hold an important place historically and musically. Typical Western music
students rst learn the most basic rhythms (whole, half, quarter) and then gradually, often over the course of years, learn
basic polyrhythms. Just the opposite approach, students of Carnatic talas learn complex rhythms from the start.
Most Western trained students struggle to count and perform polyrhythms such as 5:4, 7:5, 3:5; however, Carnatic
students learn these early in their music education because polyrhythms form the foundation of Carnatic music.
A detailed overview of Carnatic music is far beyond the scope of this paper. The complexity of its melodic and rhythmic
theory and technique requires a large amount of terminology and explanation. However, the basic method used to
understand polyrhythms are actually quite simple and will enable you to count and play the most commonly found
polyrhythms with ease. Below are the basics of Carnatic polyrhythms with only enough vocabulary as necessary to
explain this technique, but this should be enough to enable you to speak and tap many polyrhythms.
A Tala is loosely de ned as a rhythmic pattern or time cycle which provides the framework for rhythmic improvisation. It
can loosely be equated as meter in Western music; however, the exibility of talas permits the accent of a beat to be
decided by the shape of musical phrase rather than by the strong-weak beats typical in Western rhythms.
Whereas most Western music is based on 2s and 3s (and their multiples), Carnatic rhythms are built upon all
subdivisions of the beat, including odd ones such as 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 (and their multiples). This subdivision of a beat into an
equal number of units (or pulses) is called a gati. Each pulse is called a matra.
There are ve basic types of gati: Tisra (3, 6), Chatusra (4, 8), Khanda (5), Misra (7), and Sankirna (9), where the
numbers represent the number of pulses or notes (matras) in that group.
For example, the gati Tisra is simply a 3-note grouping, equivalent to our 8th-note triplet. Similarly, the gati Chatusra is a
4-note grouping, similar to our 16th notes. Each of these gati, whether they contain 3, 4, …, 9 or more notes, are always
played in one beat. For example, the 7-note Misra gati is equivalent to a 16th-note septuplet.
In our Western music training, we are taught a few syllables for counting 8th notes (1-and-2-and), 8th-note triplets (1-on-
ly, 2-on-ly), 16th notes (1-o-and-o, 2-o-and-o), etc. However, this method has limited value because the syllables are not
distinct, especially at fast tempos, nor is there an easy way to accurately count septuplets or nonuplets, etc. But
Carnatic music o ers a much better method called konnakol.
Konnakol is a method, perfected over many centuries in India, that uses a variety of syllables to create a spoken
notation system for rhythms. This enables even a performer to pronounce the separate matras (notes) of the gati at
extremely fast speeds. Konnakol is an excellent method to learn rhythms – including complex polyrhythms – much easier
than our traditional Western methods. Unlike the limited counting resources we use in Western music, konnakol is more
poetic, percussive, precise, and easy to pronounce at fast tempos.
Students of Carnatic tala become pro cient in konnakol prior to learning to play the rhythms on mridangam or tabla, the
two most popular types of drums in Carnatic music. This method is becoming popular outside of India as a method of
learning and performing polyrhythms. An increasing number of Western musicians have incorporated Carnatic rhythms –
including the methods of konnakol – into their compositions. These include John McLaughlin (jazz-fusion guitarist),
Shakti (a band that fuses not only American and Indian music but also the di erent styles of Hindustani and Carnatic
music traditions), Meshuggah (extreme metal band), Mattias Eklundh (metal band guitarist), and Phillip Glass (pianist and
composer of minimalist music).
An important distinction between konnakol versus our Western system of counting is that counting in Western music is
primarily an aid to keep correct rhythm, whereas konnakol is an excellent method not only to learn accurate timing and
polyrhythms but also to perform syllables vocally and dramatically to express the rhythms. Very often, one person will be
performing konnakol while another person plays percussion or performs complementary konnakol.
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Repeat each of the following gatis separately many times. To learn konnakol and polyrhythms accurately, use a
metronome set to 40 bpm or slower. Every syllable must be spoken clearly and evenly with an accent and a clap on the
rst TA (red notes). When you can do each gati separately, try alternating them. For example, alternate between Tisra
and Chatusra; then between Tisra and Khanda, etc.
Chatusra – half speed Tisra Chatusra

2 matras per beat 3 matras per beat 4 matras per beat
Khanda Tisra – 2nd speed Misra

5 matras per beat 4 matras per beat 7 matras per beat
Chatusra – 2nd speed Sankirna

8 matras per beat 9 matras per beat
From gati to polyrhythms
Once you can speak and clap the above rhythms, it’s an easy step to counting polyrhythms. This is done by selecting
one of the above gati, repeating it over and over, then, instead of using the syllables printed underneath, use the
syllables for a di erent gati, accenting each TA.
For example, suppose you want to count a 4:3 polyrhythm. Start by repeating the 4-note Chatusra gati syllables above.
Then, while keeping the same speed for each note, instead of saying TA-ka-di-mi, we use the syllables and accents for
the 3-note Tisra – TA-ki-te. Tap your right hand on the green marks (the same notes you clapped above). When you can
do this, tap your foot on every red TA. The next step is to tap your right hand on each green symbol and your left hand
on each red TA. You are now performing a 4:3 polyrhythm.
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The goal of choosing certain syllables and certain order is to facilitate pronouncing the individual notes clearly and extremely fast.
However, because the individual syllables carry no speci c meaning, many variations of syllables are used by teachers of Carnatic
rhythms. TA is usually assigned to the rst matra (note) of a gati as well as to any other note that has an accent. The other common
syllables used are: ki, ke, da, di, mi, ja, nu. The spellings of these di er among various sources.
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The opposite is 3:4, which is 3 groupings in 4 beats. The process is just the reverse: Start by repeating the 3-note Tisra
(TA-ki-te), clapping with each red TA.
Now, keeping the same note speed, speak the syllables of Chatusra (TA-ka-di-mi), accenting every TA. When you can do
this, tap your right hand on the blue marks and your left hand on the 3 red notes. You are now playing a 3:4 rhythm.
Here are two more examples:
4:5 is the 4-note Chatusra grouping with the konnokol syllables (TA-ka-ta-ki-te) for the 5-note Khanda:
5:4 is the 5-note Khanda grouping with the konnokol syllables (TA-ka-di-mi) for the 4-note Chatusra:
Combining Multiple Polyrhythms
Suppose we combine two of the above polyrhythms, 3:4 with 4:5
This will produce a 3:4:5 polyrhythm and is equivalent to a polymeter using the two time signatures
of 3/4 and 5/4 with 4 notes per beat.
Two players can each perform one of the polyrhythms. These multi-polyrhythms can of course be performed by a single
person by tapping the right and left hands, while at the same time speaking the konnokol syllables for the 5-note gati
Khanda (in red):
RH > > > > > > >

LH > > > > > > > > >
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ...
Konnakol TA ka ta ki te TA ka ta ki te TA ka ta ki te TA ka ta ki te TA ka ta ki te ...
To nd the number of notes (matras) for a complete cycle (when the 3:4 and 4:5 patterns align at the beginning of a
gati), nd the LCM of all pairs: LCM(3,4,5)=60. Therefore, the pattern above will repeat every 60 notes (matras).
So, by repeating the above 3:4 + 4:5 pattern for a total of 60 notes, we obtain the following sequence:
(X = tap/clap/TA, and a dot = a silence)
X..XXXX.XXX.X..XX.X.XX..XX.XX.X.XX.XX..XX.X.XX..X.XXX.XXXX..
=(311121123122131212 212131221321121113)
This is a palindrome, as are many complex polyrhythms.
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After mastering all combinations of gati, performers use several additional techniques to achieve even more complex
rhythmic patterns.
One method is tying notes together (as of course we do in Western rhythm) to achieve all possible permutations.
For example, here are a few permutations of the 5-note Khanda and the 7-note Misra:
Another technique is to double, triple, and quadruple the number of syllables, so instead of pronouncing single 8th or
16th notes, performers may quickly speak syllables to change the notes to 16th, 32nd, or dotted values – all while
maintaining a strict beat.
Performers often use Laya Rathna, a Tamil term meaning time shifting, which is the Western technique of
metric modulation.
By combining multiple gati, tied notes, double or triple notes, and metric modulation, performers of Carnatic music can
perform highly complex polyrhythms.
In our Western system, few people can immediately tap or play 9:5 or 11:7 on demand, and most struggle even with
practice. But Carnatic tala students become uent with these polyrhythms from the beginning of their training. It's
unsurprising that many well-known Western composers have taken the time to study Carnatic talas (as well as its
counterpart, the melodic ragas). The internet has an almost unlimited number of articles and videos1.
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Here is a video of the extremely complex polyrhythms created with konnakol and the traditional Mridangam drum.
To see the konnakol master Sri Subash Chandran perform, see this video.
Here's another excellent video of the instructor Viswanathan Venkataraman performing konnakol while performing Misra (7 beats)
with the left hand and Sankeerna (9 beats) with the right hand (7:9). Listen to the extreme complexity of the compound polyrhythms.
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PolyMeter
Touissant's paper focuses only on Euclidean sequences for a single part (that is, one player or multiple players
performing the same part). He represents a clap or drum hit with an X, and a silence with a dot.
For example, clap-clap-silence-clap-clap-clap-silence would be represented as:

X X. X X X.
This is then translated to the number of Xs (notes) + the number of dots (silences) before reaching the next X:
1 2 1 1 2
Taking this a step further, we can nd formulas for PolyMetric sequences. Whereas Touissant's formulas encode all hits
and silences for a single sequence, we rst do this same process for each of the bands, then "compress" all the bands
into a single sequence, preserving only the rst (accented) notes of every measure for every band. In a polymetric
sequence, it is these de ning accents on the rst beat of multiple time signatures that create the strong cross-rhythms
and therefore distinguish one polymetric sequence from another.
As a short example (more detailed examples are below):
Consider a 2-band sequence using 2 non-divisible meters: 3/4 against 5/4. This sequence requires 15 steps (the LCM of
3 and 5) to complete one cycle, after which it repeats. The Xs represent only the rst (accented) notes of every measure.
3/4 X . . X . . X . . X . . X . .
5/4 X . . . . X . . . . X . . . .
Combining accented notes, we get:
X . . X . X X . . X X . X . . = (3 2 1 3 1 2 3)
Because there are 7 notes played across 15 steps, this will be notated as P(7,15) ∴ P(7,15)=(321 3 123)
Notice that this sequence is a palindrome: it will sound the same forward or backward1.
For comparison, the Euclidean sequence of E(7,15) = X..X.X.X.X.X.X. = (3222222)

which is notated as: E(7,15)=[3][2]6
You can see that: P(7,15) ≠ E(7,15), and that P(7,15) is a palindrome , whereas E(7,15) is not.
In general:
P(a,b) ≠ E(a,b), and that P(a,b) is always a palindrome1,

whereas E(a,b) is a palindrome in only some cases.
It is these two relationships that greatly distinguish P and E sequences.
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EXAMPLE 1
PolyMeter 2 meters A:3/4, B:5/4 LCM(3,5)=15: the # steps for a full cycle of both meters
3/4 X..X..X..X..X..|X Note: |X represents the rst note of the pattern that repeats
5/4 X....X....X....|X
X..X.XX..XX.X..|X So P(7,15) = (321 3 123) (a palindrome)
Compare this with Euclidean E(7,15):
E(7,15) = X..X.X.X.X.X.X.|X Therefore, E(7,15) = (3222222)
Notice that P(7,15) ≠ E(7,15), regardless of any rotations of E.

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EXAMPLE 2
PolyMeter 3 meters A:3/4, B:4/4, C:5/4 LCM(3,4,5)=60
3/4 XooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXooXoo|X (60 steps)

4/4 XoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXoooXooo|X
5/4 XooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXoooo|X
X..XXXX.XXX.X..XX.X.XX..XX.XX.X.XX.XX..XX.X.XX..X.XXX.XXXX..|X
∴ P(36,60) = (311121123122131212 212131221321121113) (palindrome)
E(36,60) = X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX. X.XX X.XX X.XX X.XX|X
= [X.XX.]12
Notice that P(36,60) ≠ E(36,60), regardless of any rotations of E or P.
Where as E(36,60) is a very short, repeating pattern (212 212 212 ...) = (212)12
P(36,60) is quite complex, derived from using 3 meters: 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4, whose length = LCM(3,4,5)=60
P(36,60) = (311121123122131212 212131221321121113)

E(36,60) = (212)12
From this single example, you can see how complex PolyMeter rhythms can be compared with Euclidean rhythms.
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EXAMPLE 3
PolyMeter 3 meters A:2/4, B:5/4, C:7/4 LCM(2,5,7)=70
2/4 XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo|X
5/4 XooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXoooo|X
7/4 XooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXooooooXoooooo|X
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 (70 steps)
X.X.XXXXX.X.X.XXX.X.XXX.XXX.X.X.X.XXX.X.X.X.XXX.XXX.X.XXX.X.X.XXXXX.X.|X
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 (70 steps)
So P(46,70) = (22111122211221121122221 12222112112211222111122) (palindrome)
E(46,70) = [X.XX.]2[X.X]20
E(46,70) = E(23,35) = [X.XX.]1[X.X]10
Therefore, E(46,70) = (212)(21)10 ∴ E(46,70) ≠ P(46,70)
Euclidean and PolyMeter – a comparison
Generally, di erent Euclidean sequences are layered; that is, di erent E sequences are played at the same time (either by
several performers or with computers). This creates, of course, cross-rhythms among the notes and silences.
Suppose you combine these two sequences: E(6,15) and E(11,15), which will be notated as E(6+11,15).
The resulting formula is: E(6+11,15) = (21122111112), de nitely not a palindrome, and rhythmically quite simple.
In contrast, using the two meters 6/4 against 11/4, P(6,11) = (65164263 36246156), which is signi cantly more
complex and palindromic.
One could argue that whereas E(6+11,15) uses only 15 steps while P(6,11) requires 66, they will of course result in
di erent patterns, and this is not a fair comparison. The prominent feature of a Euclidean rhythm is the contrast between
the spacing of notes and silences. Therefore, every note and silence in an E sequence (not only of each separate band
but also of the interaction of these notes and silences among all bands) de nes the character when we listen to it. This
character is most de ned when using multiple bands where the number of events on a band is not a multiple of events
on the other bands.
A PolyMetric sequence can have many notes to a complete cycle (and even some silences if we choose to turn o any
notes on a band, as EucSeqiOS allows us to do). But, unlike Euclidean, the notes and possible silences of a polymetric
sequence are not primarily de ned by these. Instead, a P sequence is de ned rhythmically by the accents of the
rst note of every measure, and this character is most de ned when the multiple time signatures are prime numbers (3/4,
5/4, 7/4, etc. and/or not multiples of any other time signatures).
Therefore, the best way to analyze and compare E and P sequences of multiple bands is by what we hear – primarily the
interaction of notes and silences in an E sequence, and accented note interaction in a P sequence.
The primary di erence is that Euclidean sequences highlight the spacing of silences (particular when they are
asymmetrical), whereas polymetric sequences highlight the spacing of the rst, accented notes of every measure as
the accents drift in time.
Euclidean sequences don't "drift" over time: the pattern repeats exactly after every measure (or phrase). This is ideal for
creating a rhythmic pulse that is, in most cases, fairly easy to memorize and recreate because of its constant repetitions.
Conversely, polymetric sequences, because of the nature of using di erent time signatures in every band with rst-note
accents, drift over time until the pattern repeats, which requires the number of notes in each band equal to the
LCM(a, b, c, d). Because of the usually greater complexity of polymetric cross-rhythms, they are ideal for creating a
strong pulse whose cross-rhythms are always changing for that number of notes.
To create the maximum length for a non-repeating polymetric sequence, choose a combination of di erent meters
which are all prime numbers and/or the highest numbers not evenly divisible by any other number
(mod(x,y) ≠ 0 or even, for all a,b,c,d)
For example, P(10,8,6,4) requires 120 notes before the sequence repeats, requiring 30 measures of 4/4.
In contrast, P(11,10,9,7) requires 6,930 notes before repeating, which is 990 measures of 7/4.
For this reason, polymetric sequences are ideal when you want slowly evolving, drifting cross-rhythms
which can be used for percussion, pads, or any other sounds.
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Reverse & Ping Pong
If we were to create a sequence in which:
• all notes have the same velocity, pitch, instrument,
• all ON notes are symmetrical across the vertical diameter (yellow line), and
• the top note is our starting note,
then the sequence would obviously be symmetrical with respect to this
diameter, and therefore it would sound the same forward or backward. For
example, to the right is 12/4 with 7 notes (green) turned OFF.
However, if there isn't a noticeable accent on the rst note (the rst beat of the
measure), then PolyMeter will have no e ect. For a polymetric e ect with
multiple bands playing, we need to ensure that the rst note is the loudest in
the measure. That rst-note accent, when played using several di erent meter
sequences, is what creates the polyrhythmic cross-rhythms between bands.
The following observations assume that the top note is always on and is louder than all other notes in the sequence:
The cases for which Reverse or Ping Pong will have NO e ect:
a. Any even or odd meter sequence in which all on notes are symmetrical across the vertical diameter
b. Any sequence that has all notes turned on, symmetrical (a trivial case)
c. Any even meter sequence that has only the bottom note turned o , symmetrical (another trivial case)
The cases for which Reverse or Ping Pong WILL have an e ect:
d. Any even or odd meter sequence containing any o notes that are not symmetrical across the vertical diameter
e. Any even or odd meter sequence in which all notes have di erent velocities, pitches, and/or instrumentation
f. Any odd meter sequence that has an even number of notes on (one of these is the top note)
Therefore, assuming that the top note is always on and louder than all other notes:
• having di erent velocities, pitches, and/or instrumentation for individual notes, and/or
• having any o notes non-symmetrical across the vertical diameter, and/or
• having an even number of notes on for odd meters (one of these is the top note)
will create non-symmetrical sequences for which Reverse and Ping Pong have an noticeable e ect.
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How do band speeds a ect the rhythms?
As mentioned several times above, EucSeqiOS allows you to set multipliers for individual Band Speeds (0.125x, 0.25x,
0.333x, 0.5x, 1.0x, 1.5x, 2.0x, 3.0x, 4.0x) and Global Speed (0.125x, 0.25x, 0.5, 1.0x). Setting one or more Band Speeds
or Global Speed to any setting other than 1.0x will of course decrease or increase the speed at which the band(s) rotate.
A band that is set to 2.0x will rotate twice as fast and therefore play twice as many notes.
How do these speed adjustments a ect the resulting cross-rhythms?

In the following examples, assume that Global Speed = 1.0x (default), and bpm = 60 (1 beat/sec)
Example 1
Band A is 3/4, band speed = 0.333x ⅓ the default speed, 1 quarter note every 3 seconds
Band B is 5/4, band speed = 1.0x default speed, 1 quarter note every second
If both band speeds were 1.0x, then the total number of beats required would be LCM(3,5) =15 beats.
However, because Band A is moving 3x slower, the total number of beats is 3 x LCM(3,5) = 45 beats.
During these 45 notes, A will play a total of 45/3 x 0.333 = 5 measures, and B will play 45/5 x 1.0 = 9 measures.
X = accented note, o = unaccented note, . = no sound
0.3 3/4 X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..|X

1.0 5/4 XooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXooooXoooo|X
The resulting rhythm of accented notes:

T....B...AB....B..A.B....B.A..B....BA...B.....T
= (541532 5 235145) (a palindrome)
Example 2
Band A is 3/4, band speed = 0.333x ⅓ the default speed, 1 quarter note every 3 seconds
Band B is 5/4, band speed = 0.5x ½ the default speed, 1 quarter note every 2 seconds
3/4 X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..X..o..o..|X
5/4 X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.X.o.o.o.o.|X
If both band speeds were 1.0x, then the total number of beats required would be LCM(3,5) =15 beats.
However, because A is moving 3x slower and B 2x slower, the total number of notes is 3 x 2 x LCM(3,5) = 90 notes.
During these 45 notes, A will play a total of 90/3 x 0.333 = 10 measures, and B will play 90/5 x 0.5 = 9 measures.
The resulting rhythm of accented notes:

T........AB.......A.B......A..B.....A...B....A....B...A.....B..A......B.A.......BA........|X
= (918273645 546372819)
Compare the above polyrhythm with the one in Example 1. This huge di erence in complexity is the result of changing
just one parameter: from band speed = 1.0x to 0.5x
Staggering these between-note lengths, we can rewrite it as:

= (9---8---7---6---5 5---6---7---8---9)
= ( 1---2---3---4 4---3---2---1 )
Writing it this way not only shows us why these sequences are palindromes, but also gives us a better "picture" of the
drifting cross-rhythms and how they increase and decrease in relation to each other. Using two bands with simple
time signatures and very slow tempo, it's fascinating hear these cross-rhythms and understand what they are doing –
and why they are doing it.
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PolyTempo
In all the other types of multi-rhythms discussed above, after some length of time all the parts align and the pattern
starts again. However, polytempo (multitemporal) rhythm is di erent – every part uses the same time signature (usually)
but di erent tempos (bpm), so the rhythms gradually drift further apart, not unlike several cars starting together but each
using a di erent speed. On a at, endless road, the cars would never again align. The longer they drive, the further apart
they become. However, if the cars were on a circular track, they would all eventually align.
Below are 20 quarter notes. Player A plays these at 5 bpm, so every note takes 60/5=12 seconds.
Player B plays the same notes a bit slower at 4 bpm, so every note takes 60/4=15 seconds.
♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__♩__
A sec: 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
B sec: 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
The above diagram shows the stream of quarter notes, but keep in mind that each person is playing the notes at a
di erent tempo, so the notes will not sound at the same time. For every 5 notes that A plays, B plays only 4.
As shown below, these 20 notes will take Player A: 20*12=240 seconds, and Player B: 20*15=300 seconds;
therefore, A will nish playing all the notes 60 seconds earlier than B. At this point, A could rest for 60 seconds, or the
composer could end the piece 60 seconds earlier, or have A repeat certain measures, or simply have both players fade
out prior to 240 seconds, etc. But none of these is not ideal unless it's the composer's intent.
20 notes ♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩
20 notes ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|
60 sec 60 sec 60 sec 60 sec 60 sec
Assume that these 20 notes are a melodic line that may have di erent note values and pitches. Initially, only the rst note
of both players will be in sync. If both players continue to repeat their part, Player A at 5 bpm and Player B at 4 bpm,
how long will it take both players’ notes to be in sync (in phase) again?
At these BPMs, it takes 240 seconds for Player A and 300 seconds for Player B to play through their 20 notes one time.
Simply nd the least common multiple (LCM) of 240 and 300, which is 1200 seconds before the two parts are in phase
again. Player A will need to play those 20 notes 1200/240 = 5 times, and Player B will play the 20 notes 1200/300 = 4
times, which makes sense because the BPMs are in a 5:4 relationship.
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The following three examples show the di erence in time it would take for two parts to return to phase. These examples
show BPMs that are quite far apart (50, 60), quite close (107, 108), and extremely close (23.0, 23.1):
A: BPM=60, so every beat takes 60/60 = 1.0 second

B: BPM=50, so every beat takes 60/50 = 1.2 seconds
LCM(1, 1.2)=6 seconds for a complete phase cycle: 3 seconds to go out of phase, 3 seconds to go in phase. 1
This is fast and will sound like polyrhythms (6:5 in this case) rather than an imperceptible change.
A: BPM=107, so every beat takes 60/107 = 0.5607476... secs

B: BPM=108, so every beat takes 60/108 = 0.5555555... secs
LCM(0.561,0.556)=3119 seconds ~ 52 minutes for a complete phase cycle: 1
26 minutes to go out of phase, 26 minutes to return to in phase. (to 3 decimal places of accuracy)
A: BPM=23.0, so every beat takes 60/23.0 = 2.6086956... seconds

B: BPM=23.1, so every beat takes 60/23.1 = 2.5974026... seconds
LCM(2.6087, 2.5974)= 67758 seconds ~ 18 hours, 49 minutes for a complete phase cycle: 1
9 hours 25 minutes to go out of phase, 9 hours 24 minutes to return to in phase. (to 4 decimal places of accuracy)
Note: the lower the BPMs and the smaller di erence between them, more decimal places are needed to achieve the a
high level of accuracy in the gradual out of phase, in phase e ect.
For a visual example, suppose A and B are each playing a quarter note on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4.
B is performing these notes at 5 BPM faster than is A.
Initially, of course, they play the same starting note at exactly the same time (the rst blue box), but because B is playing
the same notes slightly faster than A, the notes slowly drift apart (out of phase). When they reach the halfway point (the
pink box), the two players have reached the maximum amount of out of phase, similar to being 180º out of phase for
sound waves. From this point forward, the two rst beats start moving closer and closer together again until, in the
second blue box, they align exactly again (in phase).
This representation isn't to scale, and in fact if we used these BPMs, it would take more than this many beats for the two
players to go completely out of phase and then return to in phase.1,2 But this gives a good view of what we would hear
during phasing.
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1
See the section below, “How long will it take for one complete cycle?”
2
It It would take LCM(120, 125) = 3000 beats to return to sync again. So A would play those notes 3000/120 = 25 times, and B would
play them 3000/125 = 24 times.
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Two sine waves that have slightly di erent periods is an excellent way to visual multitemporal music and the phasing it
produces (phasing out then in again). At the start of the piece (marked 0), both waves are in sync. The orange wave has a
slightly shorter period (analogous to a slightly faster BPM) than the blue wave. Notice how the waves gradually separate
until they are completely out of phase, then begin to return. This phasing in and out is what makes melodic and rhythmic
polytempic music so interesting.
In Out of In Out of In
phase phase phase phase phase
The times listed under the wave that show how long it takes for the polytempo music to return to in-phase could be
seconds, hours, days, or even thousands of years!3
In the mid-1960s, Terry Riley experimented with tape looping and delay. His experimentations led Steve Reich to also
explore tape looping, and he unintentionally found that when two copies of tape music were played at the same time on
di erent machines, the very slight di erences in machine speeds produced a anging e ect and then rhythmic
separation to occur as the identical music went out of phase, until eventually they merged back in phase. He panned the
two tapes left and right, which made the in/out phasing even more apparent.1
At the same time, Earle Brown created one of the earliest polytempic rhythm pieces, Music for the Stadler Galerie (1964),
in which he used four tape recorders each playing di erent, sparse, improvised music. The four scores had di erent but
close lengths (21'58", 22'31", 22'36", and 22'38", in ascending order of length). These four tracks looped continuously
for 30 days,2, 3 over which time the pieces became out of phase because of the di erent time lengths of the four pieces.
Initially, all the music started at exactly the same time. When each of the recorders rst started looping, they were 40",
33", 5", and 2" out of sync. Each time they looped, those di erences doubled.
Conlon Nancarrow also produced many polytempic compositions using two player pianos. He hand-punched the rolls to
be identical, and one of the piano rolls rotated very slightly faster than the other, creating two di erent BPMs.
As you’ve seen from the above examples, polytempic music’s key feature that sets it apart from the other types of
rhythms discussed is its gradual but continuous drifting between in phase and out of phase. As the next section
discusses, the term “phase music” and “phasing” was inappropriately bestowed on a type of rhythm that
instantly shifts in time rather than gradually drifting.
Even though actual polytempic (multitempic) music and what is unfortunately called “Phase music” are related due to
their melodies or rhythms falling out of sync, they sound completely di erent. Fortunately, EucSeqiOS can create both
types!
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1
As an example, listen to Reich's Come Out and It's Gonna Rain.
2
For an exhibit at the Galerie Stadler in Paris with paintings by David Budd and a text by William S. Burroughs
that he wrote speci cally for the installation.
3
Although the recorders were running continuously for 30 days, the 4 recorded loops never got back into phase. In fact, it would
have taken LCM(21'58", 22'31", 22'36", 22'38") = LCM(1318,1351,1356,1358) seconds = 117,104,123,388 seconds,
which is over 3,713 years. Unfortunately, the installation didn't last that long, so we'll never know whether or not
the four pieces were ever again in phase.
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How long will it take for one complete cycle (bands sync at top)?
Above was the example of two bands traveling at di erent speeds: 50 and 60 bpm. Each event of band A would take
60/60 = 1.0 second; every event of Band B would take 60/50 = 1.2 seconds. These two bands will rotate at the
top but meet every 6 seconds, because LCM(1, 1.2) = LCM(10, 12)/10 = 6 seconds. Only one of these values
has a decimal number (0.2), and it evenly divides 1, so LCM works ne.
However, when using PolyTempo, the ratio of the BPM of the two bands can create long (or in many cases irrational)
numbers. For example, suppose the host speed is 103.5 bpm, and Band B is set to a relative band speed of 1/7. This
means that Band B will be traveling 1/7 faster than Band A:
Band A: 103.5000000000000 bpm = 4.05797101449275… seconds/revolution

Band B: 118.2857142857143… bpm = 2.53592561284869… seconds/revolution
If we wanted 3 places of accuracy, we would need to nd LCM(103500, 118286)/1000 = 6121301 seconds,

which is 14 days, 6 hours, 56 minutes, and 7 seconds for the two bands to meet at the top again!
Is this correct? No…
In fact, for 3 decimal places of accuracy (.001), it takes only 8404 seconds (about 2.3 hours), and after they complete
one full cycle and align at the top, they will be within 0.00049003 secs of each other.
LCM(a, b) was extremely accurate for the other modes, such as PolyRhythm and PolyMeter. But for PolyTempo, we
need to use di erent approach to nd the rst time that the bands meet at the top within the desired accuracy.
To do this, I wrote a Python program that inputs the host BPM, the relative speed of Band B, the time signatures of the
bands (which equals the number of events per band), and the accuracy. From these, the program calculates the time in
seconds for each band to make a single rev around the circle. These values are passed to a function that continues to
add the rev value for each band onto itself until the two are within the desired accuracy.
Using the above example, it would take 1.0 / 0.00049003 ~ 2041 cycles for the bands to be o even 1 second.
At about 2.3 hours per cycle, that would be 2041 cycles * 2.3 hours ~ 4694 hours ~ 196 days until the two
bands arrived at the top even a full second away from each other!
What if you don’t want to wait 8404 seconds for one complete cycle of the two bands? You can lower the accuracy, or
you can try a di erent relative band speed for Band B. For the example above, suppose that 0.1 second was accurate
enough for one complete cycle (which it usually would be). Now it will take only approximately 20.29 seconds for a
complete cycle. Band A will arrive at 20.2899 seconds, Band B at 20.2874, the di erence being only 0.0025 seconds.
You can see that within the complete cycle

time of 20.289855 seconds, the two bands
come close to meeting at the top, then
diverge. At about 7.5 seconds, they come
very close (~0.51 seconds), but we required
an accuracy of 0.1 seconds, so the algorithm
continued until it found a match
to meet our accuracy.
Band A will make 5 revolutions, and Band B

will make 8 revolutions.
Band A is traveling at the host speed of

103.5 bpm, whereas Band B is traveling
at 118.29 bpm.
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Here is another example to show you the relationship between the requested accuracy and the cycle time:
Suppose you chose a relative band speed such that Band A makes one revolution in 4.077669901912621 seconds,
and Band B in 2.1849963583394025 seconds. (Obviously, we don’t need this many decimal places for actual music, but this is the
accuracy our algorithm uses to meet our desired accuracy setting.) Also suppose that Band A has 7 events and Band B has 5 events.
The total time required for one complete cycle for di erent accuracy settings is as follows:
Accuracy Time for one cycle Time di erence (in sec) # revs for Band A # revs for Band B
.000001 11.666666 hours

.00001 ~ 700 minutes 0.0000 10,300 19,222
.0001 ~ 42,000 seconds
29.970874 minutes
0.001 0.00042 441 823
~1798 seconds
9.650485 minutes
0.01 0.0051 142 265
~ 579 seconds
3.533981 minutes
0.1 0.0942 51 97
~212 seconds
0.5 24.466019 seconds 0.43106 6 11
Here are two other examples:
This one uses 74.5 and 77.74 bpm.

The bands will complete one cycle in 39.46 seconds
with a 0.1 second accuracy.
You can see that 3 times, the bands comes very

close to meeting at the top, but each time, the time
di erence is greater than 0.1 second.
This one uses 103 and 137.33 bpm.

The bands will complete one cycle in 29.46 seconds
with a 0.5 second accuracy.
You can see that the bands never come very close to
meeting at the top, and even the two nal dots are
not aligned as closely as in the example above
because our accuracy tolerance is only 0.5 second.
What about using 3 bands or 4 bands?

The process is the same, but depending on the ratios
of the band speeds, the number of seconds required
for one complete cycle is usually signi cantly greater,
especially for accuracy levels less than 0.5 seconds.
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Phase (Shifted) Music (and how it di ers from Polytempic music)
Phase music (aka rhythm phasing) is a subset of PolyTempo music. It’s important to note that the line (and even
de nition) of phase music is fuzzy. Whereas one author may refers a piece of music as polytempic, another writer may
call it phase music. They both describe music where the separate parts are shifted in time from each other.
For this discussion, I will use the following de nitions:
Polytempic (multitempic) music uses di erent tempos (BPMs) for each part. These gradually and continuously
separate in time from each other. The BPMs can be extremely close (such as 107 and 107.3) or they may be further apart
(such as 110 and 85). The closer the two BPMs are, the longer it takes for them to go out of phase, and the longer it
takes for them to eventually be in phase again. The parts often use identical or similar pitches and rhythms to make the
in/out phasing more apparent.
Phase music (or phasing), on the other hand, uses the same tempos (BPMs) for all parts. As with polytempic music, the
notes and rhythms are often the same or similar. Instead of the parts gradually shifting out of phase, one or more of the
parts is instantly shifted by a certain amount of time (a note length or number of seconds). As with polytempic music, the
parts have shifted out of phase.
As a simple example, suppose the following rhythm is for two parts (or two players). Initially, both parts play exactly the
same rhythm, and these measures would be repeated as many times as the composer speci es. At this point, the rhythm
is completely in phase.
Part 1
Part 2
Then one of the two parts plays the same rhythm but shifts it by some amount in time (in this example, an 8th note).
The two parts are now out of phase by an 8th note and create syncopation of the two parts. Again, after a certain amount
of time, the player shifts in time again. This continues until the two parts are in sync (in phase) again.
Part 1
Part 2
As an example, several articles refer to Steve Reich's Clapping Music (1972) as phase music – but it isn’t.1
The two parts don't phase at all. Instead, there is an instant shifting of rhythmic patterns. This is an important distinction
between polytempic music (which uses different tempos) and “shifting” music.
Therefore, the choice of wording “phase” music to de ne this type of instant time shifts is unfortunate. The multiple time
signatures used in polytempic music causes a gradual and continuous out-of-phase and eventually in-phase movement.
The term “phase music” as described above should more accurately be named shifted music, or something more clever.
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Hybrid Rhythms
Clapping musicClapping Music consists of a single one-bar pattern consisting of 12 beats: 8 notes and 4 rests1. This 12-
beat pattern is then shifted sequentially left by one of the performers, until all 11 possible rotations of the rhythm have
been played.
Writing this in the same notation we’ve been using for Euclidean, PolyRhythm, and PolyMeter, we get:
(8,12) = 111011010110 = XXX.XX.X.XX. = (11212212)
But this isn't Euclidean, which for (8,12) to be maximally even would be:
E(8,12) = 101101101101 = X.XX.XX.XX.X = {1,3,4,6,7,9,10,12} = (21212121)
So, what is it?
We will give the name Hybrid rhythm to any type of rhythm that doesn't t into the de nitions of the others.
This is, obviously, an enormous container of possible rhythms. More ne-grained classi cations are possible and
necessary when analyzing related groups of patterns, but this is beyond the scope of this paper. However, it's helpful to
classify a particular rhythm into this broad hybrid group because although we may not have an exact name for the
pattern, we know that it's not one of the types we've discussed above.
Fortunately, with the four rhythm modes and extensive options in EucSeqiOS, every type of hybrid rhythm can be
created, such as the one above.
Steve Reich's simplistic (but interesting) Clapping Music rhythms are one type of hybrid rhythms – they are close to a
Euclidean rhythm but don't meet the strict de nition of maximally even.
Many types of rhythmic sequences, especially those used in world rhythms such as African and Latin music, are hybrid
because they use some of the same elements as Euclidean or PolyRhythm, but they don't t exactly as either.
For example, in the Euclidean section, I mentioned that if the di erence between any digits in the Distance notation are
more than 1, the sequence cannot be Euclidean. This is a quick visual test. For example, in the sequence (32332233),
all the digits are within 1 of each other, so it may2 be Euclidean. However, the sequence (32331322) has di erences
of 1 and 2 between digits, so this could never be a Euclidean rhythm.
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1
The number of ways to arrange 8 identical notes with 4 identical rests is 495.
If we eliminate the n=11 possible rotations, we get 495/11 = 45 unique sequences, so
Reich used only one of the 45 possible unique sequences that contain 8 events and 4
rests, but it is not Euclidean, which is actually:
E(8,12) = 101101101101 = X.XX.XX.XX.X = {1,3,4,6,7,9,10,12} = (21212121)
See the section below Computing the Number of Possible Sequences.
2
In fact, E(8,21) = 10010100 10010100 10010 = (323 323 32), so (32332233)is not Euclidean.
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Computing the Number of Possible Sequences
Although many rhythms used in all genres of music use some or all of the rhythm types discussed in this paper, many
use sequences that don't t neatly into one of these well-de ned categories. For example, (2122122) is the Euclidean
rhythm E(7,12) = 101101011010 But what if we reverse the nal 1 and 0: 101101011001.
This is no longer Euclidean, nor can any of the possible 11 rotations return the sequence to Euclidean.
How many such permutations are there for n steps, k ones and n-k zeros?
To the right are four equations that are useful (easier than they appear!).
Using the example above 101101011001, n=12, k=7,

how many permutations of this are possible?
Using equation A: (12!)/(7!)(5!) = 792 possible permutations.
However, this includes all rotations of every sequence. To nd the number

of all possible permutations excluding the n-1 rotations, use equation B1:
possible permutations.
Note that some of the sequences will be more evenly spaced than others,
while others will have longer distances between events.
For example, one possible permutation of (7,12) would be 100000011111 = (711111).

Although this combination is interesting, is this a commonly used rhythm in world music? No.
Although the topic of why certain permutations have remained popular in the music of di erent cultures while other
permutations are rarely (or never) used is an active and complex eld of study for ethnomusicologists. However, having
compiled and analyzed thousands of rhythms, most of the most popular patterns are those with these two traits:
(1) in which the distances among all pairs of events (using the Distance notation) is either 1 or 2
(1 being the most popular), and
(2) that have the largest separation (total distance) between the smallest distances
Compare the following four sequences:
(41135124) = X...XXX..XX.XX... distances of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 n=21, k=8

(53533) = X....X..X....X..X..X.. distances equal to 2 only n=19, k=5
(4232233) = X...X.X..X.X.X..X.. distances of 1 and 2 n=19, k=7
(2221122) = X.X.X.XXX.X. distances of only 1 n=12, k=7
The last sequence would generally be the most popular, followed in order by the ones above.
This demonstrates trait (1) above for which patterns have remained the most popular.
The last sequence n=12, k=7, (2221122) has 792 permutations, not including rotations (formula B). For example,
we could use X.....XXXXX.X= (6111121) which historically wouldn't be popular according to trait (1).
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1
is the ceiling function = the smallest integer ≥ x; that is, the ceiling function rounds the number up to the nearest integer.
For example,
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So, if we want to reduce the total number of permutations to those using distances consisting only ve 2s and two 1s,
such as (2122212), we use formula D which states that we divide k! by (the number of each distance we want)!, then
divide by the total number of possible rotations; in this case, we have ve 2s (5!) and two 1s (2!):
[7!/(5!)(2!)] / 7 = 12, so we've reduced the number of all 792 permutations of (7,12), to only those containing
ve 2s and two 1s, excluding rotations. Of these 12, are all of them equally popular in world music? No.
Now look at trait (2) above for popularity of the 12 permutations of n=12, k=7.
We have only two distances in these sequences: ve 2s and two 1s. Here are a few combinations:
(2221212), (2122122), (2122212), etc.
Generally speaking (but with many exceptions!), the most popular of the 12 possible permutations are those which have
the largest separation (total distance) between the smallest distances (trait 2 above). This is easier to see than to explain.
Here are the above three sequences, shown on an events wheel with polygon segments representing each event
distance:
(2 2 2 1 2 1 2) (2 1 2 2 1 2 (2 1 2 2 2 1 2)
------ ------- ----------
largest separation
between smallest distances: 1 2 3
The red lines are the shortest distances (for this sequence, the shortest distances are 1), and the blue lines represent the
largest separation (in distance) between those short distances (without wrapping around the wheel).
In the rst sequence, you can see that the largest separation (distance) between the two red lines (without wrapping
around the wheel) has one segment (of length 2). The next sequence has two segments between the red lines, for a total
distance of 4. The last sequence has three segments between the red lines, for a distance of 6.
Of these three, the last one (2122212) has the largest separation, so according to the very generalized traits (1) and (2)
above, this should be the most popular among these three. And, in fact, it is – or certainly one of the most popular
among all 12 permutations of sequences where n=12, k=7, using ve 2s and two 1s. The last one is called the Bembé
rhythm (among many other names for it), and has remained popular in African drumming patterns for centuries.
This does in no way diminishes the importance of the other permutations. In fact, of the 12 possible permutations, ten of
them are used regularly, not only as patterns in African music but also in other cultures.
What is the actual Euclidean sequence for n=12, k=7 ?
E(7,12) = 101101011010 = (2122122). If we rotate this clockwise 7 times, we get:
E(7,12,+7) = 101101010110 = (2122212), which is exactly the last sequence above!

This rotation is called Bemba in Africa (a rotation of Bembé).
So, we've come full circle by showing that of the possible 792 permutations of (7,12), the single Euclidean rhythm plus
its rotations are among the most popular.
On the next page is a list of the ten most popular (7,12)patterns for bell used extensively in African music.
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Ten popular African bell patterns
(k=7, n=12) with interval lengths of 1 and 2 only
Bembé-2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 Euclidean rhythm and Euclidean string

Tonada 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 not Euclidean rhythm or string
Soli 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 not Euclidean rhythm or string
Asaadua 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 not Euclidean rhythm or string
Sorsonet 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 not Euclidean rhythm or string
Bembé 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 E(7,12,+10) not Euclidean string

Bemba 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 E(7,12,+7) not Euclidean string
2
Tambú 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 E(7,12,+4) not Euclidean string
Yoruba 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 E(7,12,+2) not Euclidean string
Ashantí 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 E(7,12,+0) not Euclidean string
E(7,12) 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 Euclidean rhythm (for comparison)
Look at the last ve sequences. Ashantí is Euclidean E(7,12) exactly.

The four sequences above it are also E(7,12) with rotations!
Of the 12 possible permutations, these ten remain among the most popular, and half of them are Euclidean!
Look at the rst sequence, the Bembé-2 rhythm: (1221222). If we increment the rst distance by one and
decrement the last distance by one, we get: (2221221). If we rotate this clockwise 6 steps, we get the original
(1221222). Therefore, this Bembé-2 rhythm is a Euclidean string. In addition, if we rotate Bembé-2 (1221222)
by 2 steps clockwise, we get (2122122) which is E(7,12), so Bembé-2 is also a Euclidean rhythm.
Conversely, if we increment the rst distance of Tonada by 1 and decrement the last by 1, we get (3121221).
Clearly, because no rotation of this could ever return to (2121222), this is not a Euclidean string3.
Similarly for Soli. If we increment/decrement, we get (3222120), which obviously is unlike any rotation of (22221213
For these same reasons, you can see that Asaadua, Sorsonet and the last ve are also not Euclidean strings.
The earlier section Euclidean strings (p.29) stated that while some Euclidean rhythms are also Euclidean strings, it is
uncommon for the most popular African rhythms to be both. This is true with the above ten bell patterns.
Researching, cataloging, and analyzing Euclidean strings and how they relate to Euclidean rhythms is an ongoing subject
for ethnomusicologists worldwide. If you are interested in deeper, mathematical analyses, you can nd many well-written
(although complex) papers online and in music and mathematics journals.
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1
On the next page is an example of a popular African drumming rhythm called Doudoumba, showing how multiple types of
sequences are often combined. One of these is the Euclidean rhythm E(7,12)shown above, Ashantí.
2
This is a popular rhythm among the Igbo people of Nigeria, western Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, eastern Angola, northern
Zambia, as well as Haiti and Cuba.
3
Remember: when looking at the distance formula for a sequence, such as (3121221), if max value - min value > 1,
then it cannot be a Euclidean rhythm. For example, if you had the pattern (31131121), max–min=3–1=2 (which is >1),
so this cannot be a Euclidean rhythm.
Also, if the last distance – first distance ≠ 1, then the sequence is not a Euclidean string.
For example, in Bembé, last–first = 1–2 = -1. This distance is not equal to 1, so this is not a Euclidean string.
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Doudoumba African rhythm
As an example of combining di erent rhythm types, here is the famous Doudoumba African rhythm. It's written for six
players: one on bell, three on djembe, one on dundun, and the other on clave. One of the patterns is duplicated, so
below shows only the ve unique parts. There are 12 beats in the pattern:
Djembe1 X . X X X X X . . X X X (211113111)1
Djembe2 X X . . . . X X X . X . (151122)1
Djembe3 . . X . X X . . X . X X (213213,R+4)1,2
Bell & Dundun X . X X . X . X X . X . (2122122)3
Clave X . X X . . X . X X . . (213213)1
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1
You can tell immediately that these are not Euclidean because the di erence among some of the pairs of onsets is greater than 1.
2
This is a clockwise rotation of the clave pattern. The green X shows that the pattern has been rotated counterclockwise by 4 steps.
3
This is the Ashantí (Mpre) rhythm (shown on the previous page) and is popular among the Ashantí people of Ghana as well as the
Ewe people and others in the Ghana, Togo, and Benin regions. Of the ve rhythms above, this is the only rhythm that is Euclidean:
E(7,12) = X.XX. X.XX. X. = (212 212 2). The other four patterns are hybrid rhythms.
When Ashantí is rotated 9 steps clockwise, we get: X.X.XX.X.X.X = (221 2221) which is the famous Bembé rhythm (shown on
the previous page). This is popular throughout Africa, especially in Central and West African countries.
Notice that is we rotate Ashantí (which is E(7,12) by 1 step clockwise, we get (2 212 212). This rhythm is a Yoruba bell pattern of
Nigeria, the Babenzele pattern of Central Africa, and the Mende pattern of Sierra Leone
Here are the Bembé and Ashantí rhythms (both Euclidean) interpreted as 8th and 16th notes in 3/4, and as 8th-note triplets in 4/4.
Bembé in 3/4 (2212221)
Bembé in 4/4 (2212221)
Ashantí in 3/4 (2122122)
Ashantí in 4/4 (2122122)
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Inversions and rotations
As an example of how rotations and inversions can de ne rhythms used in some countries but not others,
look at E(7, 12):
E(7,12) = X.XX. X.XX. X. = (212 212 2) The inversion is .X..X.X..X.X

Rotating it +11 clockwise gives E(5,12): X..X.X..X.X.=(32322). This rhythm is also an Erdös-deep rhythm.
(32322) is a popular rhythm of the Aka Pygmies of Central Africa, the Venda clapping pattern of a South African
children's song, and a Macedonian pattern. It is a quasi-aksak rhythm (see p.28).
When started on the 2nd event (23223), it is the Cuban and West African Columbia bell pattern, one of many drumming
patterns in the Kenyan Chakacha dance, and popular in Macedonia.
When started on the 3rd event (32232), it is the inverse of the Bemba bell pattern used in northern Zimbabwe and in
the Macedonian dance Ibraim Odˇza Oro.
When started on the 4th event (22323), it is the Fume Fume bell pattern popular in West Africa, and in Serbia and
Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia). Interestingly, this was the rst African bell pattern ever to be transcribed.
When started on the 5th event (23232), it is known as the Canto de Vela rhythm, a bell pattern popular in the
Dominican Republic, as well as a drum pattern in Morocco.
The above example illustrates how (k,n) rhythms and their inversions (n-k, n) are used worldwide. What makes a
certain rotation popular in some countries but not in others is an active branch of ethnomusicology research.
The above example focused on a single Euclidean rhythm E(7,12), its inversion, and its rotations. However, hundreds
of non-Euclidean(k,n) patterns and their inversions and rotations have remained popular for over a millennia.
X.X.X.X..X.. = (22233) Although not Euclidean, it's a popular bell pattern of the Hausa people of Nigeria,
Vodou (Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun) drumming in Haiti, the Cuban-Congolese rhythm called palo, and various rhythms of
Spain and Latin America. Sometimes it's called a horizontal hemiola.
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Deepness
This paper has explored several of the most common classi cations and constructions of rhythms. This section,
however, focuses on the character of scales and rhythm sequences. The measure of deep (or deepness) describes the
harmonic and note-duration densities and completeness of a scale or rhythm sequence.
But why talk about scales in this paper?
In 1966, 20-year-old student Terry A. Winograd wrote a term paper1 for a music theory course at Colorado College. In
this unpublished paper, Winograd introduced the idea of deepness in scales. The following year, his class instructor,
Carlton Gamer, expanded these ideas in several articles2,3 and many other mathematicians, musicians, and computer
scientists have applied Winograd's early concepts of scale deepness to rhythm.4
The relationship between deepness in scales (lengths of intervals) and deepness in rhythms (lengths of note values) is
almost one-to-one. Therefore, a brief introduction to the concept of deepness in scales will make it easier to see how it
relates to deepness in rhythms.
A scale is considered deep if it meets the following two conditions:
(1) Every interval length d, , is present5.

That is, for a scale in the traditional d=12 tones per octave, when you measure the distances in semitones between
every possible pair of scale notes, every interval from 1 to ⌊12/2⌋ = 1 to 6 will be represented, and
(2) The number of times each of these lengths occurs (the multiplicity of the distances) is unique; that is, the scale could
not have, for example, three whole steps and three half steps..
For example, consider the major scale:

The sequence of whole steps and half steps is: W W H W W W H
Written as the number of semitones: (2 2 1 2 2 2 1)
Our goal for this scale, or any scale (and later for rhythms), is to nd whether or not the above two conditions are met:
(1) each of the six possible intervals5 are represented, and (2) the multiplicities of these intervals are unique.
The most traditional (and perhaps visually the clearest) method is to draw a circle with n
equally-spaced steps. For all scales in our traditional 12-note octave, n=12, and k=7
(the 7 notes of the major scale). Draw 7 dots (which represent the seven scale notes) on
the steps according to the sequence of whole-half steps (221 2221). From the top
moving clockwise, you can see that we have (221 2221)semitones (blue dots).
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
T. Winograd, An analysis of the properties of ‘Deep Scales' in a T-Tone System, Unpublished, May 17 1966. Term paper for music
theory course at Colorado College.
2
C. Gamer, Deep scales and di erence sets in equal-tempered systems, in: Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Conference of the
American Society of University Composers, 1967, pp. 113–122.
3
C. Gamer, Some combinational resources of equal-tempered systems, Journal of Music Theory 11 (1967) 32–59.
4
Terry Winograd, 76 years old when this paper was written, earned his PhD at MIT and has since been a professor and researcher at
Stanford University. During his career, he has led research in a wide range of computer and software engineering. He was also the
adviser to Stanford PhD student Larry Page, who co-founded Google.
5
In the 12-note range of our our traditional Western system, there are six possible intervals, plus the six inversions of them. The sum
of the length of any interval plus the length of its inversion is always 12. Therefore, when discussing deepness, we consider only
interval lengths 1 ≤ d ≤ ⌊n/2⌋. The six pairs of inverse intervals with their lengths in semitones: m2:M7 [1:11], M2:m7 [2:10], m3:M6
[3:9], M3:m6 [4:8], P4:P5 [5:7], aug4:dim5 [6:6], where m = minor, M = major, P = perfect, aug = augmented, dim = diminished
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Next, from each of these k=7 notes (dots), draw a line1 between all notes pairs (blue dots).
The lines on the right are colored according to their arc lengths2 (d):
Length2 (d) Interval Color Multiplicity3

1 m2 pink 2
2 M2 blue 5
3 m3 orange 4
4 M3 aqua 3
5 P4 / P5 purple 6
6 Aug4 / Dim5 (tritone) yellow 1
Notice that each of the 6 possible lengths4 d are represented, and all the
multiplicities are unique. Therefore, the major scale is considered deep.
The highest multiplicity of six occurrences has a length of 5 semitones, which is

a perfect 4th (up) or a perfect 5th (down). Throughout western music history,
these two intervals (and of course the unison and octave) have been the most
common because of their close harmonic relationship with the fundamental
frequency.
The second highest multiplicity of ve occurrences is the whole tone (major 2nd, multiplicity ve), followed by the major
3rd (multiplicity four), the minor 3rd (multiplicity three), the semitone (multiplicity two), and nally the tritone (aug 4/dim 5)
with multiplicity one.
Two classi cations of deepness

• Winograd-deep: The scale meets both conditions (1) and (2) above. This is the most restrictive type of deepness.
• Erdös-deep: Every distance d, 1≤d≤⌊n/2⌋ does not have to be present; that is, you may have a scale with only some
of the ⌊n/2⌋ possible distances. But the multiplicities of the intervals that are present must still be unique.
Erdös-deep is a less restrictive type of deepness.
Note: If a scale (or rhythm) is Winograd-deep, it is, by default, also Erdös-deep.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1
Technically called the chord of a circle, but in order to reduce confusion in this paper, I'll use line.
The total number of lines required to connect all pairs of k dots is
For any 7-note scale (k=7), this is
Therefore, you should have 21 lines, and the sum of all multiplicities must equal 21.
2
When counting the arc lengths (d), should you count clockwise or counter-clockwise around the circle? If the arc distance (the
number of steps from one note (dot) to the next note > ⌊n/2⌋, count in the opposite direction. Equivalently, always count the distances
in a clockwise (or counter-clockwise) direction, then compute n mod length
For example, look at the line above connecting note 0 with note 7. Counting the number of steps clockwise, we get 7. Counting the
number counter-clockwise, we get 5. So, the length of that segment is 5. Note that if we count all the lengths going only clockwise,
then we simply compute n mod length, which for this example is 12 mod 7 = 5
3
Be sure to count each line between notes only once.
4
As explained on the previous page, every interval has an inversion. In our traditional 12-tone system, we look only at intervals with
lengths 1 ≤ d ≤ ⌊12/2⌋ = 1 ≤ d ≤ 6 because the other six intervals (the inversions) are automatically represented.
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What does this tell us? How can we use this?
Any scale that is Winograd-deep contains every possible interval, so this is an ideal choice for composition where we
want to have as much diatonic interval exibility as possible. In other words, using only the diatonic major scale, we have
access to every possible interval (the six listed above plus their six inversions). Similarly, when we transfer this concept
of deepness to rhythms, it measures what type of durations and their multiplicities.
Whether or not a scale or rhythm sequence is deep has nothing to do with its quality or usefulness; often we want to use
speci c scales that have neither all possible intervals or durations nor a unique set of multiplicities.
For example, the 6-note whole-tone scale consists only of whole steps(222222):
Length (d) Interval Color Multiplicity

1 minor 2nd (semitone) 0
2 major 2nd (whole tone) blue 6
3 minor 3rd 0
4 major 3rd pink 6
5 major 4th/perfect 5th 0
6 tritone (aug 4/dim 5) green 3
So, in a whole-tone scale, only three intervals can be found:

six major 2nds, six major 3rds, three tritones (aug4/dim5).
All six interval lengths are not present (so it isn't Winograd-deep), and of the three
interval lengths that are present, their multiplicities (6, 6, and 3) are not unique.
Therefore, the whole-tone scale isn't Erdös-deep either.
But the fact that we can't classify it as deep isn't a re ection on its compositional strength or long lasting popularity –
dozens of famous composers have used this scale for centuries, including Johann Ahle's rst known use of the scale in
1662, to Bach, Mozart, Berlioz, Schubert, Debussy, Stevie Wonder, McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and
many others.
Deepness is more a measure of the complexity of the scale in terms of interval density; or the complexity of the rhythm in
terms of note durations, but not a measure of its compositional usefulness, popularity, or longevity.
As we showed above, the major (Ionian) scale is Winograd-deep. Because all the other diatonic scales (modes1) are
simply rotations of Ionian, they too are Winograd-deep. Even though each of the seven diatonic scales (modes) starts on
a di erent note, they use the same seven notes shifted (rotated), so they will contain the same intervals and the same
number of occurrences (multiplicity) of each interval.
Therefore, if any scale or rhythm sequence is Winograd or Erdös deep, all its rotations will also be deep.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 The seven diatonic modes, in order, are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
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How can we translate the concept of deepness from scales to rhythms?
The similarity of deep scales to deep rhythms is almost 1:1. Instead of the distances between the "dots" representing the
number of semitones between pairs of notes, the distances now represent the note durations (the number of steps, or
subdivisions of the beat, which could be eighth notes, quarter notes, or any other duration value).
Using the major scale as an example again, the sequence in the number of semitones is (221 2221).
But now the same pattern (221 2221) represents the rhythm, just as we have done throughout this paper.
The same diagram that we used to represent the major scale is

now interpreted as the number of steps, which represents the
total note duration: (221 2221)= X.X.X X.X.X.X
# of Steps Color Multiplicity

1 pink 2
2 blue 5
3 orange 4
4 aqua 3
5 purple 6
6 yellow 1
Is there a direct relationship among deep scales, deep rhythms, and Euclidean (or hybrid) rhythms?
• If a scale is deep, the same rhythm is also deep, and vice versa. The major scale is an example.
• If a scale or rhythm is deep, then all rotations of it are also deep. All the diatonic modes are examples.
• Some Euclidean sequences based on the same (k,n) will result in the same sequence as the deep scale or
deep rhythm; if so, then the E(k,n) rhythm is also deep.
Consider the major pentatonic scale: W W m3 W m3 = (22323), which has 5 events (notes) and 12 steps:
# of Steps Multiplicity
1 0
2 3 Not every distance is represented, so this is not
3 2 Winograd-deep. However, of the four distances that
4 1 are present, their multiplicities are unique. Therefore,
5 4 the major pentatonic scale is Erdös-deep.
6 0
Now compare E(5,12) = X..X.X..X.X. = (32322). If we rotate this 4 steps clockwise, we have (22323),
which is the major pentatonic scale. Therefore, E(5,12,+4) = major pentatonic scale, and both are Erdös-deep through
all rotations.
Also, the minor pentatonic scale = m3 W W m3 W = (32232), which is simply a rotation of the major pentatonic
scale. Therefore, it also is Erdös-deep.
Why is Winograd-deep often used with scales but not with rhythms?
By de nition, Winograd-deep is very restrictive because it requires all distances from d, , to be present and
all multiplicities to be unique. In our 12-tone system, most scales are 6 or more notes ⌊12/2⌋ = 6, so it's possible for
most scales to be tested whether or not they are Winograd-deep.
However, this isn't true for rhythms. Very often, we create(k,n) rhythms where k < ⌊n/2⌋, such as E(3,11),
E(5,13), etc. In all these cases, it would be impossible for all distances from 1 through ⌊n/2⌋ to be represented.
Therefore, for most rhythms (and certainly for all rhythms where k < ⌊n/2⌋), we use the less-restrictive condition of
Erdös-deep to determine whether or not the rhythm is deep. For rhythms where k ≥ ⌊n/2⌋, we can specify that it is
Winograd-deep if it meets both conditions. If so, it is by default also Erdös-deep.
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Example: The Bossa Nova rhythm is X..X..X...X..X.. = (33433)
Length (d) Color Multiplicity

1 0 Not every distance is represented, so
2 0 this is not Winograd-deep. However,
3 pink 4 of the four distances that are present,
4 green 1 their multiplicities are unique.
Therefore, the Bossa Nova rhythm is
5 purple 3
Erdös-deep.
6 blue 2
Compare the Bossa Nova with E(5,16) = X..X..X..X..X... = (33334)

If you rotate this 10 steps clockwise, you have the Bossa Nova. Therefore,
E(5,16,+10) = Bossa Nova, and they are Erdös-deep through all rotations.
Example: E(8,11) = X.XX X.XX X.X = (211 211 21)
Length (d) Color Multiplicity

1 pink 5 Not every distance is represented. Also, of
2 blue 5 the ve distances that are present, three of
3 orange 6 their multiplicities are the same (5).
4 aqua (dotted) 7 Therefore, E(8,11) and all its rotations are
5 purple 5 neither Winograd-deep nor Erdös-deep.
Example: Consider these two sequences: (2212)=X.X.XX and (223)=X.X.X..

Rotate (2212)clockwise by 1 step so it starts on a silence: .X.X.XX
The length:multiplicities of (2212) are 1:1, 2:3, 3:2

All lengths are present, and all multiplicities are unique;
therefore, (2212) is Winograd-deep (and Erdös-deep).
The length:multiplicities of (223) are 1:0, 2:2, 3:1

Not all lengths are present, but the multiplicities are unique for the other lengths;
therefore, (223) is Erdös-deep.
Now look at the following two Euclidean sequences:

E(4,7) = X.X.X.X = (2221)
E(3,7) = X.X.X.. = (223)
You can see that E(4,7)is a rotation of our original green sequence(2212);
therefore, E(4,7) and all its rotations are Winograd-deep (and Erdös-deep).
Similarly, E(3,7) is identical to our original purple sequence (223);

therefore, E(3,7) and all its rotations are Erdös-deep.
These two rhythms are from Dave Brubeck's composition Unsquare Dance. The (223)rhythm is played by the bass
while the (2212)pattern is played by claps. This combination is interesting because these two rhythms are inverses of
each other.
The simple (223)pattern is common in music of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Greece, Turkistan, Bulgaria, Sudan,
Turkey, and North Macedonia. Starting on the 2nd event (232)is a popular pattern in Serbia. Starting on the 3rd event
(322) is a common rhythm in Greece, Turkey, Yemen, Macedonia, and northern India.
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Generated deep rhythms
All deep rhythms D (with one shown exception) can be
generated (constructed) using the formula on the right:
This simply states that for a sequence with n steps and k events
(where k ≤ ), an index counter i (0 ≤ i ≤to k-1), and
for some integer m (≤ )1 where m and n are relatively prime
(gcd(m,n)=1), then the computation im mod n for all values
of m and i will generate m di erent deep rhythms!
Even though it sounds complicated, it's not. As an example, here is a rhythm that we already have shown to be
Erdös-deep: E(5,12) = X..X.X..X.X. = (32322). n=12, k=5 (which is ≤ ).
We need to nd some m ≤ 6 : 1,2,3,4,5,6 that is relatively prime with n=12.

We can rule out 2,3,4,6 because these are not relatively prime to 12. We can also rule out anything higher
than 6 because m must be ≤ = 6. Therefore, this leaves us with only two choices1: m=1, m=5
Now simply compute im mod n, with m=5 and i=0,1,2,3,4:

(0)(5) mod 12 = 0 (1)(5) mod 12 = 5
(2)(5) mod 12 = 10 (3)(5) mod 12 = 3 (4)(5) mod 12 = 8
On an empty circle with 12 steps, put the rst event at step 0, the next event at step
5, then at 10, 3, then 8. You can see that the arc distances are (32322)
But what's the point of doing this? Obviously, if we already know the sequence
pattern and have already gured out that it is a deep rhythm, we wouldn't go through
these calculations.
Generally, however, we have values for k and n. Is there a way to place k events on n
steps to produce a deep rhythm? Yes! And the above algorithm is a simple way to
produce all such deep rhythms from any values k,n. Process:
Select any k and any n, such that k ≤ ⌊n/2⌋.

Select all values of m, such that m ≤ ⌊n/2⌋ and m,n are relatively prime.
Set i=0,1,2,...,k-1
Now for every valid m, and for all i, compute im mod n
You will now have generated m di erent deep sequences!
This method of creating a sequence by computer im mod n is a similar process to the generalized computer algorithm
in the earlier section Algorithm 3: Generalized Computer Program (page 21). However, whereas the computer algorithm
computes a single, maximally-even Euclidean rhythm (which is deep, as are all Euclidean rhythms), the above algorithm
calculates all possible deep rhythms based on k,n – one or more of them may be maximally even and therefore
Euclidean, but the others will not be Euclidean, and certainly not maximally deep.
On the next page is an example of an arbitrary k and n to show how we can generate many di erent deep rhythms.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 If n is even, there may be only one or a few choices for m. If more than one value of m exists, each of these will generate a deep
rhythm. As an example, for the sequence R(5,11), k=5, n=11, ⌊n/2⌋=⌊11/2⌋=5. Therefore, i=0,1,2,3,4.
m must be ≤ 5 : 1,2,3,4,5. All these ve possible values for m are relatively prime with n=11, and therefore valid.
All ve values of m produce the following sequences, and they are all Erdos-deep:
m=1: (11111); m=2: (22223) = E(5,11); m=3: (12332); m=4: (13133); m=5: (41411)
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Deep and Euclidean Rhythms
The method above will always produce m Erdös-deep rhythms. Usually, one of these m rhythms will also be Euclidean.
However, if none of these m deep rhythms are Euclidean, then the Euclidean rhythm with the same k and n values
will not be Erdös-deep.
Two examples should make this clear:
D(8,13)
This has six possible values for m:1,2,3,4,5,6 and produces the following six rhythms:
(11111116), (11222221), (21212131), (21131311), (22122121) = E(8,13), (31114111)
Although all six of these rhythms are Erdös-deep, only one of them (22122121) is Euclidean.
D(4,10) 2
This has two possible values for m:1 and 3 and produces the following two 2
rhythms: (1117) and (3331). Both of these are Erdös-deep.
2
blue = distance 2 = 2 occurrences (multiplicity)
pink = distance 3 = 2 occurrences 2
orange = distance 5 = 2 occurrences 2 2
Usually, one of the m rhythms will produce a Euclidean rhythm, but some do not.
The Euclidean rhythm E(4,10)is(3232), but notice that this pattern is not one of the two possible deep rhythms!
Therefore, E(4,10) is Euclidean but not deep!
Chaotic Rhythms
In the above example for D(4,10), all the multiplicities ( ) are 2. By de nition of a deep rhythm, all the multiplicities
must be unique in order for the rhythm to be deep. We have also seen that for all the m possible D(k,n) deep rhythms,
one of them is usually Euclidean. However, if not, then E(k,n) is not a deep rhythm.
When one or more multiplicities ( ) in a rhythm are the same, the rhythm belongs to a di erent category of rhythm,
named chaotic (or di erence-set) rhythms1. There are two classi cations of chaotic rhythms, which for simplicity I will
name using the letter :
Using this classi cation, D(4,10) above is an rhythm because all the multiplicities = 2.
Consider the rhythm D(7,13) = (111343). This is neither a Euclidean rhythm nor a deep rhythm.
The multiplicities of all distances between its pairs are either = 2 or = 3:
distance color multiplicity

1 red 3
2 blue 2
3 green 3
4 orange 3
5 purple 2
6 aqua 2
Therefore, this is an rhythm.
Generating Chaotic Rhythms

There are several ways to generate chaotic rhythms.
One simple method is to use triangular numbers2: 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, ...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 D. Pigozzi, Chaotic and euclidean rhythms, Bulletin of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications, 92 (2021), 40–49.
2 The kth triangular number is simply the sum of all the integers from 1 to k:
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Example:
Let's choose n = 11, so k = (11+1)/2 = 6, and m=0,1,2,3,4,5
Now compute the event numbers em :

e1 = (0)(1)/2 mod 11 = 0
e2 = (1)(2)/2 mod 11 = 1
e3 = (2)(3)/2 mod 11 = 3
e4 = (3)(4)/2 mod 11 = 6
e5 = (4)(5)/2 mod 11 = 10
e6 = (5)(6)/2 mod 11 = 4
So the chaotic sequence = {0,1,3,4,6,10}11 = (121241)
distance color multiplicity

1 pink 3
2 blue 3
3 orange 2
4 green 3
5 yellow 3
All the multiplicities are either = 2 or = 3; therefore, this is an rhythm.
On the next page is a list of several rhythms.

Using this, we can make a few generalizations about Deep vs. Euclidean vs. Chaotic rhythms.
Comparisons of selected Deep, Euclidean, and Chaotic rhythms
(k,n) Deep Euclidean Chaotic

(1111119), A:1.2 This is a somewhat arbitrary list of
(2222223), A:2.7 eleven (k,n) rhythms to highlight
(7,15) (2222223)
(1313133), A:2.5
(5115111), A:1.9 a few aspects.
(11117), A:1.1
(22223), A:2.7
In most cases, Euclidean rhythms
(5,11) (12332), A:2.2 (22223) are Erdös-deep; that is, within
(13133), A:2.0 almost every group of deep
(41411), A:1.6
rhythms is one Euclidean rhythm,
(1,1,11), A:0.5 as shown here.
(229), A:0.8
(337), A:1.0
(3,13) (445), A:1.3 (445) Sometimes, this isn't true, as with
(553), A:1.2 (6,16).
(661), A:0.5
(11111,12), A:0.9 For each of the chaotic rhythms, n

(222227), A:2.0 is a prime number, and and
(333332), A:2.6
(314441), A:2.3 k=(n+1)/2, both of which are
(6,17) (323252), A:2.4 (333332) requirements. Both and
(151514), A:2.0 types of chaotic rhythms are
(133433), A:2.5
(611711), A:1.4 shown.
(11118), A:1.0
In all cases, the Euclidean rhythm
(5,12) (32322), A:2.3 (32322) is the rhythm whose polygon,
determined by the spacing of its
(11114), A:1.4
(5,8) (12122), A:2.2 (12122) events, has the largest area (and,
therefore, the maximum evenness)
(11111,11), A:1.0 compared with all other polygons
(333331), A:2.5
(6,16) (414151), A:2.0 (323233), A:2.6 in the same (k,n) family. Later in
(322522), A:2.3 this paper, we discuss how area is
(1111117), A:1.4
one of three primary methods to
(2222221), A:2.7 measure the evenness of a rhythm.
(2121331), A:2.5
(7,13) (2222221) (111343)
(3131311), A:2.4
(2212321), A:2.6
By de nition, a Winograd-deep
(4114111), A:2.1 rhythm requires that all chord
distances between 1 and be
(111116), A:1.4
(222221), A:2.5
present. But because many
(6,11) (121232), A:2.4 (222221) (121241) rhythms have a small number of
(131312), A:2.3 events k, not all chord distances
(311411), A:2.0
can be represented. For this
(1114), A:1.2 reason, if a rhythm is deep, it is
(4,7)
(2221), A:1.9
(2221) (1231) usually Erdös-deep. (Any rhythm
(2131), A:1.5
that is Winograd-deep is also
Erdös-deep by default.)
(111111119), A:1.4
(222222221), A:2.9
(121212332), A:2.8 All the (7,13) and (9, 17)
(9,17)
(313131311), A:2.7
(222222221) (12124142)
rhythms are Winograd-deep.
(122122322), A:2.8
(114114113), A:2.5
(131213312), A:2.7 Finally, the inversions of all chaos
(511151111), A:2.2 rhythms are chaos rhythms also.
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A few generalizations about Deep vs. Euclidean vs. Chaotic rhythms
All discussions in this paper are intended to be a high-level introduction to the terminology and construction of various
rhythms, not an in-depth, overly analytical research paper. Each type of rhythm we've looked at is an enormous, di cult,
ongoing eld of study by ethnomusicologists, mathematicians, musicians, and computer scientists world wide.
By way of that disclaimer, the most we can do from this brief introduction to deep and chaotic rhythms is to make some
generalizations. If you're interested in computing more of these as demonstrated above, you'll discover more di erences
and similarities among deep, Euclidean, and chaotic rhythms.
Using only the above table as a guide, what generalizations and conclusions can we make?
• In all the above cases, one of the deep rhythms was also Euclidean. Although this happens most of the time, we saw
with the case of D(4,10) that none of the deep rhythms were Euclidean.
• Generally, if n is a prime number, more deep rhythms can be generated than if n is even, or odd but not prime.
• The rst seven (k,n) sequences above do not have any chaotic rhythms. Why? Because, as we saw above, n must
be prime, and k must be (n+1)/2
• Remember that if the absolute value of the di erence between any pairs of distances > 1, the sequence cannot be
Euclidean. Another way to state this is that if the absolute value of the max distance – min distance > 1, it is not a
Euclidean sequence.
• Because of this, notice that in all Euclidean sequences, the di erence between the lengths of consecutive distances is
at most 1, whereas for all the deep rhythms, the di erence in distances can be large, such as (1,1,11). How does
this a ect the rhythm? Euclidean rhythms move along at regular (though usually asymmetrically spaced) pulse.
Conversely, deep rhythms jump much more between events and silences. This isn't a re ection of quality or
usefulness, just a di erence in how the rhythms are played and our perception of the rhythm.
• Why are chaotic rhythms named as such? It's a subjective term, certainly, based on how the rhythm sounds in
comparison to the very orderly Euclidean and the less orderly deep rhythms. Chaotic rhythms, as you can see from
the few examples above, are less "predictable" than their related deep rhythms, and certainly much less predictable
than the Euclidean rhythms.
For example, Euclidean E(9,17)=(222222221) is highly regular with only one asymmetric change. Its related deep
members, such as (3131 31311) or (1312 13312) are less regular but still have an easy to follow pattern.
However, compare that to the chaotic rhythm for (9,17) = (1212 4142) which starts quite simple but then jumps
up and alternates in the opposite direction with inconsistent distances.
The regular, asymmetric yet even pulse of the Euclidean rhythms is what has kept them popular for thousands of
years. They create an easy to perform driving pulse – just enough asymmetry to keep them interesting, but not too
much to destroy the driving rhythm.
Deep rhythms, like deep scales, o er more variety in terms of the various note lengths possible between di erent pairs
of notes (or notes of the scale). The heightened irregularity of the di erences in times between notes creates a more
challenging to play and to listen experience. Often, a deep rhythm will be combined or alternated with a Euclidean for
a tension-release e ect.
Finally, chaotic rhythms create the least predictable sequences for the performer and listener. The rhythms are more
complex and interesting than the simpler deep or Euclidean, which makes them popular in jazz, classical, and
experimental, and some rock music. By alternating chaotic with deep, you can create sequences that are related yet
rhythmically quite complex.
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Inverse (Complementary) Chaotic Rhythms
As a nal brief section about deep and chaotic rhythms, here's an overview with examples
of an inverse chaotic rhythm and how you may want to use one.
Above we calculated the chaotic rhythm for(k,n) = (6,11) = {0,1,3,4,6,10}11 = (121241)

and saw that because all the distances have multiplicities = 2 or = 3, it is type .
This chaotic rhythm is shown below in green.
To nd the inverse (complementary) chaotic rhythm, simply create a

sequence of every event 0 to k-1 that isn't in the set {0,1,3,4,6,10}11
This is is shown in pink.
For analysis, you need to temporarily (even in your head) rotate the pink
inverted rhythm clockwise 2 steps so that it begins on 0. The pattern we
then get is the set {0,4,7,9,10}11 = (43211)
Computing the number of multiplicities of this pink sequence, we have:
distance multiplicity
1 2
2 2
3 2
4 2
5 2
Every multiplicity is the same ( = 2); therefore, this is an rhythm.
A rhythm (whether Euclidean, PolyRhythm, Deep, Chaotic) when combined with its inverse sequence (usually performed
on a di erent instrument) often produces interesting cross-rhythms. Combining a chaotic rhythm with its inverse (which
is also chaotic) usually produces even more complex rhythms.
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As another example, in the chart above of comparisons among rhythm types, we calculated the (4,7) chaotic rhythm
to be {0,1,3,6}7 = (1231)= XX.X..X This rhythm is
The inverse of this is ..X.XX. Rotated 2 steps clockwise (so that it begins on 0 for analysis), we get:
X...X.X = (421) which is also an chaotic rhythm.
Proko ev, in the rst measure of the third movement of his Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, uses these two rhythms:
The (4,7) chaotic rhythm, reversed for the right hand: X . . X . X X
The (4,7) inverse (complement) played in the left hand: . X X . X . .
In the second measure, Proko ev uses the Erdös-deep

X..X.XX X.X.XXX rhythm (11221) rotated 5 steps counterclockwise
= X.X.XXX in the right hand, and its inversion
(complement) .X.X... in the left hand.
Whether or not Proko ev intentionally used such analysis

to work out the rhythms in every measure is irrelevant.
The point is to show that deep rhythms, chaotic

rhythms, and their inversions can be e ective tools to
add rhythmic complexity and interest to your
.XX.X.. .X.X... compositions.
Hybrid Rhythms – Conclusion

The section above wasn't intended to be a comprehensive study or analysis of every type of rhythm that didn't exactly t
the de nitions for Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, or PolyTempo. And it certainly didn't attempt to do more than
introduce a few of the most common African and other world rhythms, a vast and complex eld of study.
The goal was to show a few ways in which these hybrid rhythms can be studied and used in music. Understanding more
about all these rhythms will hopefully not only help you to identify and appreciate these rhythms and their interaction
with others but also add to your listening enjoyment and perhaps add a few ideas to your next compositions.
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Summary of Rhythms
Euclidean Rhythm
Euclidean rhythms use steps, events, and rotations. Unless the number of steps on a band is a multiple of the number of
events, the Euclidean algorithm will produce a pattern in which the steps will are spaced asymmetrical in such a way to
achieve maximal evenness. Hands revolve at di erent speeds, the time between steps on all bands is di erent, and the
time for one cycle is determined by bpm, global speed, band speeds, and the number of steps. The number of events
does not a ect the cycle time.
Example: E(3,5) + E(5,7)

60 BPM, Band speeds = 1x, Global Speed = 1.0x, every step = 1 second
Band A: 5 steps, 3 events E(3,5) = X.X.X = (221)

but EucSeqiOS uses E(3,5,+1) = (122)
Band B: 7 steps, 5 events E(5,7) = X.XX.XX = (21211)
but EucSeqiOS uses E(5,7,+2) = (11212)
Total number of steps in each band to complete one cycle: LCM(5,7) = 35

A makes 35/5 = 7 revs at 5 sec/rev; B makes 35/7 = 5 revs at 7 sec/rev
For complete timing information, see the section Euclidean Rhythms – Timing.
PolyRhythms
Polyrhythms use events only, which are always distributed evenly around the wheel. All hands on all the bands rotate at
di erent speeds, and the time between steps on all bands is di erent. The time for one complete cycle is determined by
bpm, global speed, and band speeds. This example sets global speed=2, bpm=122, Band A: 0.5 speed with 4 events;
Band B: 3 speed with 5 events.
For complete timing information, see the section PolyRhythms – Timing.
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PolyMeter
PolyTempo doesn't use steps or events. Instead, it uses di erent time
signatures and note values (quarter notes, 8th notes, 8th-note triplets).
The hands move at di erent speeds and the notes are always distributed
evenly. The time for one complete cycle is determined by the bpm, global
speed, band speeds, and the time signature. In this example, we set Band
A to 5/4 and Band B to 6/4, BPM=60, band speeds=1x, global
speed=1.0x
Every note on A and B takes 1 second, but the hands move at di erent
speeds because the bands have a di erent number of note (time
signature). it takes 6 revs of Band A, and 5 revs of Band B for one cycle,
which equals 30 seconds:
A: 6 revs x 5 notes = 30 notes = 30 seconds; B: 5 revs x 6 notes = 30

notes = 30 seconds.
For complete timing information, see page 39.
PolyTempo
PolyTempo doesn't use steps, events, or time signatures. Instead, it use di erent tempos (metronome speeds, BPM).
If these speeds are extremely close to each other, the cross-rhythms will slowly become out of phase then eventually go
back into phase. As an example, suppose one part is playing 60 BPM, so every note = 1 second. The other part is
playing at 72 BPM, so every note = 5/6 second.
Every rev of A (assuming 4 notes per rev) will take 4 notes x 1 second each = 4 seconds.
Every rev of B will take 4 notes x 5/6 second each = 3.3333 seconds.
For 2 places of accuracy, LCM(4, 3.33) = 1332 seconds for a complete cycle.
1332/1 = 1332 revs for A; 1332 / (5/6) = 1598 revs for B.
To only 1 place of accuracy, LCM(4, 3.3) = 132 seconds per cycle.

132/1 = 132 revs for A; 132/(5/6) = 158 revs.
Obviously, the closer the two BPMs are to each other, the more decimal places you'll need to use in order to achieve
accuracy for timing a complete cycle. As an example, suppose we are using two parts at 102 and 103 BPM:
A: 102 BPM, so every rev takes (4)(60/102) = 2.33009708 seconds.

B: 103 BPM, so every rev takes (4)(60/103) = 2.35294116 seconds.
Because these values are close, we'll need more accuracy, so use 3 decimal places:
LCM(2.330, 2.353) = 5483 seconds = 1 hour, 31 minutes, 23 seconds.
Phase Music
Phase music, as discussed in its section, is an unfortunate name given to a style of music in which, after a certain period
of time (seconds, beats, measures, etc.), one or more parts are instantly shifted, and therefore instantly creating a
completely new rhythm. This style of music, such as Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, is certainly related to but uniquely
distinct from the gradual and continuously shifting melodic and rhythmic parts in polytempic music.
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Hybrid Rhythms
Hybrid rhythms are a loosely de ned category of rhythmic patterns that don't t exactly into the other types. Although
many commonly used rhythms in world music that have been used for millennia are Euclidean, PolyRhythm, and
PolyTempo, many of them do not. They may be very similar to a Euclidean pattern, but with one or more interval lengths
changed.
For example, E(7,12)=(212 212 2). Bembé-2 is (1221222). If we rotate this clockwise by 2 steps, we get (212
212 2), which is E(7,12); therefore Bembé-2 is a Euclidean rhythm. Conversely, Tonada (2121222) and Sorsonet
(1122222) cannot be rotated to get back to E(7,12), therefore, these are not Euclidean rhythms.
Other popular rhythms used in classical, jazz, experimental, rock, pop,

and world music are not related at all to Euclidean but often more related
to PolyRhythm.
For example, the sequence(312213)is neither a Euclidean rhythm nor a

Euclidean string . In PolyRhythm, suppose we have Band A playing 4
events, and B playing 3 events (4:3 rhythm), and we divide the circle into
12 equal divisions LCM(4,3)=12. Then the notes for A occur on
0,3,6,9. The notes for B occur on 0,4,8. When they sound together, we
will hear this cross-rhythm: 0,3,4,6,8,9,12.
The distance between consecutive pairs is 3,1,2,2,1,3 which is exactly

the (312213)sequence, so 4:3 in PolyRhythm = H6,12(312213).
Using the PolyRhythm mode with multiple bands, we can simulate many possible rhythm patterns.
Deep Scales, Deep and Chaotic Rhythms, and Inversions

Deep scales and deep rhythms earn the description "deep" because their construction maximizes the number of
possible intervals (for scales) or rhythm durations.
As we saw, a Winograd-deep scale or rhythm must have every interval or duration

distance between 1 and ⌊n/2⌋. In addition, the number of times each of these
intervals or distances occurs (the multiplicity) is unique. An example is the major
scale, in which every possible interval is represented a unique number of times.
An Erdös-deep classi cation is less restrictive, and therefore used more with
rhythms than with scales. Every interval or duration between 1 and ⌊n/2⌋
doesn't need to occur, but for those that do occur, their multiplicities must be
unique.
Chaotic rhythms require just the opposite: for the multiplicities that do occur, all of
them must be identical, which we have notated as , or the rhythm consists of
two multiplicities spaced one integer apart, notated as
Inversions can be an e ective compositional tool for Euclidean, PolyRhythms, Hybrid rhythms, Deep rhythms, and
Chaotic rhythms. When inversions, retrogrades (reverse), alternations, variations, and combinations of these various
rhythms are used in di erent voices or with di erent instruments, the rhythmic combinations are unlimited, as is the level
of complexity you can achieve.
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Measuring the evenness of rhythms
The Euclidean algorithm generates a sequence for (k,n) that is maximally even; that is, the k events are distributed
among the n steps as evenly as possible. The resulting rhythm gives these rhythms their very distinctive pattern.
This maximal evenness in the spacing of events is in no way a statement of

its quality or usefulness. In fact, a composer may want to use rhythms that
are maximally uneven, or anything between1.
Look at the following nine rhythms, shown as polygons. The number of A B C

steps n=17, and the number of events k=9. The only di erence among
them is the placement of the nine events.
Which one appears to be the most even in terms of spacing? What about
the second and third most even? Which one is the most uneven?
D E F
Visually, it's quite easy to choose among the most even and the least even
patterns.
But now try ranking them from most even to least even. Are any of them the
same evenness? Ranking them obviously becomes more di cult the more
we have. In fact, (k,n)=(9,17) has 24,310 possible rhythms2.
G H I
Given a rhythm, how can we measure its evenness?
Several algorithms have been devised to give a rough to accurate

measurement of evenness. The easiest method uses the sums of chordal distances between all pairs of k events on
the circle.
As an easy example, suppose n=7, k=5 and use the pattern (11131). We saw (in the section on Deep Rhythms) that
for 5 events, there are exactly 10 possible chords between the pairs of events3. For this pattern, four distances are
length 1, three distances are length 2, and three distances are length 3, for a total of (4)(1) + (3)(2) + (3)(3) = 19.
What does this 19 tell us? By itself, nothing. It's a relative measurement to all other possible (5,7) rhythms.
How can we nd out if 19 is more on the even or uneven side? Recall that the Euclidean algorithm gives us a
maximally even pattern. E(5,7) = X.XX.XX = (21211). Doing the same analysis as above, we get a total distance of
21, which is higher than 19. Generally, the higher the sum of distances, the more even the pattern. However, there can be
other (5,7) patterns that also give a distance sum of 21 but are not maximally even. What we do know is that for any (5,7)
pattern, 21 is the maximum possible sum of distances. However, this sum alone is a very coarse measurement of
evenness, so we'll now look at the area of polygons.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Many of the world's most popular rhythms that have been played for centuries or even millennia are, in fact, Euclidean. This maximal
evenness creates rhythms that are easy to remember and play yet (usually) asymmetrical enough to keep them interesting. However,
just as many rhythms that have remained popular throughout history are not Euclidean. For this reason, having an understanding of all
types of rhythms helps for composition, listening, and in our deeper appreciation of music that uses them.
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Areas of polygons
Another method to determine evenness, and one that is more accurate than using the sum of chordal distances alone, is
to calculate the areas of all polygons between the pairs of events1.
(5,7) = (11131) E(5,7) = (21211)

Chordal distances = 19 Chordal distances = 21
Area of polygons = 1.78 Area of polygons = 2.15
For k events, we will have k polygons. Notice that if any of the distances between pairs > , we will count that
polygon's area as 0.
The area of the rhythm on the left (11131) is 1.78, and the area of the Euclidean rhythm on the right (21211) is 2.15
Because a Euclidean rhythm is maximally even, an area of 2.15 for any (5,7) sequence is the maximum.
On the previous page, we calculated the sum of chordal distances. Combining this with the sum of areas for all
polygons, we now have two measurements we can use to de ne and compare how even or uneven a rhythm is.
There is a third, even more accurate method2,3 you can use to calculate a rhythm's evenness; however, the math
involved is more complex. The two methods above are easy to calculate and are generally "good enough" to give you an
estimate of the evenness when comparing with other patterns in the same (k,n) family.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Tocompute the area of a polygon, simply draw a line from the center of the circle
perpendicular to the base. The angle at the center is equal to distance/n (360).
The line divides this angle into two equal angles of alpha = distance/2n (360). The
perpendicular is of course 90º. So the remaining angle is beta = 180 - 90 - alpha.
Assume that the radius = 1.
So the base a opposite the angle alpha = sin(alpha).

The perpendicular line you drew b = sin(beta).
The area of this half triangle is then ab/2. Double it to get entire polygon area, Area = ab.
2 D.Rappaport, Geometry and harmony, in: Proceedings of BRIDGES: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music and Science, Ban ,
Alberta, Canada, 2005, pp. 67–72.
3 S. Block, J. Douthett, Vector products and intervallic weighting, Journal of Music Theory 38 (1994) 21–41.
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The answer
If you guessed G as visually the most even, you're

correct. This is the Euclidean E(9,17) rhythm.
Pattern B is the least even. A B C
In order from least to most even:
Pattern Area Area: 2.2, Chaos Area: 1.4 Area: 2.5

Sum: 123, Inverse of I Winograd/Erdös-deep
B 1.4
D 2.0
A 2.2
F 2.2
H 2.4 D E F
C 2.5
I 2.6
E 2.7
Area: 2.0 Area: 2.7 Area: 2.2, Sum: 170
G 2.9 Winograd/Erdös-deep Winograd/Erdös-deep
A few observations
Notice that as you progress from B to G, the G H I

shapes become closer to a regular polygon. For
example, G is almost a perfect nonagon (9-gon),
except the last side is only length 1 instead of 2.
The closer to a regular k-gon you get will give Area: 2.9 Area: 2.4 Area: 2.6, Chaos
Winograd/Erdös-deep Inverse of A
you the maximum area for that k,n, and this Euclidean E(9,17)
shape will also be Euclidean E(k,n).
A and F have exactly the same areas (2.2), and their shapes are quite similar. However, compare their sum of times
between all pairs of events. A's sum is 123, whereas F's sum is 170. And we can see visually that F is more even
because the rests on either side of it are 5 and 5, whereas on A the rests are 3, then 1, then 6.
Therefore, when the areas are the same, look at the interval distance sums to see if it helps identify which out rhythm
are more even than others.
I is a chaotic rhythm of type . A is the inverse of I, and it too is a chaotic rhythm, type .
Four of the rhythms are Winograd-deep (and, therefore, Erdös-deep pattern.
Visualizing the event polygons is a great way to "hear" and see the note and silence
pattern. Certainly, although (111124142) quickly shows up the distance on the
circle, when we see polygon I above, we can almost
hear the rhythm.
On the left is patterns A and I, both Chaos rhythms, and inversions of each
other. When a chaotic rhythm is played with its inversion, preferably on two very
di erent-sounding instruments, the cross rhythms are usually less predictable than
with other types of rhythms.
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Chordal distances and area
as methods to determine evenness
Below are nine rhythms for (5,16). The total area of polygons and the sum of chordal distances are given.
In order from least to most even:
Pattern Area Sum Type

A 0.77 33 Erdös
E 1.81 44 Erdös
Area: 0.77, Sum: 33. Area: 2.28, Sum: 48 Area: 2.35, Sum: 48
I 1.98 48 Erdös
G 2.08 48 Chaos
Soukous*
H 2.21 48 Erdös
Shiko*
F 2.28 48 Son*
Area: 2.28, Sum: 48 Area: 1.81, Sum: 44 Area: 2.28, Sum: 48
D 2.28 48 Rumba*
B 2.28 48 Chaos
Gahu*
C 2.35 48 Erdös
Euclidean
Bossa-Nova*
Area: 2.08, Sum: 48 Area: 2.21, Sum: 48 Area: 1.98, Sum: 48
* These are popular African and Latin American rhythms.
Notice from this small sampling of 4,368 possible (k,n)=(5,16) rhythms that seven of them have the same sum
of chordal distances (48). For this reason, this measure alone is too coarse to determine which one among them is
the most even.
Also note that F, D, and B not only have the same sum of distances (48), but also the same total polygon area (2.28).
Therefore, in order to obtain a more accurate measurement of evenness, you would need to use the method outlined by
S. Block and J. Douthett referenced earlier.
However, in most cases, using the areas of polygons and the sums of chordal distances will be enough for you to
compare the relative evenness of one rhythm with another. Usually it's best to compute these for the Euclidean E(k,n)
rst to give you an upper bound.
When both k and n are even, a regular polygon can be drawn connecting the k vertices. This n-gon will have the
maximum possible total area for this number of events, and, therefore, the sequence will be maximally even. This will, of
course, be the polygon shape for the Euclidean E(k,n). When n is not an even multiple of k, the Euclidean algorithm
will still produce the polygon with the maximum possible area, and therefore with the maximum evenness.
Look back at the chart Comparisons of selected Deep, Euclidean, and Chaotic rhythms (p.58) to see the areas of eleven
di erent (k,n) families and how, in all cases, the Euclidean rhythms have the largest areas, and therefore the maximum
evenness.
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Size of n and maximum evenness
This graph shows an estimate of the maximum area in

k polygons as n grows in size. The graph on the right shows
the sum of k polygons for all 651 Euclidean E(k,n)
sequences from E(2,4) through E(12,13).
You can see that as n grows, the maximum area approaches

3.14 ( ). For example, in EucSeqiOS, if we set n=32 and
k=31, the area of all 63 polygons is already 3.12
Of these 64 E(k,n) sequences, 50 ( 77%) are deep,

and 15 ( 23%) are not. When n is prime, all sequences
are deep.
Recall that the total area of the k polygons is a quick estimate

of the evenness of a sequence, that is, the most evenly spaced k events among the n steps.
We can achieve maximum evenness for any (k,n) by placing the events on whatever steps will create a polygon that is
as close as possible to a regular k-gon. This arrangement will be the Euclidean E(k,n) sequence.
What does this mean in terms of compositions?
As stated earlier in this paper, the degree of evenness has nothing to do with the quality or desirability of a sequence. If
you want to use rhythms in which the distances between successive pairs of events varies only by one2, use a Euclidean
rhythm. For any n, the smaller the k, the more rests between events (notes) you'll have. For example:
E(9,11) = X.XXXX.XXXX = (211121112)

The max di erence between distances is only 1 (2-1).
If you want maximum evenness with more notes and fewer rests, choose a Euclidean rhythm with large k.
E(3,11) = X...X...X.. = (443)

The max di erence is still 1, but with more rests.
If you want maximum evenness with fewer notes and more rests, choose a Euclidean rhythm with small k.
H(3,11) = XX...XX.X.. = (14123)

This is obviously an asymmetrical sequence. The di erence between some of the pairs of distances > 1, so this cannot
be Euclidean. You can see from the pattern that because the sequence isn't even, the number of rests are asymmetrical
and spaces unevenly between the notes. This may or may not be exactly what you want for your composition.
C(6,11) = XX.XX.X...X = (121241)

This is a chaotic rhythm because all the multiplicities of distances between all pairs of events are identical
(in this case, = 3). Chaotic rhythms are usually less predictable in terms of the spacing of notes and rests.
In general:
For the most symmetry, ki=n; that is n is a multiple of k.
For the most asymmetry, k and n should both be prime numbers, or at least k and n should be relatively prime.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 This does not include E(k,n) sequences in which k=1 or k=n

2 One unit, which could be time (such as one second), or note length (such as one quarter note, or one sixteenth note, etc.)
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Tangled Rhythms
E(4,9) = 101010100 = {0,2,4,6}9 = (2223)
In closing, here are several representations of a (4,9) sequence. The top two are for the Euclidean E(4,9) sequence
using all types of notation, the events wheel in EucSeqiOS, and a polygon view, which makes it easy for us to see the
asymmetrical (yet maximally even) distribution of 4 events on 9 steps.
Above is another representation of(4,9). Although complicated looking, it's really not. First, we evenly divide the wheel
into 4 equal events (the aqua line), and into 9 equal events (the pink line) and connect the segments for each. In order to
gure out the spacing, we divide the circle into LCM(4,9) = 36, so the 4 (aqua) events fall on 0,9,18,27. The 9 (pink)
events fall on 0,4,12,...,32. These numbers are labeled around the circle, which makes is easy to see the segment
distances (in green numbers): 4,4,1,3,4,2,2,4,3,1,4,4. Although this isn't a Euclidean sequence, we can still
represent any rhythm according to the distances between notes as heard when combining the parts. This is simply
another way to view the PolyRhythm 4:9.
The yellow lattice shows a 4x9 grid of dots. 4 and 9 are relatively prime (co-prime); that is, GCD(4,9)≠1. Therefore, a
diagonal line through the 4x9 lattice of steps will never intersect any other steps, which is another way to say that if the
number of events on di erent bands are all relatively prime, then none of the events will ever be played at the same time
(except at the start of the sequence, which is the top of our events wheel). Finally, the red dotted line show how this 4:9
sequence (441342 243144) is a palindrome.
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Conclusion
My hope is that some of these notes, examples, and observations will be interesting and perhaps useful for others who
would like to improve their understanding, listening, composing, and enjoyment with the complex yet fascinating world
of multi-rhythms: Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, PolyTempo, Phase Music, and Hybrid Rhythms.
I rst want to thank my spouse, Miguel, for his patience and brewing what must have been ve thousand cups of Typhoo
tea to keep me going days and nights, as well as listening to the same two, three, or four notes playing against each
other in a seemingly endless as well as pointless exercise.
Also at the top of my list is the amazing iOS music app developer and great guy, Paul Barnard of 4pockets (UK), for
creating, updating, and expanding Euclidean AUv3 Sequencer. This app gives anyone interested in these multi-rhythms
an absolute wealth of rhythmic possibilities. Thanks, Paul.
EucSeqiOS enables you to create Euclidean, polyrhythm, polymeter, and Reich-style shifted compositions with dozens
of options for unlimited variations. Equally important, EucSeqiOS also allows you to specify any (k,n) pattern to create
all the other types of rhythms in this paper – non-Euclidean, world, deep, chaotic, inverted, and reversed. Together with
the three other types of rhythms and all possible parameters, an in nite number of amazing rhythms awaits you.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Euclidean, PolyRhythm, PolyMeter, and Hybrids

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Euclidean, PolyRhythm,

© 2022, 2023 David S.Collett, v1.9

Euclidean, PolyRhythm, and PolyMeter – Comparison 12

Summary of Six Rhythm Types

Measuring the Evenness of Rhythms 77

And, of course, in music.

where 🔴 or 🔵 = a note (event), and ◌ = a silence

Band A: Steps = 8 Events = 3

Details and examples of Hybrid Rhythms are in A Closer Look section.

then the events are evenly distributed

Polygon (lower image)

Analytically, however, the last ve notations are used extensively.

Example: here are all four notations for E(5,12):

E(5,8) E(5,8,+2) E(5,8,+3)

E(k,n) Euclidean where n = number of steps, k = number of events

GCD(5,8): 8/5 has remainder = 3 → 5/3 R = 2 → 3/2 R = 1 → 2/1 R = 0

The following recursive algorithm computes gcd(k,n) for n>k:

gcd(k,n): As this loops for gcd(5,8), these calls will be made:

But how does this translate to rhythm?

Is it X.X.XX.X or XXX.X..X or XX.XX..X ?

Therefore, E(5,8) = X.XX.XX. = 10110110 = {0,2,3,5,6}8 = (21212)

Notice above that we rst had: a group of 3 X. (in Step 2),

Is this a Euclidean Rhythm – or not?

We start with this: And this is our remainder:

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 transfer 7 0 after each of the 1s

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 transfer remaining 3 0 to first 3 1s

100 100 100 10 10 10 10 transfer 2 of the 10

10010 10010 10 10 transfer 2 of the 10 again

1001010 1001010 10 only 1 group remaining: Stop!

E(7,17) = 10010 10010 10010 101

E(2,7) : X..X... (34)

E(3,7) : X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..X.X.X..| etc.

The Interesting Cases of: Apples + Oranges = Apples

E(4,5) x.xxx E(4,5) x.xxx E(4,5) x.xxx

Example: E(7,17) = 7 events, 17 steps, 10 silences 1111111 0000000000

Step 1: Write 7 1s followed by 17-7 = 10 0s

E(7,17) = 10010 10010 10010 10 = X..X. X..X. X..X. X. = {0,3,5,8,10,13,15}17, (3232322)

We start with this: And this is our remainder:

E(13,17) = 1011 1011 1011 1011 1

E(11,27) = 10010 10010 10010 10010 10010 10

E(7,17,0) = X..X. X..X. X..X.X.

E(7,17,+2) = X. X..X. X..X. X..X.

E(7,17,+0) = X..X. X..X. X..X. X. original

Requiring a rotation to start on an event

In general, if n is the rotation value you have set, then:

If S is the number of Steps, then:

Ex: if S=16, a reverse setting of 12 is the same as a forward setting of 4 (16-12)

For E(3,5), this generates the sequence 0 1 0 1 1 . X . X X

But when generated by either the Toussaint or Bjorklund algorithms, it was: X . X . X

vi = band speed adjustment

See the example on the next page for 2 bands.

vi = band speed adjustment

How to compute LCM of decimal numbers

3. Round all the values to the nearest 1/10n

6. Finally, divide the result by 10n

But there's an easier way to nd the inversion:

The inverse of any E(k,n)sequence is E(n-k,n,+(n-1)). For this example,

Writing Euclidean Rhythms on Manuscript

The Distance notation for E(7,16)=(3223222),

At the top is the conventional way it would be

E(5,8) = X.XX.XX. = (21212)

21212 22121 12212 21221 12122

When played without rotation: X.XX.XX. = (21212) = E(5,8)

What values of k and n can we choose to be an aksak rhythm?

________sa_ _ _____