DRUMMING WITH HEMIOLAS

by Joel Rothman
So just what is a hemiola? No, it’s not some horrendous cancerous growth although, admittedly, it
sounds like one. In music the word “hemiola” is a fancy term referring to a simple rhythmic pattern
where three beats are played in the time of two, or two beats are played in the time of three. This has the
effect of sounding like a shift between triple and duple meters, usually for a short period.

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6œ œ œ œ œ œ ‘ ‘ œ œ œ œ œ œ
EX 1: 8 R L R L R L R L R L R L
Snare

Notice how the first three bars sound like the typical 6/8, while the fourth bar shifts accents to sound
like a bar of 3/4 time.

A student once asked, “Could the time signature be in 6/8, while the rhythmic make-up sounded
continually like 3/4?”

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6œ œ œ œ œ œ ‘ ‘
EX 2: 8 ‘

The answer in a word is “No.” The time signature should be written 3/4 instead of 6/8 because a
hemiola is typically for a very short period, providing a change in the sound of the pulse within a bar or
two.

In European classical music hemiolas can often be heard in the work of Brahms, among others. And you
can clearly hear them in the tune, “I Want To Be In America,” from the American musical, West Side
Story by Leonard Bernstein.

When it comes to drumming, the following exercises will develop the coordination for playing three
against two and two against three.

THREE AGAINST TWO

AS WRITTEN AS PLAYED
3 3

2 2
4 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ™™ Right Hand
Left Hand 4 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ™™
3 3

TWO AGAINST THREE

AS WRITTEN AS PLAYED
3 3 3 3

2 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ™™ Right Hand 2 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ™™
4 Left Hand 4
 TWO AGAINST THREE, THEN THREE AGAINST TWO

3 3

2
AS WRITTEN 4 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ‘
œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
‘ ™™ Right Hand
Left Hand

3 3

3 3 3 3

2
AS PLAYED 4 ™™ œœ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ‘
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ ‘ ™™ Right Hand
Left Hand

Try applying that coordination at the drum set. If you’re playing rock in 4/4 time play three bars of ad
lib rock time, then one bar of three against two as seen in the following exercise.

Ad lib Rock Time

3 3 3 3

¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ œ¿ œ ¿ œ œ¿ œ ¿ œ œ¿ œ ¿ œ œ¿ œ ¿ œ ™™î Cym
í ™™4
4 ‘ ‘ Snare
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Bass

Now play three bars of ad lib rock time in 6/8, then one bar of hemiolas, two against three.

Ad lib Rock Time

¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ œ¿ ¿ œ ¿ Cym
í ™™6
8 ‘ ‘ œœ ™™î Snare
œ œ œ Bass

For added practice play the snare part instead with the bass or hi-hat. Or you can divide the snare part by
alternating it between the bass, snare and hi-hat while maintaining the cymbal part as written.

Hemiolas don’t have to be 3:2 or 2:3 - they could be 5:4 or 4:5. They certainly add an element of
surprise, producing a more interesting sound to your playing. Try exploring some possibilities on your
own - good luck!