Rhythm Necklace & Hemiola:
Hidden Meter in Radiohead and BjörkStephen Taylor, University of Illinois at
Urbana-ChampaignBellairs, Barbados, February 6-8, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Rhythm ... is a closed, timelike loop.Richard Powers, The Time of Our Singing (2003)
The beat is not in the signal; it is in your mind.William Sethares, Rhythm and Transforms (2007)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 1. (from Demaine et al., 2007) Six African and Latin American rhythms arranged in a 4/4 circular lattice; 0 equals the downbeat, and the other strong beats fall on 4, 8, and 12. Intuitively the most even rhythm is (e), Bossa-Nova, a 3-3-4-3-3 beat cycle. In these examples, n =16, and k = 5.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 1. (from Demaine et al., 2007) Six African and Latin American rhythms arranged in a 4/4 circular lattice; 0 equals the downbeat, and the other strong beats fall on 4, 8, and 12. Intuitively the most even rhythm is (e), Bossa-Nova, a 3-3-4-3-3 beat cycle.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 1. (from Demaine et al., 2007) Six African and Latin American rhythms arranged in a 4/4 circular lattice; 0 equals the downbeat, and the other strong beats fall on 4, 8, and 12. Intuitively the most even rhythm is (e), Bossa-Nova, a 3-3-4-3-3 beat cycle.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 1. (from Demaine et al., 2007) Six African and Latin American rhythms arranged in a 4/4 circular lattice; 0 equals the downbeat, and the other strong beats fall on 4, 8, and 12. Intuitively the most even rhythm is (e), Bossa-Nova, a 3-3-4-3-3 beat cycle.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 1. (from Demaine et al., 2007) Six African and Latin American rhythms arranged in a 4/4 circular lattice; 0 equals the downbeat, and the other strong beats fall on 4, 8, and 12. Intuitively the most even rhythm is (e), Bossa-Nova, a 3-3-4-3-3 beat cycle.
Monday, February 8, 2010
8
Example 2. The “Erdös-deep” property of the diatonic mode
Monday, February 8, 2010
i jumped in the river and what did I see?black-eyed angels swimming with me
a moon full of stars and astral carsall the figures i used to see
all my lovers were there with meall my past and futures
and we all went to heaven in a little row boat
there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
i jumped in the riverblack-eyed angels swimming with me
a moon full of stars and astral carsall the figures i used to see
all my lovers were there with meall my past and futures
and we all went to heaven in a little row boat
there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubtthere was nothing to fear and nothing to doubtthere was nothing to fear and nothing to doubtthere was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
radiohead,pyramid song
(from Amnesiac, 2001)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 3. Partial transcription of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song.”
Monday, February 8, 2010
11
Monday, February 8, 2010
12
Monday, February 8, 2010
0
8
412
6
2
13
9
5
114
3
710
11
15
n = 16k = 5
rhythm necklace rotation
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 4. Partial transcription of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song.”
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 3. Partial transcription of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song.”
Monday, February 8, 2010
16
Ex. 5
Monday, February 8, 2010
17
0
8
412
6
2
13
9
5
114
rhythm necklace
3
710
11
15
n = 16k = 5
p = 4
Monday, February 8, 2010
18
0
6
39
48
210
7 5
1110
8
412
6
2
13
9
5
114
rhythm necklace vs. hemiola
3
710
11
15
n = 16k = 5
p = 4
n = 12k = 6
p = 4
Monday, February 8, 2010
It’s tricky whenYou feel someone
Has done somethingOn your behalf
It's slippery whenYour sense of justiceMurmurs underneath
And is asking you:
How am I going to make it right?
With a palm full of starsI throw them like dice
RepeatedlyI shake them like dice
And throw them on the tableRepeatedlyRepeatedly
Until the desired constellation appears
And I ask myself:
How am I going to make it right?And you hear
How am I going to make it right?
Björk, Desired Constellation (from Medúlla, 2004)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 6. Partial transcription of “Desired Constellation” by Björk and Olivier Alary.
Monday, February 8, 2010
21
Monday, February 8, 2010
g# - B (uncertain rhythm)E 6x (quarter notes)g# 4x (4:3, dotted 8ths)E 3x (with inner voice appoggiatura)g# 4xE 6x It’s tricky wheng# 4x you feel someoneE 3x (inner appoggiatura)(g#/E) 4x (bass) has done something E 6x on your behalfg# 4x It’sE 3x slippery(g#/E) 4x (bass) when your sense ofE 6x justice murmursg# 4x underneathE 3x and it’sd# 3x asking you (transition)CHORUSE 3x How am I going to make itd# 3x right?E 3xd# 3xE 3x How am I going to make itd# 4x right?INTERLUDE - metric modulation
Example 7.“Desired Constellation,”
first verse and chorus. The numbers show how many
bars a chord is repeated; the chorus’ pattern is more regular than the verse’s.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 7. “Desired Constellation,” interlude and metric modulation.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Example 9. “Desired Constellation,” intro and part of first verse; rhythmic interpretation 2, after hearing the whole song.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
27
0
8
412
6
2
13
9
5
114
hemiola, rhythm necklace and illusion
3
710
11
150
6
39
48
210
7 5
111
Monday, February 8, 2010
28
0
6
39
48
210
7 5
111 0
8
412
6
2
13
9
5
114
hemiola, rhythm necklace and illusion
3
710
11
15
Monday, February 8, 2010
29
rhythm necklace [2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1] in Radiohead and UI student composer Taylor Briggs
Monday, February 8, 2010
30
Monday, February 8, 2010
31
Bell pattern from Zoboko, a song by the Aka Pygmies from the CD “Ligeti and Africa”
2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Monday, February 8, 2010
32
Rhythm ostinato for Flow (2006) for recorder quartet andchamber orchestra
Monday, February 8, 2010
33
0
1
2
34
5
6
n = 28p = 7
Monday, February 8, 2010
34
0
1
2
34
5
6
n = 28p = 7
Monday, February 8, 2010
35
0
1
2
34
5
6
n = 28p = 7k = 5
Monday, February 8, 2010
36
0
1
2
34
5
6
n = 28p = 7k = 5
Monday, February 8, 2010
37
The Machine Awakes for soprano & chamber orchestra, 2007/09Words by Richard Powers, from Galatea 2.2
Monday, February 8, 2010
38
World without Words for 13 saxes (2009)
!
"
Sno.
Sop.
Alto
Ten.
Bari.
Bass
New Tempo q = 144
88
p
p
p
p
p
p
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
!" #"
$non dim., stop suddenly
%
$stop suddenly on downbeat% % % %
$stop suddenly on downbeat% % % %
$non dim.,stop suddenly
slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch&'(
&'
&'
&'&'
&'(&'&'&'
$non dim., stop suddenly %
$stop suddenly on downbeat% %
slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch
&'(
&'
&'
&'
&'(
&'(
&'
&
'
&'&'
&'(&
'
&'&'
$non dim., stop suddenly
%
$#
non dim., stop suddenly
%
$#
stop suddenly on downbeat% %slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch
&'(
&'
$#
stop suddenly on downbeat% %slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch
'(& &'
&'
&'&' &
'(&'&' '& &
'(&'
'& &'
&'(&'&'&'
) stop suddenly on downbeat% %slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch
'(& &'
'& &'&'
'& &'&' '& &
'('& '& '& &
'() % %
slap tongue, hollow tone - little pitch
&'(
'& '& '&'& '(& '& '& &
'&'(
'& '& &'&'
'(& &'&'
'&
) % % % %
* $ *+ $ , -. / 0 0
* $ *1 $ , -. / 0 0
-1 2 / -1 2 /-2
/- - /
-2 - - -2 /
*1 -3 - * , -. / 0 0
/ -+ 2 /-2 / -2
/ -2 0 0 -2 / -1 2 /-1 2 /
-12 / - -
/-2 - - -2 /
- -3 $ -1. - $ -3 $ , -. / 0 0* -+ - * , -
. / 0 0
4 4 0 0 -2 / 4 4 0 0 -+ 2 /
-+. / -2 / -2/ - - /
-2 - - -. / / -1 2 / -2 / -1. / -1 2 / -2 - - -2 /
-. / -2 /-+. / - - / -. - - -. / / -3 2 / -1. / -1. / -1. 0 0 -2 /
-2 /-+. / -. / -
- / -.- - -2 / -2 / -1. / -1. / - - / -. - - -. /
Full Score in C, World without Words30
Monday, February 8, 2010
39
0
1
2
34
5
6n = 14k = 12
World without Words for 13 saxophones (2009)
7/4 time sig
Monday, February 8, 2010
40
Monday, February 8, 2010
41
Monday, February 8, 2010