Let two equal patterns disagree

Twelve little spaces solve three against four

The three-attack layer begins at 1, 5, and 9. The four-attack layer begins at 1, 4, 7, and 10. Both restart after position 12.

Hear the shared cycle

The quiet high clicks form the four-attack layer. The lower sounds form the three-attack layer. They coincide at the start, then disagree until the next cycle.

● attack · — hold · · silence. The quiet high click is the pulse.

A triplet and a polyrhythm are related, not identical

Polyrhythm layers different regular divisions over the same span. Here three evenly spaced attacks occupy the time of four quarter-note beats. That is 3:4, not three notes inside each quarter-note beat.

Hemiola often describes a three-to-two regrouping, such as hearing six units as 3 + 3 against 2 + 2 + 2. It may appear as a phrase-level accent shift rather than two continuously played layers.

Place the three-attack layer over four beats

The four beats are divided into twelve equal small positions. Put the three attacks four small positions apart: at the start, then four spaces later, then four again.

What makes the example 3:4 rather than ordinary triplets?

Takeaways

• Compare divisions over the same span before naming the ratio.