Ma Muse M'Abuse Article - Odd Meters on the Drumset (9/16)

8/6/2019 Ma Muse M'Abuse Article - Odd Meters on the Drumset (9/16)

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Multi-Cultural Inspirations

for approaching odd-metered rhythms

on the drumset

Article 1

Concepts of Swinging 9/16

Rhythmic excerpt and analysis of the composition

Ma Muse M’Abuse

by Rabih Abou-Khalil

From the album Morton’s Foot , on ENJA Records (2003)

Rabih Abou-Khalil: Oud, Composition Jarrod Cagwin: Drums, Frame Drums

Michel Godard: TubaLuciano Biondini: Accordion

Gavino Murgia: VoiceGabriele Mirabassi: Clarinet

Jarrod Cagwin



There is a common tendency in the Western musical world of counting toomuch when faced with playing and improvising in an “odd meter”, referring torhythmic time signatures with an odd numerator. Frequently the internal balanceof the rhythm is misunderstood, resulting in the musician loosing the essence ofthe groove and applying and excess of mathematical reasoning. The term “Odd

Meters” has been coined by the Western musician, and typically implies any rhyth-mic cycle or time signature that is not counted in 2, 3, 4, or 6 pulses. In fact,there are a variety of cultures in the world that prefer playing and dancing in oddmetered rhythms, such as 5, 7, or 9, rather than the classic 2 beat, waltz, or 4/4grooves for example.

One such composer who appreciates “odd metered” rhythms is the Leba-nese musician Rabih Abou-Khalil, with whom I have worked with as a drummerand percussionist for nearly 20 years. In approaching the rhythmic structures of

his compositions I draw from a variety of cultural inuences and hand /stick tech-niques to create a groove that utilizes the melodic possibilities and balance of thedrum set, straying away from any excessive static recurring patterns. The majori-ty of Rabih’s odd metered rhythms are derived from an additive composite of 2s &3s at the 16th note speed. These divisions also correspond to the Thom/Ta (Dum/ Tek) relationship, or the low and high phrasings of the rhythm commonly found inmusic of Oriental world. I utilize the South Indian rhythmic system of Solkattu(Kon-nokol) for rhythmically analyzing and vocalizing all phrasings before I approachthe drumset. More detailed instruction on my solkattu methods can be found in

my book One by One.

In this article I hope to share some of my musical inuences in the approachof fast cycle odd meters. My aim is that it is benecal for others looking for a dif -ferent way of using the standard drumset from the traditional sense.

Article 1: Concepts of Swinging 9/16

Multi-Cultural Inspirations

for approaching odd-metered rhythms

on the drumset

Just as a set-up note: For these examples I amusing a standard set of:

Bass Drum (B.D.)Snare Drum (S.D.)Floor Tom (F.T.)Hi-Hat (H.H.)

B.D.

F.T.S.D.H.H.



In the following example of Ma Muse M’Abuse there is a principal rhythmic themeof 9/16, subsequently subdivided as 4+5/16. The approximate metronome speedis 1/8 = 200 b.p.m., thus creating a rhythmic cycle that passes very quickly. Iuse a standard 5 line drumset staff for notation. I recommend of course to beginpracticing the exercises at a slower tempo.

Exercise Group 1 The rst step is to break the rhythm down into its numeric components. I generallydo not apply polyrhythm or cross pulses until I can feel the cycle in its respective2 & 3 groupings. This phrase of 9/16 is broken into a composite of 4 + 5. Fromthat it is broken into its denominations of (2+2) + (3+2), or (A) + (B), which canbe thought of as call and response phrases. In this example, the call phrase ap-plies to (A) and the response to (B). The Thoms (low phrasings) generally corre-spond to (A), and Taks (high phrasings) to (B). Therefore the spoken rhythm is:2+2 = Thom - Thom - and 3+2 = Ta ki ta Ta ka. The dash represents a silent divi-sion, or rest, of one 16th in the rhythm.

Rhythmic excerpt of Ma Muse M’Abuse, by Rabih Abou-Khalil

From the album Morton’s Foot , on ENJA Records (2003)

I nd a good way to begin to feel the rhythm is to separate yourself from the

drum set and create a body rhythm between your feet and hands. Initially, (A)is applied to your feet and (B) to your hands as claps. In effect, you are using aform of Palmas, the rhythmic accompaniment found in Flamenco music from south-ern Spain. It is important to experiment with alternating your feet, so that youdevelop a balanced “foot/hand dance” within your body. Your feet and handsshould still retain a dancing feeling as well when applied to the drums.

(A) (B)

(A) (B)(A)

(B)

FootTaps

HandClaps



Exercise Groups 2 & 3

Next is to apply your feet to the drum set, bass drum, and hi-hat foot respective-ly. Begin by separating your feet into a “3 feel”, while your hands continue toclap the response phrase (B). By subdividing the rhythm into pulses of 3, you canbegin to feel the rhythm with a more African sensibility. You can begin to experi-

ment with different groupings with you feet, sometimes alternating R & L or group-ings of 3 or 4 for each foot, for example, as shown in exercise 3.

Bass Drum with Hand Clap

Hi-Hat with Hand Clap

B.D. & H.H. (both feet with Hand Clap)

B.D. & H.H. alternating

B.D. & H.H. in groups of 2

B.D. & H.H. in groups of 3



Exercise Group 4

Next is to change your clapping pattern to phrases of 3 within the completephrase of 9/16, omitting the 1 of each grouping of 3. It is very useful to contin-ue to recite the original solkattu phrase of the 4+5. This keeps an ostinato withyour voice and creates a polyrhythm with your hands and feet. This is a very

similar concept to how Eve drummers from Ghana approach the Kagan parts. Bychanging the accent of the 3 with your hands, you can begin to push and pull therhythm, which greatly inuences the “swing” of the groove.

Th - Th - Ta ki ta Ta ka Th - Th - Ta ki ta Ta ka



* as a note: for later study this exercise can be incorporated with the hands on

the drums. Any surface can be used, such as Hi-Hat or between two drums. Thestrokes can be in any combination.



Exercise Group 5

At this point you can begin to apply your hands to the set. I recommend begin-ning by using brushes on the snare drum to create a lighter dancing feel with abalanced sound. Here you can experiment with different sticking combinations(5a). There are many sticking possibilities and you are free to experiment with

your own. As in the previous exercises, it is good to keep the original 4+5 solkat-tu motif going in your head.

Next move on to the hi-hat with sticks (5b). Here you should concentrate on cre-ating a controlled open and closed action with the hi-hat foot. Keep in mind thatyour feet should feel like they are dancing, thereby shifting your inner balance atyour hips back and forth. Example 5c adds the bass drum near the middle of thephase, allowing both feet to continue the underlying feeling of three.


A good practice is also to inverse the handstickings, beginning with L.

Very important to feel the combined phases of

4+5 with hands and the underlying feeling ofcontinuous 3s with the feet.



Exercise Group 6: Two Bar Phrases with Snare Drum and Floor Tom

With these exercises we begin to add snare drum and oor tom strokes. Many ofthe concepts that I apply to the drum set come from my studies in West and NorthAfrica. I do not always regard the snare drum as it is typically found in the west-

ern world. Often I do not use the snares, or keep them at a very loose tensionso that they only sound when I use a full center stroke or rim shot. This allowsme to make phrasings between my snare and oor tom more closely related toSogo, Atsimevu, and Kete drums from Ghana for example. My bass drum andhi-hat foot always function to “push” the rhythm from the inside, instead of typical-ly playing the bass drum on the one, or the hi-hat foot on eighth or quarter notepulses. By utilizing the open stroke on the hi-hat, I can simulate textures that comefrom the Riqq, an intricate classical tambourine found in Oriental music.

Use of R and L strokes on the snare. I ndas a good practice and for musical effectto be equal with both hand and not lockedinto standard drumset playing position.

This example uses a paradiddle on the F.T.to allow for a clean open H.H. stroke onthe last 16th, helping to swing the rhythmback around.

Integration of double-strokes with B.D. and

S.D.

This example begins the phases with theS.D. or F.T.. This is a good practice for

leading the phrases with the hands.



b

b

b

16

ˆ5ˆ5

16

ˆ3

16

ˆ5ˆ5

30

œ

œ

.

œ

œ

.

œ

œ

.

Ta ka din..gu Ta ka din..gu Ta ka din..gu

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

.

Ta di ki na thom dha..gu

bbb

16

ˆ5ˆ5

16

ˆ3

16

ˆ4

32

œ

œ

.

œ

œ . œ œ .

Ta ka din...gu Ta ka din...gu Ta ka din...gu

f

œ œ œ œ œ .

Ta di ki na th dha...gu

b

b

b

16

ˆ4

16

ˆ3

16

ˆ4

34

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

Ta ki ta din na

.

œ

.

Thom din Na...ka

.

œ

.

Thom din Na...ka

.

œ

r

‰

Thom din Ta

b

b

b

16

ˆ4

16

ˆ3

16

ˆ5

38

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

Ta ki ta din na

.

œ

.

Thom din Na...ka -

.

œ

.

Thom din Na...ka

.

œ

.

Thom din Takita

b

b

b

16

ˆ5

16

ˆ3

16

ˆ5

42

œ

œ

.

œ

.

Ta ka din din na

.

œ

.

thom din nakita

b

b

b

16

ˆ5

4

ˆ

16

ˆ4

16

ˆ5

44

‰

j

œ

œ

œ

(Th) Th Taki din Taka

ƒ

‰

j

œ

œ

œ


‰

j

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

(Th) Th Ta ki ta Ta di ki na thom Ta

b

b

b

16

ˆ5

4

ˆ

16

ˆ4

47

‰

j

œ

œ

œ


‰

j

œ

œ

œ

(Th) Th Taki din Ta

‰

j

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ œ

(Th) Th Taka ki ta Ta di ki na th Dha

This is the lead sheet melody line. At the end of the melody begins the improvisation-al section continuous in 9/16, after returning to the complete melody on cue.

Ma Muse M'Abuse Article - Odd Meters on the Drumset (9/16)

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