Re: Rhythm perception (Mikael Fernstrom )

Subject: Re: Rhythm perception
From:    Mikael Fernstrom  <mikael.fernstrom(at)UL.IE>
Date:    Tue, 15 Nov 2005 23:18:10 +0000

John,
Intuitively, I would say that it's something we learn, = culture.
At the same time, as a practicing composer and percussionist, I think  
some of the most compelling examples are when we break the pattern  
for a while, leaving the listener with a choice (rhythmic  
illusions?). There are many examples in jazz and rock music where  
this effect is being used (although I'm too tired or lazy to list any  
particular right now). The first one that came to my mind is, I  
think, a Led Zeppelin, where half way into the theme, the beat is  
broken.
Also, as a composer, I have noticed that sometimes my scores  
initially appear to be quite difficult for musicians to play. In my  
most recent piece, TXTULTR, I decided to work in 5/4, allowing for  
phrases to carry over 3 bars. The bare computer/MIDI rendition  
sounded quite different to the real version, as the real musicians  
were trying to make musical sense of each phrase.
/Mikael