Spread k hits as evenly as possible across n slots and you get the rhythms half the world dances to. In mini-notation that's one token: bd(3,8).
bd(3,8) distributes 3 kicks across 8 slots — the tresillo underneath reggaeton, dembow, and most of Afro-Cuban music. (5,8) is the cinquillo; (2,5), (7,16)… each pair is a groove with a passport.
A third number rotates the pattern: bd(3,8,2) starts it two slots earlier — same rhythm, different relationship to the downbeat.
These are sound tracks — drum-machine patterns whose tokens are sample names (bd, sn, hh, cp) instead of pitches. No patch needed.
A comma layers two rhythms inside ONE pattern: !"bd(3,8), hh(5,8)" — polyrhythm in a string.
The starting point#
The lesson opens with this song in the editor. Every edit recompiles and plays.
-- Euclidean rhythm: a flat four-on-the-floor. Give it a lineage.
kick = sound !"bd bd bd bd"
hats = sound !"hh hh hh hh hh hh hh hh"What to watch#
Euclidean hits aren't evenly spaced — watch the gaps between bursts breathe long-short-long. That limp is the whole point.
Goals#
The workbench checks these as you work; the solution is there when you want it.
- Make a (3,8) tresillo
- Layer a (5,8) against it
- Stretch: stack two rhythms in one pattern with a comma
Make it yours#
Keep (3,8) on the kick and audition every rotation of (5,8) on the hats — 0 through 7 — until one locks. Then swap the hats for cp and hear the same rhythm become a different instrument.
Further reading#
Patterns: events over time in the reference.