Play something: generating drumset rhythms from the 5:7 Multi-Stream Rhythm

Abstract

This thesis documents the creation of new drumset rhythms for use in solo and ensemble settings, which were generated using new and existing rhythmic processes. The term rhythmic process refers to exercises that form part of drumset pedagogy, which can be original or part of the drumset tradition, and which typically lead to the generation of drumset vocabulary. The appeal of generating my own musical vocabulary relates to a sense of artistic agency. I have a long-standing interest in odd time signatures and cross-rhythms, and this project represents an extension of that work. The starting point was a Multi-Stream Rhythm – a type of layered rhythm – that was used as an input, and combined with rhythmic processes to generate a range of musical results. Research outputs include the processes and their results, the presentation of Balance as an assessment rubric, a visualisation concept called the 5:7 Map, an original method for manipulating rhythm that I have termed Flexi-Grid, and a collection of recordings demonstrating the rhythms in performance. For drumset practitioners searching for ways to develop personal rhythmic vocabulary, this thesis offers a range of development processes which can be borrowed, adapted, or used as inspiration to develop their own processes. The methodology employed a research model termed here as Iterative Procedural Flow, and involved the sequential use of multiple rhythmic processes, referred to as Process Stacking. The development of a less-dense version of the Multi-Stream Rhythm, termed the 2-onset MSR, was a critical turning point in the research.