Polymeter workshop

The first polymeter workshop was held at Arkaoda in Berlin January 29, 2020. My presentation was about two hours long and you can view the slides and download the demo files. There will probably be other workshops soon, and they will be announced in the Polymeter Facebook group.

(original announcement)

Polymeter is the use of two or more meters simultaneously within a single piece of music. This workshop will explore polymeter and its application to electronic music composition.

We’ll begin with an overview of polymeter, including its definition, history and implications. We’ll explain the differences between polymeter, polyrhythm, and phasing, and the distinction between ordinary and complex polymeter. We’ll proceed to the specific composition techniques enabled by Chris Korda’s free / open-source Polymeter MIDI sequencer, including polymeter modulation, recursive polymeter modulation, and polymeter modulation networks.

If time permits we’ll approach more advanced topics including the use of polymeter as a harmony generation technique in algorithmic music.
The intended audience is music composers, electronic or otherwise. Familiarity with MIDI sequencing software and basic arithmetic and logic will be assumed. Familiarity with music theory and software programming concepts will also be helpful but aren’t required.