< Return to Video

A-rhythm-etic. The math behind the beats

  • 0:01 - 0:04
    How many of you love rhythm?
  • 0:04 - 0:07
    Oh yeah, oh yeah. Oh yeah. (Cheers)
  • 0:07 - 0:12
    (Drumming)
  • 0:16 - 0:20
    I mean, I love all kinds of rhythm.
  • 0:20 - 0:22
    I like to play jazz,
  • 0:22 - 0:24
    a little funk,
  • 0:24 - 0:28
    and hip hop,
  • 0:28 - 0:35
    a little pop, a little R&B,
  • 0:35 - 0:40
    a little Latin,
  • 0:42 - 0:46
    African.
  • 0:54 - 0:58
    And this groove right here,
  • 1:02 - 1:04
    comes from the Crescent City,
  • 1:04 - 1:06
    the old second line.
  • 1:06 - 1:12
    (Cheers)
  • 1:14 - 1:19
    Now, one thing all those rhythms have in common
  • 1:19 - 1:21
    is math,
  • 1:21 - 1:24
    and I call it a-rhythm-etic.
  • 1:24 - 1:29
    Can you repeat after me? A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 1:29 - 1:31
    Clayton Cameron: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 1:31 - 1:33
    CC: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
    Audience: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
  • 1:33 - 1:34
    CC: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 1:34 - 1:36
    CC: Yeah.
  • 1:39 - 1:44
    Now all those styles of rhythm
  • 1:44 - 1:47
    are all counted in four
  • 1:47 - 1:51
    and then subdivided by three.
  • 1:51 - 1:53
    What?
  • 1:53 - 1:56
    Yeah. Three is a magic number.
  • 1:56 - 1:59
    Three is a groovin' number.
  • 1:59 - 2:03
    Three is a hip-hop kind of number.
  • 2:03 - 2:05
    But what does subdividing by three mean?
  • 2:05 - 2:07
    And counting off by four?
  • 2:07 - 2:09
    Well, look, think of it this way.
  • 2:09 - 2:13
    A measure of music as a dollar.
  • 2:13 - 2:19
    Now a dollar has four quarters, right?
  • 2:19 - 2:23
    And so does a 4/4 measure of music.
  • 2:23 - 2:27
    It has four quarter notes.
  • 2:27 - 2:29
    Now, how do you subdivide?
  • 2:29 - 2:33
    Now let's envision this:
  • 2:33 - 2:37
    three dollars' worth of quarters.
  • 2:37 - 2:41
    You would have three groups of four,
  • 2:41 - 2:43
    and you would count it,
  • 2:43 - 2:45
    a-one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four,
  • 2:45 - 2:47
    one-two-three-four. Together.
  • 2:47 - 2:50
    All: A-one-two-three-four,
    one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four.
  • 2:50 - 2:52
    CC: Okay, now you feel that?
  • 2:52 - 2:57
    Now let's take those three groups of four
  • 2:57 - 3:02
    and make them four groups of three.
  • 3:02 - 3:03
    And listen to this.
  • 3:03 - 3:05
    A-one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four,
  • 3:05 - 3:08
    one-two-three-four, with me.
  • 3:08 - 3:10
    One-two-three-four, one-two-three, come on, y'all!
  • 3:10 - 3:15
    All: One-two-three-four,
    one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four, ah.
  • 3:15 - 3:17
    CC: There you go.
  • 3:17 - 3:21
    All right, second line.
  • 3:23 - 3:25
    One-two-three-four, one-two-three.
  • 3:26 - 3:28
    One-two-three-four, one-two-three.
  • 3:29 - 3:32
    One-two-three-four, one-two-three.
  • 3:33 - 3:37
    One-two-three-four, one-two-three. Yeah.
  • 3:37 - 3:39
    Now, that's what I call a-rhythm-etic.
  • 3:39 - 3:42
    Can you say it? A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 3:42 - 3:44
    CC: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 3:44 - 3:46
    CC: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
    Audience: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
  • 3:46 - 3:48
    CC: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 3:48 - 3:50
    CC: Yeah. Now pick the swing
    beat, and do the same thing.
  • 3:50 - 3:55
    One, two, one, two, a-one-two-three-four.
  • 4:01 - 4:03
    Yeah. Mm.
  • 4:04 - 4:08
    One-two-three, one-two-three,
    one-two-three, one-two-three. Whoo.
  • 4:10 - 4:14
    So I want to take the second line beat
  • 4:14 - 4:16
    and the swing beat and put them together,
  • 4:16 - 4:18
    and it sounds something like this.
  • 4:31 - 4:33
    Aha.
  • 4:33 - 4:35
    A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 4:35 - 4:37
    CC: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 4:37 - 4:39
    CC: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
    Audience: A-rhythm a-rhythm.
  • 4:39 - 4:40
    CC: A-rhythm-etic.
    Audience: A-rhythm-etic.
  • 4:40 - 4:43
    CC: Yeah. Hip-hop.
  • 4:45 - 4:47
    Now it's using a faster group of three
  • 4:47 - 4:50
    we call a triplet.
  • 4:50 - 4:52
    Triplet-triplet. Say it with me.
  • 4:52 - 4:54
    All: Triplet-triplet.
  • 4:54 - 4:59
    CC: Triplet-triplet. Triplet-triplet.
  • 5:01 - 5:04
    CC: So I'll take all the rhythms
    that you heard earlier,
  • 5:04 - 5:08
    we'll put them together, and they sound like this.
  • 5:31 - 5:33
    A-rhythm-etic.
  • 5:33 - 5:37
    (Applause)
Title:
A-rhythm-etic. The math behind the beats
Speaker:
Clayton Cameron
Description:

Ready to dance in your seat? Drummer Clayton Cameron breaks down different genres of music—from R&B to Latin to pop—by their beats. A talk that proves hip hop and jazz aren't cooler than math—they simply rely on it.
more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDTalks
Duration:
05:57

English subtitles

Revisions Compare revisions

Our website uses cookies for analysis purposes.