Additive Rhythm
Rhythm built by adding unequal durational groups rather than dividing a span
Related
Additive rhythm builds a bar upwards from short units: eighths are grouped as 3+3+2, 2+2+3 or another unequal pattern, with an accent at the start of each group. The bar length is the sum of the groups.
Balkan dances, West African drumming, jazz and Stravinsky all use it. A 7/8 bar may run 2+2+3 or 3+2+2; move the accents and the step pattern changes with them.
Additive rhythm is the counterpart of divisive rhythm. Divisive rhythm divides a large unit into equal parts; additive rhythm builds from small groups and therefore accommodates asymmetric metres. It is not polyrhythm: one layer of added groups is enough. Count the groups rather than the whole bar.
Sources
- 定义与跨文化用法参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Rhythm"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.