Editing Polyrhythm (section)

{{Short description|Simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythms}}
{{for|the Perfume song|Polyrhythm (song)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
[[File:Polyrhythm.png|thumb|right|350px|Polyrhythm: [[Tuplet|Triplet]]s over [[Tuplet|duplets]] in all four [[beat (music)|beats]]<ref name="Fingertips">Slenczynska (1976). ''Music At Your Fingertips: Advice For The Artist And Amateur On Playing The Piano'', p. 43. {{ISBN|0-306-80034-9}}.</ref>[[File:Polyrhythm.mid]]]]
[[File:Polyrhythm3c2.theora.ogv|thumb|right|2:3 polyrhythm (cross rhythm) as bounce inside oval]]

'''Polyrhythm''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|l|i|r|ɪ|ð|əm}}) is the simultaneous use of two or more [[rhythm]]s that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter.<ref>''New Harvard Dictionary of Music'' (1986: 646). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.</ref> The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ([[cross-rhythm]]), or a momentary section. Polyrhythms can be distinguished from [[irrational rhythm]]s, which can occur within the context of a single [[Part (music)|part]]; polyrhythms require at least two rhythms to be played concurrently, one of which is typically an irrational rhythm. Concurrently in this context means within the same rhythmic cycle. The underlying pulse, whether explicit or implicit can be considered one of the concurrent rhythms. For example, the [[Clave (rhythm)#Son clave|son clave]] is poly-rhythmic because its 3 section suggests a different meter from the pulse of the entire pattern.<ref>Novotney, Eugene D. (1998: 265). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100906094730/http://www.unlockingclave.com/free-download-32-thesis.html ''The 3:2 Relationship as the Foundation of Timelines in West African Musics''], Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois. </ref>