Hey everybody,
I had a student inquire about Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. It's such a compelling line that he was inspired to learn it. I asked him to study the riff for the harmony it's implying. He spent the week figuring out that droning is an impactful way of creating contrast. The low D's never shift, giving a constant grounding affect. The other pitches are A, A#, B, C then returning to D. There isn't ever really a triad. Never major or minor, just a moving line from the 5 to #5 to 6 to b7 (of D). Really simple. That said, what's happening in the rhythm? Well the drums are playing a very standard rock and roll beat. The count is in 4/4 time. The guitars are in a another camp all together. They're playing in 3/4 time. This is an arrangement method called phasing, where two groups of musical instruments are in different meters simultaneously. It takes a series of repetitions to get everyone back to the same 1 count.
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
It's pretty easy to visualize with numbers like this. It takes the 3/4 counters 4 cycles to land back on the universal 1. It takes the 4/4 counters 3 cycles to land back on the universal 1. Because there are 5 chords in the progression it takes 6 measures of 4/4 to land back at the beginning on the cycle. Musically it looks a bit different.
If you have a metronome or drum machine, it's a fun exercise to work with. A great way to create a musical illusion of a cycle that wants to keep spinning. Give it a try!
If you're interested in other examples of phasing, there is a whole genre of classical music that explores how this process can create melodic and rhythmic variations. Here is a simple example of one melody that phases over itself by slightly shortening the second melody. View it here.
Enjoy the process and keep playing!
Christopher
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