Polyrhythm vs. Polymeter

Learn the difference between polyrhythms and polymeters with this simple lesson, featuring examples inspired by the Stranger Things soundtrack. ►Free eBook: Polyrhythms, polymeters, pollywogs... these are strange things, right? Wrong! They’re our friends, well, only when you take the time to get to know them. After our “Polymeter Bass“ video last week, our inbox filled up with questions about the difference between polyrhythms (two or more rhythms playing simultaneously) and polymeters (two or more time signatures playing simultaneously), so we decided to make a lesson on this oft-misunderstood topic! In this Hack Music Theory lesson, Ray uses a Stranger Things soundtrack inspired synth chord progression and bass line as the foundation to write two versions of the same melody: one is polyrhythmic, and one is polymetric. He teaches the theory along the way for 4:3 and 3:2 polyrhythms, and an 11/8 over 4/4 polymeter, and finishes with an epic A/B comparison of a polyrhythm a