Expanded Modal Rhythm

Abstract

This article is written by a composer on his own music. It describes a set of rhythmic organization principles used in my compositional research since 1989. These principles greately expand what is traditionally known as “modal rhythm”, which appears for the first time in the music of the 12th century polyphonists of the Notre Dame School: Leoninus and Perotinus. For this reason, I call this group of rhythmic principles “expanded modal rhythm”. They are a part of a larger context of temporal organization principles designed to generating ametric textures, complex polyrhythm and cross rhythms, and certain desired types or rhythmic flow. I use examples taken from four of my compositions.

Keywords

• : modal rhythm
• number and music
• compositional process
• temporal organization
• rhythm