6233 / 18210 · Workshop 44 — “Afro Blue”: 6/8, 3-Against-2, Hemiola, Polyrhythmic Independence, and Hearing Two Meters at Once← prev⊞ allnext →
44.89Apply it to “Happy Birthday”
Now we can make a genuinely unusual transformation.
Put the tune in 6/8.
Intro
LH establishes two big dotted-quarter pulses.
Phrase 1
melody clearly follows 3+3.
Phrase 2
RH accompaniment introduces 2+2+2.
Phrase 3
melody itself shifts into hemiola while bass stays in 6/8.
Final phrase
both layers gradually reunite.
Ending
one simple tonic on subdivision 1.
The recognizable melody survives, but the listener experiences a constantly shifting rhythmic perspective.