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Need help sorting out rhythm in African song?


okieman

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I'm using home recording setup to create arrangement of an Afrobeat song "Dog Eat Dog" first done by Fela Kuti and his drummer Tony Allen. I'm using freeware to layout the parts to be replaced by real musical instruments. Song starts with two guitar parts, evidently in polyrhythm. My first attempt didn't sound right, so I posted samples to African drumming/dancing forum. A nice guy there responded with a suggestion of how to match the original rhythm. But when I re-created his suggestion, that didn't sound right either. Any tips? First link is a snippet of the original intro, then what happened when I used the suggested rhythm pattern, finally how that pattern was shown to me as beats (p is piano used only for clarity in the software, g is for guitar) ....

 

1 - Original intro by Fela and Tony

2-my synth version based on drummer's suggestion (below)

 

1...2...3...4...

....p.p....p..p..

 

1...2...3...4...

ggg.g.g.gggg..g.

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In and of itself, you can consider the snare part as backbeats. IOW 2 and 4. The guitar part is a simple Latin riff over that. No polyrivum. I didn't follow it through to the song proper so I don't know if it connects in that orientation.

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The only snare my ear can pick out occurs at the same time he brings down a drumstick on one of the drums? I hope that's the one you mean, because I'm proceeding based on the assumption that I understood you OK.

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Going by this:

 

eJ7XpBimxgE

 

At 50: or so the bass come in on 4 but the riff strongly demands that be the downbeat and continues that way for as long as I followed. At some point there is a shaker also on one and three and that continues for the duration.

 

I like keeping the original feel - snare drum on two and four - because the feel is more natural and notation more intuitive, calling the 3 beats before the Bass/Band entrance 3/4, and changing back to 4/4 for the main entrance.

 

As far as notation, it's all 4/4 and Latin-ish counterpoint.

 

If you post in the Lesson Loft, they might be able to provide examples of notation.

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