The 'Not-Quite-Double' (NQD) Principle

To a Musician, especially a drummer, counting is the least disruptive method of connecting yourself to the almost intangible concept of time (something tangible is something we can feel). Since we use muscles in our throats to count, we can feel, or be physically connected to, time. Counting also has the advantage of being a very accurate way to keep time. This is because of the relationship between effort and control. The more effort it takes to do something, the less control we have (try touching your nose with the tip of a pencil, then try touching your nose with the tip of a 100 lb. iron bar). Moving our throat muscles requires much less effort than moving our arm or leg muscles, so we can count more accurately than we can play. Don't you find it much easier to just play as opposed to counting and playing? That ought to tell you something about the process of counting while playing (just in case it doesnt, heres a hint....ITS HARD!!). Usually, the things in life that take work to achieve are the things that are 'right' or 'good'. Counting while playing takes work, but it connects your limbs to your voice which is, in turn, connected to 'time. This process allows your body to connect to time in a very tangible way and lets you develop the most important attribute of all .... the confidence of playing in time, with great FEEL. Numbers are just a way to keep track of how many beats are played, or felt. They do work pretty well, but counting time doesn't have to be done with numbers. The important thing is the use of the muscles in the throat. You can grunt or make funny noises, as long as you are tangibly aware of the consistency (or inconsistency) of your timing. Again, we keep better time with our voices than with our limbs because there is less motion involved with those muscles. Learning the feels of large, odd-numbered, rhythms requires that you keep track of the beats. Counting these beats seems to work quite well. The numbers 1 thru 9 have one syllable (say sev for seven), so all you have to do is coordinate saying one syllable with playing the one of whatever pattern you are playing. However, numbers greater than ten have multiple syllables, so now you have to speak while playing the first two, or three, or more beats of the pattern. It takes a lot of practice to get comfortable with this process. Counting every beat can leave you breathless in a hurry, especially with faster tempos. With even numbers, a simple breath-saver is to count every other number, using + in between (1+2+3+4...). However, odd numbers can't be evenly divided in half, so you must say all of the numbers in the subdivision either in full, or in a linearly divided fashion ... unless you split the odd number into 'not-quite-half'. What on earth is not-quite-half? By doubling 6 you get 12, so you can count a twelve-beat pattern as:

1 +2+3+4+5+6+ 1 +2+.....
Well....'not-quite-doubling 6 beats gives you 11 beats.

12-BEAT PATTERN

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 1 + 2 + .... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 ....

11-BEAT PATTERN

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 1 + 2 + .... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 ....

Basically, not-quite-doubling means omitting the last + in a pattern.

Workout 1

Against The Odds

1996

PAGE 1 of 2

Text from

Rhythm Knowledge-Book Two

1996

The 'Not-Quite-Double' Key

NQD COUNT ODD NUMBER

Why count using not-quite-double? What's so special about it?

When you use two limbs to play an odd-number pattern, you should feel the 'lead-limb' switching back and forth between left and right. The reason it works so well for executing odd rhythms quickly and accurately is that the right/left switching of the lead limb gives the human body the on/off' effect of Binary Code. Binary Code (in principle, the same Binary Code used in computers) is the simplest form of language there is. Synapses (the brains equivalent of switches) are either active or inactive (on or off) ... PERIOD. Binary Code is the language that our brains use to communicate with our muscles. Thinking of rhythms in terms of on/off effectively translates music into the language spoken by our bodies.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

.................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. ..................

19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5 3

11-BEAT PATTERN

This is what you count, out loud !! 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5 3

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 1 + 2 .. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 1 + 2 .. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 1 + 2 .. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 1 + 2 .. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 1 + 2 .. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 1 + 2 + 3 1 + 1 + 2 1 + 2 ..

R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L .... 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 1 + .... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 ....

op !!

(Guitarists should substitute Down pick/Up pick for L/R)

g, + 5 1 + 2 .. in t a 1 + 2 .. pe e r 2 .. ep Ke

do

t n'

st

Against The Odds

* = the pulse, the 'one' of the 11, the beginning of the subdivision, the switching of the lead, the whole ball of wax, the big bang of the universe .... do you get it? Do you feel it? Any of the linearly divided portions of 11 (4+4+3=11, or 5+6=11, etc.) can be felt/counted/kept track of, under the umbrella of 6 not-quite-doubled.

provides you with your own private tutor, stepping through each odd number in turn. Use it at home, in the car, for pre-gig warm-up ... anywhere you can move your hands and/or feet !! Dont be discouraged if you cant make it all the way through at first ... it will come, with time and effort! Think of it as Tae-Bo for drums.

For instance, to play sevens you count:

one & two & three & four one & two & three & four one & two ....
First seven Second seven Third seven

Workout 1

Against The Odds

1996

PAGE 2 of 2

Text from

Rhythm Knowledge-Book Two

1996