I was going to write a high class title for this post but I’m screwed if I can come up with one.
In some day past, I think it was in the 1960’s, Steve Reich wrote a cracking little piece of human percussion music, called ‘Hand Clapping’. The story I heard was that In New York (I think) he sued to play clubs to make money - and the electricity kept failing where he was playing - so he wrote some music that required nothing except the hands and ears to play.
A rhythm is beat out in unison at the start - then one of the players starts on a different beat , so on the second set of loops one guy plays the music from the first beat on the same beat the other guy starts on the second beat. So what you get is the same rhythm played over and over but the beat keeps shifting and the notes of emphasis shift around and give you a piece which falls out of and back into unison.
Over at YouTube there are a couple of Videos which are pretty cool in this regard:
Evelyn Glennie does a four part version on her own - so two hands each holding two beaters each beater playing a rhythm independent of the others!!!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jSKJCmeRM
My favourite is the juggling rendition of it - I know it sounds naff buts its kinda cool keep your eyes on the orange balls
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dXhBti625_s
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