3:4:5 Polyrhythm Lesson

How to count 3:4:5

Three layers need a grid that all three divide evenly: 60 slots, the lowest common multiple of 3, 4 and 5. The 5-note layer plays every 12 slots, on 1, 13, 25, 37 and 49. The 4-note layer plays every 15 slots, on 1, 16, 31 and 46. The 3-note layer plays every 20 slots, on 1, 21 and 41. All three meet only on slot 1. Nobody counts to 60; instead learn the three pairs inside it, each on its own smaller grid, and stack them.

1. This page loads all three voices, with the three as the base pulse. Mute the five in Voices & sound and make 4:3 steady first.
2. Mute the four and practise 5:3 at the same reference tempo. Then mute the three to hear the 5:4 pair inside the full cycle.
3. Unmute all three at a comfortable tempo. Keep the three in your foot and assign the other voices to a hand, your voice or another instrument.

The 3:4:5 grid: 60 slots, three voices

Count 60 equal slots per cycle, 20 to each of the 3 beats. The 3 lands every 20 slots, the 4 every 15 and the 5 every 12. All three land together on slot 1. No two of 3, 4 and 5 share a factor, so the voices meet only on slot 1; every other hit has a slot to itself.

How to practise 3:4:5 in 10 steps

Start around 56 BPM with the 3 as the beat. The generator on this page loads all three voices; mute one in Voices & sound to work on a pair, use Tap along to score your timing, and use Practice tools for silent gaps and tempo ramps. Move on when a step feels even for three cycles.

1. Hear all three. Play it and let the 3 be the beat you nod to. The 4 and the 5 ride over it. Do not count yet. Listen for: All three meet once per cycle, on 1. Between meetings each voice drifts against the other two at its own rate.
2. Hear the 3 and the 4. The 5 is muted. This is the 4:3 you may already know; hear it clean before adding the third voice. Listen for: Two sides meeting on 1, the 4 drifting across the 3.
3. Hear the 3 and the 5. Now the 4 is muted. Same beat, a different voice over it: 5 against 3. Listen for: The 5 lands back on 1 with the 3 after one cycle.
4. Hear the 4 and the 5. The beat is muted. Without the 3 the 4 and 5 are a ratio of their own; find where they meet. Listen for: 5 against 4: only the shared 1 is certain, everything else is drift.
5. Count the composite. All three play. Switch to the Hands view for the 4:3 pair and say its syllables; hear where the 5 falls between them. Listen for: The two-voice syllables stay even; the third voice is the one that never lands on a word except on 1.
6. Tap the 3. All three still play. Tap only the 3-side; the other two try to pull you off it. Listen for: Your taps sit inside the click, not beside it. Perfect means within 30 ms.
7. Tap the 4. Tap only the 4-side while the 3 keeps you honest and the 5 keeps you humble. Listen for: 4 even taps that land back on 1 with the other two.
8. Both hands together. Tap the 3 and the 4 together with the 5 playing. Keep it slow until the meeting point is calm. Listen for: One clean two-hand line with a third voice threaded through it.
9. Take the guide away. Two cycles play, two go silent. Keep both hands going through the silence. Listen for: When the click comes back, you are still on 1.
10. Speed it up. The tempo climbs one BPM per cycle toward 86. Stop when it stops feeling even. Listen for: The relationship stays the same at every tempo; only the space between hits shrinks.