(Video) How to Play Complex Rhythms (3 against 2) Correctly

Today I'm starting a series of 3 videos about playing complex rhythms. The first lesson will deal with 3 against 2 and vice versa.

Playing complicated rhythmical patterns, such as 2 against 3 or 3 against 2 may be a great burden to a lot of aspiring organists. Quite often I hear even experienced performers doing it not quite correctly.

Obviously, the first note of the triplet is always the easy part. Deciding, when to play the second and the third notes of the group, though, gives much trouble to some organists. Understanding it mentally is one thing, but doing it correctly in practice, is often a different story.

Luckily, there is a very straightforward way to understand how to play it correctly. I recently made a detailed video with instructions and examples teaching how to master complicated rhythmical figures 3 against 2 and 2 against 3 easily. I hope you will find it helpful as such rhythms appear frequently in Romantic and modern organ music. Also, you can find a real-life example in Bach's Orgelbuchlein ("In dulci Jubilo", BWV 608).

Be on the look out for the 2nd video in this series (3 against 4) from me tomorrow.