Generating “Good” Musical Rhythms Algorithmically

While it is difficult to define precisely what makes a “good” rhythm good, it is not hard to specify properties that contribute to a rhythm’s goodness. One such property is that the mirrorsymmetric transformation of the rhythm about some axis of the rhythm’s cycle, represented as a circle, be the same as its complementary rhythm. Rhythms that have this property are called interlocking reflection rhythms. Another family of rhythms termed toggle rhythms are those cyclic rhythms that when played using the alternating-hands method, have their onsets in one cycle divided into two consecutive sets such that first set is played consecutively with one hand, and the second set is played consecutively with the other hand. Several simple rhythmgeneration methods that yield good rhythm timelines with these properties are presented and illustrated with examples.