The National · 2007 · 4 against 3 · ≈100 BPM
The 4 against 3 polyrhythm in Fake Empire by The National
Press play to hear the rhythm isolated. Slow it down, speed it up, or change the counts to feel how it works.
Every player fits the same bar: A splits it into 3, B into 2. They meet on beat 1.
Simplified educational demo, not a transcription of the recording.
Hear the real thing
Playing the track pauses the demo automatically (and vice versa) so they don't fight each other.
What's happening rhythmically
Fake Empire opens with a piano part built on a genuine polyrhythm: four evenly-spaced notes in one hand against three in the other, both filling the same bar.
Unlike a polymeter, the two layers here always start the bar together. The conflict happens inside each bar rather than drifting across bars. It’s why the song feels like it’s gently rocking rather than marching.
What to listen for
- Beat one, where both hands strike together, the anchor of the whole pattern
- The galloping composite rhythm the two hands make between downbeats
- The drums entering later and siding with the "four" layer