Plus one, minus one is a category of rhythm I define in the glossary What Might It Mean? An Uncommon Glossary of Musical Terms and Concepts for the Stuck, Bored, and Curious. Published in 1999, I have repeatedly made use of its insights in preparing my current series of solo recitals celebrating my recovery from surgery in 2007 and my return to fully intense playing. In the book I suggest that some problematic pianistic devices might not be so tiresome, so repetitive, so, well, boring, if subjected to that principle.
It works like this: Say there is a four-note broken chord repeated over more than one bar. Rather than accentuate the beginning of each four-note figure, staggering the mental emphasis by either adding or subtracting one rhythmic unit from each successive repetition has the uncanny effect of livening 1) the fingers 2)the figure 3) the contrapuntal potential of the piece 4) the listener.
Thus instead of 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 2 3 4 one gets
1 2 3 / 4 1 2 / 3 4 1 / 2 3 4 /1 2 3 /4 or perhaps
1 2 3 4 1 / 2 3 4 1 2 / 3 4 1 2 3 / 4
I tried it today on Schubert. It works like a charm. The sound, previously predictable, became mysterious, almost magical, except for the fact that it is much more difficult -- i.e., more fun -- to play.
