Musical patterns gain complexity from interference between simple layers — not from the complexity of individual layers

Alex McLean frames his workshop pedagogy around a specific definition of pattern: not sequences or piano rolls, but structures that emerge from repetitions, symmetries, reflections, and — most importantly — interference. When two simple repeating patterns interact, their overlapping phase relationships create emergent rhythmic figures that neither pattern contains on its own. This is the same mechanism as Euclidean rhythms and polyrhythm: the interesting content is in the interaction, not the component. McLean also notes that deviating from a pattern (through randomness or probability) is important but often overstated in algorithmic composition discussion.

Examples

Two simple looping patterns at 3 and 2 steps produce a 6-step combined cycle with a characteristic cross-rhythm. In Strudel: s "bd*3" # n "[0 2 4]/2" — the two cycles create a 6-bar interference pattern.

Assessment

Write two minimal repeating patterns (2-4 elements each) in Strudel that create an interference pattern of at least 8 distinct steps. Describe what makes the combined result more interesting than either part.