Offsetting loop lengths in polymeter yields minutes of non-repeating combination from short loops with zero randomness

Polymeter is the cheapest long-form generator: set two voices with different bar lengths so they phase against each other and only realign after many bars. A 3-step loop against a 4-step loop realigns every 12 steps; a 7-step melody against an 8-step drum loop takes 56 steps to cycle. Short loops thus produce minutes of non-repeating combination with zero randomness — the complexity is purely structural, deterministic, and needs no probability management. This makes it the most computationally simple generative strategy and one of the most reliable, because a deterministic result can be reproduced for live recovery.

Examples

// Strudel: unequal implied lengths phase against each other {bd sn bd, hh hh hh hh}%4 // realigns every 12 steps

Assessment

Why does polymeter generate non-repeating combination, and how many steps before a 7-step loop and an 8-step loop realign?