hmmm. What does polyrhythmics have to do with time signatures?? Polyrhythmics at least to me, refer to rhythm or most importantly the division of a rhtyhm. And time signature has to do with feel. I could mistaken but polyrhythmics doesn't explain time signature. A 5:4 polyrhytmic is just 5 notes played in equal duration of 4. It could be 5 quarters played in 4 quarters, or 5 sixteenth in 4 sixteenth regardless of the time signature. It's almost like your saying a 5:4 polyrhythmic is the same as a 5/4 time signature, if you were to play a 5:4 poly of quarter notes over a 4/4 time signature. Well that makes 5 beats a measure right, so it could be a 5/4 time signature rather than a 5:4 poly or however you would say it. See what I mean by they don't help understand time signatures. A 5/4 time signature is a compound (2 time signatures put together to make one) time signature made up of 3/4 and 2/4. A 5:4 polyrhythm is just 5 notes played equally in the time it takes to play 4 of those notes. A triplet (3:2) is probably the best way to explain it. 3 notes played in the duration of 2.

Time signature 5/4
here's what they mean:
5 - beats per measure
4 - what note gets a beat (in this case a quarter), this also indicates the feel. Is it a quarter note feel, eighth, or sixteenth, or so on.

Polyrhythmics 5:4
here's what they mean:
5 - how many notes are played
4 - what duration the number of notes is equal to.
The notes are always the same, so if you have 5 quarter notes. They would be equal to the duration of 4 quarter, you should see how the division works.

Tempo is always the speed at which the music moves at. Rhtyhm NEVER dictates speed.

These three terms never explain each other. Everything in music will make sense it you don't confuse them.

[Edited by noticingthemistake on 06-10-2003 at 01:44 PM]