I was curious about how musicians tend to approach playing African or African rooted music in groups. I came across this info on the Ewe people of Ghana. Their approach may be similar to Haitians. "The ensemble is able to create the intricate songs by beating different rhythms on the drums. These rhythms conflict with each other but integrate into a single form called cross rhythms. Cross rhythm is the combination of different rhythms that interact in a single piece. The Ewe can do this on drums by drumming out a 4/4 and 6/4 rhythms against each other. While using different time signatures, the rhythms combine to create a cohesive and artistically beautiful sound (Jones, 1959). Normally, drummers play a repeated pattern until given the signal to change to a different one." African Music: Ewe Dance and Drumming and the Role of the Master Drummer
