Polyrhythms

[ravelfan07]

I am currently pretty bad at polyrhythms and wanted to know a few pieces that help with practicing polyrhythms

[brogers70]

I am currently pretty bad at polyrhythms and wanted to know a few pieces that help with practicing polyrhythms

The Posthumous Etudes by Chopin feature continuous polyrhythms. The middle sections of Brahms Opus 118 #2 and 118 #5 have plenty, it's pretty hard to avoid 2:3 in anything by Brahms. Fantasie Impromptu, of course has 3:4.

If you want exercises, the first few in Brahms 51 exercises are a mess of polyrhythms, and Czerny Opus 299 #26 is a nightmare of them.

[thorn]

Play C major scales with 2 in LH vs. 3 in RH, 3 in LH vs. 4 in RH etc. It's more useful than playing pieces because you don't have to think about notes and fingerings so can give your full attention to rhythm. Sometimes you have to play 2 octaves apart to avoid hands bumping into one another.

[kosulin]

The most 'scholar' are probably Fugues by Reicha, contemporary of Beethoven.
Brahms 51 exercises (WoO 6) include the polythythm ones.

[quantum]

In your case, I think it would be beneficial to work on purely rhythmic exercises that only involve percussive sounds and body movements, like clapping, walking, percussion instruments, etc.  In this way you can devote your focus to polyrhythms, and not have to worry about things like harmony, fingering, and other such challenges.  Once you have established a polyrhythm with clapping, then you can supplement by studying a piano piece that features that polyrhythm.

Start with the most common 2 against 3, as well as 3 against 4.  Go through variations of being able to clap 2 in one hand, 3 in the other, and fluidly switch the rhythm between hands, while counting out loud. 

Example:
RH 3, LH 2, count 3
RH 2, LH 3, count 3
RH 2, LH 3, count 2
RH 3, LH 2, count 2

Do the same exercise with 3 and 4.

You can also involve the feet while walking:
Feet (in 2) starting with Left, RH 4, LH 3, count 4
Feet (in 2) starting with Right, RH 4, LH 3, count 4
etc.