Hello, Prado.

We don't know for sure if a number of 6 gives the pattern exactly 3 times the likelihood of being chosen over one with a number of 2; but that would be the way to bet, and the assumption is close enough in practice. By the time you have 20 or 40 patterns, the massed probabilities become too much to think about anyway. Diminishing returns set in after maybe 7 or 8 patterns on a line -- far fewer than that in simple strict styles. If you dispute my number after a little experience, just add some patterns for greater variety.

If you have a pattern you don't want to hear very often, just give it a 1 or 2. Another that is more generic and more widely useful could get a 7 or 8. Most can ride along at 5. (If you make them all 8's, that has the same effect as making them all 1's.) Mostly, you should just stop worrying about the mathematical details.

In a long chorus -- with more opportunities for a pattern to get used -- naturally there's a higher chance for it to be played than if you had only a couple bars.

Are you paying attention to the "masks" of the patterns yet? With those, you can reserve a pattern for specific circs, like a turnaround or fill measure. Putting masks on patterns sets them aside for special use, so they aren't even considered for other places in the song.

PG jazz styles tend to use patterns masked for all their measures: This one for bar1, that for bar2, right on through the 8-bar cycle. You may not want to go that far, but if you do it so, you can get a tight and highly-controlled sounding style that runs no risk of repeating the same pattern for two chords in a row. I leave them sloppy and loose, myself, for the ballad styles I often write -- with no bar masking of that strict type. Whatever you like is fair use.

Larry
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