Proxy rhythms describe a way of working with time where fixed grids are replaced by surrogate rhythmic structures. Instead of relying on even subdivisions or explicit tuplets, asymmetrical cells, often derived from clave-like patterns or uneven pulse groupings, act as substitutes for more complex temporal relationships. These proxy structures allow rhythmic identities to stretch, morph, and drift without locking into a single metric authority.

Rather than treating rhythm as a system to be solved, proxy rhythms frame time as a negotiated space. Grooves function as approximate carriers of tempo, modulation emerges from musical behavior, and precision is achieved through embodied listening rather than numerical subdivision. The result is a flexible, groove based approach to rhythm that resists metric fixation while remaining performable, shareable, and deeply collaborative.

This way of thinking resonates strongly with the work and pedagogy of Malcolm Braff and Mulle Holmqvist, whose approaches to rhythm foreground intuition, physicality, and trust in the musical moment, treating time not as a fixed grid but as a living, responsive medium shaped through listening and collective presence.