BazzLow
ENIT
Module 11 · Lesson 3

Triplets

Play eighth-note and quarter-note triplets evenly.

Before this lesson: 11.1 Sixteenth notes

So far every beat has split into two, four or eight. A triplet splits it into three, which gives music a rolling feel.

Three in the time of two

A triplet fits three equal notes into the time normally taken by two of the same value. It is a tuplet, the general name for such groups. It is written with a 3 over the group, often with a bracket.

  • Eighth-note triplet: three notes in one beat. Count “1-trip-let, 2-trip-let…”. The three must be equal, not two short and one long.
  • Quarter-note triplet: three notes across two beats. Harder to feel: each note falls exactly two eighth-note-triplet pulses apart.
Rhythm lineTwo lines on the same four beats: eight eighth notes, then twelve eighth-note triplets, three to a beat, each group marked with a 3.44eighths1234triplets33331234
Two lines on the same four beats: eight eighth notes, then twelve eighth-note triplets, three to a beat, each group marked with a 3.
Rhythm lineOne bar of eighth-note triplets counted “1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let”.4433331triplet2triplet3triplet4triplet
One bar of eighth-note triplets counted “1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let”.
Rhythm lineQuarter-note triplets: three notes in the time of two beats (beats 1 and 2), marked with a bracket and a 3, followed by a half note on beats 3–4.4431234
Quarter-note triplets: three notes in the time of two beats (beats 1 and 2), marked with a bracket and a 3, followed by a half note on beats 3–4.

Sixteenth-note triplets (six notes per beat) exist too. They are not covered here. Triplets are the bridge to compound meter (lesson 11.4) and to swing (lesson 11.5): both are based on dividing the beat into three.

A visual pulse with four dots, one per beat, and a quiet click on each of three equal parts of the beat. Press Start, set the tempo with the slider, and use Sound to mute the click.
Try it

At 60 BPM, alternate one bar of straight eighths and one bar of triplets on the open E, counting aloud. Then play quarter-note triplets against the click.

New terms