Triplets and dividing in three

Hear a beat divided into three and tap it: a triplet in simple time sounds like eighths in 6/8.

Three instead of two

Usually a beat divides into two equal parts: a quarter into two eighths. A triplet divides it into three: three eighths in the time of two. On the staff a 3 is written over the group.

A triplet sounds like a sudden "roll" inside a steady pulse: the accents stay in place, but two notes fit between them instead of one.

The beat divided in two: ONE-and, TWO-and

The beat divided in three: ONE-and-a, TWO-and-a (triplets)

Practice: Two or three? (1)

Practice: Two or three? (2)

Practice: Two or three? (3)

Like eighths in 6/8

Dividing the beat in three is the basis of compound meters. A triplet of eighths in 2/4 sounds the same as the three eighths of one beat in 6/8: in both, the big beat splits into three.

The composer chooses the notation by what matters in the music. If every beat divides in three, 6/8 is easier. If the division in three appears now and then among ordinary eighths, triplets are written.

In this lesson's tasks the division in three is written in 6/8: the trainer cannot show triplets on the staff yet.

Dividing in three in 6/8: triplets in 2/4 sound the same

To feel a triplet, say "pine-ap-ple" on each beat, and "ti-ti" for the division in two. Switch between them without losing the pulse.