0
0
Have you ever tried doing two different things at once? You guessed it, like patting your head and rubbing your tummy?
Sometimes we see in music where one hand is playing triplets while the other hand plays eighth notes.
What’s a triplet? Triplets are three equal notes that fit into the amount of time usually taken up by a quarter note or two eighth notes or four sixteenth notes.
The triplet has a slur (curved line) and a 3 either above or below the group of notes.
So, you might be wondering how you are going to play two notes in one hand while playing three notes in the other. The trick is that none of the notes within the beat will line up together except for the first note.
You’ll need to fit two equal notes into each beat with one hand while fitting three equal notes in the same amount of time with the other hand.
This is so tricky because it sounds like both hands are not in-synch with one another.
Here are some steps that will help you to play triplets against eighth notes.
1. Clap the triplets out loud while listening to a metronome for a steady beat. Listen and feel the beat in your head.
2. Play a scale with eighth notes ascending and triplets descending.
3. Divide beats into six equal parts. Eighth notes fall on the first and third beats of the six.
Triplets occupy the same space that two notes of that value would normally occupy. If you say a three-syllable word, let’s say the word strawberry, then you get a feel for triplets needing to be the same length.
I recommend saying out loud the words, “step-a-long” as you play each triplet in the piece to get the right rhythm.
So, triplets will be played on the first, third and fifth note in the group of six. As a result the second eighth note comes right after the second triplet.
I usually count (one-and, two-and) up to six each time I play both hands, placing each note and each triplet in the correct spot. You’ll get it with practice. Listen to where each note falls within the beat.
A song from a movie like, Star Wars (Main Theme) by John Williams is a great example of the use of triplets and what an exciting song to play. Keep in mind that triplets are not always the same repeated note nor are they only found in classical music ( Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata) but blues as well. Remember, a triplet is a group of notes that are played in the same time as two notes of the same value.
