triplet help

2005-04-09 06:51 pm

what does tripleting a quarter note and an eighth note do? as in, what are the durations?

Re: triplet help

Reply #1 – 2005-04-09 09:07 pm

it has the duration of a quarter note

Re: triplet help

Reply #2 – 2005-04-09 09:15 pm

is it like 75% one note 25% the next in the duration of the first note.....?

Re: triplet help

Reply #3 – 2005-04-09 09:24 pm

... that is the total duration of a tripletised quarter plus eighth, will be the same as the total duration of a single quarter note.

But the tripletised quarter will have 2/3 the duration of a normal quarter, and the tripletised eighth will have 2/3 the duration of a normal eighth.

One application of tripletised notes (whether the above, or three equal notes) is in singing. Let us say that the lyrics require 3 syllables to fit in a duration of two quarter notes. One solution would be to use one quarter and two eighths, in any order. That would be OK if one syllable is (in natural spoken language) more emphatic than either of the other two. However, if the syllables ought to carry about the same emphasis, a triplet would be more appropriate.

If two syllables are to be placed in the duration that would normally accommodate two syllables, sometimes it is not best to have the notes of equal duration. For example, one syllable might be a critical word, and the other might be an unimportant participle. If a dotted quarter followed by an eighth is too choppy, then a tripletised quarter followed by tripletised eighth might be better. The total duration is the same, but the relative time stress is different.

If you are composing songs, you might find that 6/8 time allows you more flexibility in durations, without needing to use a lot of triplets.

Re: triplet help

Reply #4 – 2005-04-09 09:25 pm

... correction: tripletised half followed by tripletised quarter has the same duration as two ordinary quarters.

Re: triplet help

Reply #5 – 2005-04-10 01:49 am

thanks a lot.

Re: triplet help

Reply #6 – 2005-04-10 02:19 am

I think the best way to think of a tripletized quarter-eighth combination is to visualize three 8ths. The first one is tied to the second one, and the triplet affects the group.

So, 3 eighths in the time of 2 equals the duration of a quarter note. So would a triplet combination of quarter with eighth.