Overview: This video explains 8th Note Triplets and rests. It is the beginning of a mini-series on triplets. Download the free PDF booklet below to get the exercises for this video and all of the future videos in the Triplet series.

Get The "Triplet Cheat Sheet" PDF Booklet Here!

Introduction

Hey everyone, this is Christian and welcome to the Reading and Rhythm series. This video is about 8th note triplets - what they look like, what they sound like and how to count them.

I started this video with an exercise I wrote that features 8th note triplets and you can get a copy of that exercise at the button above, or Right Here.

It's in a booklet called the “Triplets Cheat Sheet”, and it includes the exercises for all of the triplet videos that I'm going to be doing in this series. So, if you get it now, you'll get a little sneak peek of what's to come.

Let's get right into how to play and read triplets.

What is a Triplet?

We want to answer the question: what is a triplet?

A triplet is a three-note subdivision, but it’s not just any three notes; the notes are evenly spaced between beats.

Triplets are a rhythmic subdivision of beats; and because we're talking about 8th notes, that means we're talking about a subdivision of quarter notes. We're splitting the time in between two quarter notes into three even subdivisions of the same duration.

How to Write Triplets

So, let's look at how the triplet is written.

The first thing to notice is the number 3 above the grouped notes. That 3 is key to knowing that this is a triplet - no 3, no triplet. It's crucial.

Next thing you want to do is pay attention to the beaming (the beam is that black bar at the top of the notes).

Most triplets have some sort of beam, or a bracket, to show you the group of three notes. That way, it's very clear these three notes are together; and then the three tells you it's a triplet.

8th note triplets have one beam just like their 8th Note counterparts. That's how we know we're counting 8th note triplets and that they are a subdivision of quarter notes.

Now let’s get into counting triplets

How To Count Triplets

When I count out loud, I use these syllables:

1-trip-let; 2-trip-let; 3-trip-let; 4-trip-let

It's the number, “trip” for the second note, “let” for the third note.

In the measure you can see I've shortened it for space and I wrote a “t” and an “l” (the “l” kind of looks like a 1 as well). But it’s the number, trip, let; and it shows how the syllables line up with the rhythm.

You can hear and play 8th Note Triplets along with me at3:20 in the video (Click to jump to 3:20).

Depending on your teacher or the method book you use, you might see other syllables.

I've seen “one-&-a; two-&-a” etc.; but I don't like using those syllables because we've already used them for counting 16th note subdivisions; and I don't want there to be any confusion whether we're playing triplets or 16th notes. So, “1-trip-let; 2-trip-let” makes it very clear that we’re playing triplets and not 16th notes.

Another one you might see is “ta”; “1-ta-ta; 2-ta-ta”. That's actually how it's written in Joel Rothman’s Teaching Rhythm book we've been using. I don't like that one so much because using the same syllable over and over again can also be confusing; especially if you're talking to another musician and trying to explain a specific rhythm. When you name the syllables the same thing, it makes it hard to distinguish what you're actually talking about.

“Ta” has one advantage that I like, and it's that it's percussive. That will help you keep your rhythm accurate because it's short and crisp. There's a benefit to that, but really, like I said, I like “trip-let” for communication purposes.

Let those Triplets Roll - Getting the feel right

One thing you can do to get used to the flow of triplets is to use three-syllable words, like a mnemonic, to help get the right flow happening.

Some words you can try are Unicorn, Mexico or Blueberry. I actually like these because they have a little bit of an accent or emphasis on the first syllable. Un-i-corn, Me-xi-co, blue-ber-ry.

The idea is that you get a nice round feeling. Triplets should feel round, and flowing, and kind of like they roll.

You can practice these words without playing anywhere and anytime, since counting will help you internalize the rhythm.

You can watch a demo of how this works at 5:05 in the video (click to jump to 5:05).

After that, you can watch a demo of the opening exercise, slower, with me counting out loud starting at 6:08 (click to jump to 6:08).

Triplet Rests

Let's talk about rests because where we have beats of sound, we will also have beats of silence.

It's important to note that we're using 8th note rests, with a single flag, because we're playing 8th note triplets.

Notice that there are brackets here for clarity, and that's because the rests aren't a part of the beaming. The composer is going to do everything they can to make sure it's very clear that you're playing triplets. It's either by beaming, or bracketing, and in some cases, both.

You can watch a demonstration of 8th note triplet rests starting at 7:39 (click to jump to 7:39).

Remember to count out loud for rhythmic accuracy!

I’d like to go back to focus on the second measure for a moment. In the second measure, we're not playing the middle triplet. This is a very common rhythm across all music, so get used to seeing it. I've written it two different ways.

In beats 1 and 2, there's no beam. It's basically three separate 8th notes, and you may see it that way sometimes.

In beats 3 and 4, there's a beam between the first beat of the triplet and the “let” of the triplet, with the rest in-between.

This is a very common notation for this rhythm, and it's because, again, it makes it clear that we're playing a triplet. It has a beam and a bracket; it's doubly sure that you are playing a triplet here.

There's actually a third way to write this and it's meant to make things a little easier to read. The more clarity you can get in your music, the better, right?

So what we're going to do is we're actually going to do a quarter note substitution. We're going to put a quarter note on the 1st beat.

We do that because we're not playing that middle rhythm, and because we're playing percussion, we could put a quarter note there. It's the same as playing an eighth note and an eighth note rest, but this really cleans up the page.

The quarter note covers the duration of the two 8th notes, so there's no rest needed, and that's that's really the whole point.

We have brackets anyway, so that's going to show you that this is a triplet. There's no doubt we have a triplet, even though you're only seeing two notes. You're supposed to be able to do the math and say, “OK, we have a quarter note- that's two of the 8th notes. And then we have one eighth note - that's the third eighth note.”

You're going to see this rhythm a lot in jazz and shuffle rhythm notation. That’s especially at the beginning levels of those because they'll use triplets to show the rhythm and a little bit later, they'll use what are called swing 8ths. I can do a video on swing 8ths to explain that another time; but for now, beginner rhythms in jazz and swing will be written using this specific rhythm.

Conclusion

Alright, so that is it for 8th note triplets and rests!

To recap, we've covered what they look like, what they sound like, and how they're counted. We've also learned a few words with three syllables to help us get used to the flow, like Unicorn or Mexico. We can practice those away from the drums just to keep a nice steady flow happening.

We learned about triplet rests because where we have beats with sound, we also have beats without sound. We need to account for that.

If you haven’t already, be sure to download the PDF at the button above or below. It covers the exercise for this lesson as well as the exercises for the future triplets lessons. If you get it now, you'll have that sneak peek of what's to come.

So remember to like, subscribe, and ring that little bell to keep up with the rest of the Rhythm and Reading series on YouTube. I have a few more videos on triplets to do and then we're going to get into more advanced rhythms. We're getting over that hump of the basics, so until then, I'll see you next time. Thanks for joining me.

GET THE PDF FOR THIS LESSON HERE