Finished Sheet Music Ebook 8th August 2011

Triplets

You may have noticed that all of the divisions of beats are in factors of 2 (½, ¼, ⅛,
etc..)(the technical term for these is duplets). If a beat is to be divided into 3 then it will be
shown as a triplet. This is done by putting a “3” over the top of the notes to show that 3
notes should fit in where there would normally only be 2. So in this example the “3” over
the top of the quarter notes (crotchets) means that 3 crotchets adds up to 2 beats instead
of 3.

Track 11

Student Question - “Why does the 1st bar of some pieces not add up properly?”

Upbeats can occur at the start of a piece where the first note of the piece does not begin on

beat 1 of the 1st bar. If this is the case, the 1st bar will contain the upbeat only and the last bar

of the piece will contain the remaining length of the bar. So in the following example, the up-

beat is 1 quarter note (crotchet) (this bar only adds up to 1 instead of 3) and so the final bar

adds up to 2 (1st bar( 1 ) + last bar ( 2 ) = Total of 3 beats)

Student Question - “What about swing?”

Lots of my students like to play jazz music and “swing” is a key rhythmic feature of the style.

Swing is where a basic 2 8th note (quaver) rhythm played differently from how it is written - it

is given a shuffling feel.

The above shows the straight rhythm which is always written the same. If Heavy Swing is

written at the the top of the piece then the 8th notes (quavers) will sound dotted (bar 2). If

Swung or Light Swing is written then the 8th notes (quavers) will sound as triplets (bar 3).