Triplets as eighth notes?

2

2xride-player

Junior Member
So I'm trying to understand why/how eighth note triplets
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can be seen as eighth notes? I'm just using eighth notes as an example instead of 16th's, or some other note value.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, something like eighth notes is divisible by quarter notes. That is 8 eighth notes go into 4 quarter notes evenly. So then how can a triplet be seen as an eighth note? Can someone enlighten me?
 
I'll try. If you were to use 12/8 time instead, then 1 beat would contain 3 eighth notes instead of 2. The triplet notation is used to make this work within 4/4 time. I hope this helps though I may have misunderstood your question.
 
Thanks, I'm pretty sure I understand what you're telling me. Maybe I'm going about this all wrong though. It is my understanding that each note in the triplet is being given a value of an eighth note. Is this correct? If so, then how can someone classify the notes in a triplets as eighth notes, since 8 isn't evenly divisible by 3?
 
The triplet notation changes the value of the note. Normally you subdivide a quarter note and get 2 notes in the space of the quarter note. The triplet notation with a 3 in the beam above the notes means subdivide the larger note into three smaller notes. So a quarter note is divided into three notes. Mathematically, it works out to be something like a 12th note. But there is no icon for a "12th note". So we use the triplet notation with the 3 drawn in the beam above the eighths.

Keep in mind that triplet notation isn't always used when we group notes in threes. As drumdevil points out, lots of songs that group notes in threes do so by using something like 12/8 time. Three eighth notes in 12/8 time can be the exact same thing as a set of eighth note triplets in 4/4 time.

Why do we use notation with a 3 drawn in the beam connecting the notes? Why not a different glyph to represent a 12th note? There is not likely any real reason... Sheet music characters are probably somewhat arbitrary; that's just how someone started doing it ages ago, and it stuck.

It also gives us more flexibility. Writing the beamed 3 above a set of notes is far simpler than inventing new icons for half note triplets, quarter note triplets, eighth note trips, 16th note trips, 32nd note trips, etc. plus you can use that same notation to subdivide a quarter note by 5 or 7 or something other than 3, if you so needed.
 
Yeah that's a good explanation. 3 in the time of 2. I think you may be just over-thinking the math.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Soupy said:
Why do we use notation with a 3 drawn in the beam connecting the notes? Why not a different glyph to represent a 12th note? There is not likely any real reason... Sheet music characters are probably somewhat arbitrary; that's just how someone started doing it ages ago, and it stuck.

It also gives us more flexibility. Writing the beamed 3 above a set of notes is far simpler than inventing new icons for half note triplets, quarter note triplets, eighth note trips, 16th note trips, 32nd note trips, etc. plus you can use that same notation to subdivide a quarter note by 5 or 7 or something other than 3, if you so needed.
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That makes sense. I also thought about how new icons might have to be used if someone wasn't to follow the norm on reading notation, so to speak. But yes, ultimately I believe I was looking more at the math than how the note values themselves relate to time. It's always good to be sure though.
 
It should also be pointed out that in 4/4 an eight note triplet is based on a quarter note but in 12/8 three eighth notes equal a dotted quarter.
 
Alain Rieder said:
Now, just to see if you got it right, how many eighth note triplets can you have in a bar of 12/8? ;-)

Cheers
Alain
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Well if I understand everyone correctly, that would be four sets of eighth note triplets, correct?

And sorry to bump this...I didn't know it had more replies. :p
 
The reason that eighth notes triplets can be seen as eighth notes is that it has the value of one quarter note. Four quarter notes to one measure, just say 1, 2, 3, 4.

Forget the triplets and do just eighth notes, two eighth equal 1 quarter note. We would say 1 an which is one quarter note. Lets do one measure of eighth notes, 1 an 2 an 3 an 4 an. This equals 4 beats but you are doing eight strokes using your drum sticks.

Triplets as applied to eighth notes, you need three eighth notes to equal one quarter note.
One trip let or say the word merrily equals one quarter note. Do one measure of triplets:
1 trip let, 2 trip let, 3 trip let, 4 trip let equals 4 beats but 12 strokes of your drum sticks.

The key here or in drum music is alot of music shares the same value, this examle is quarter notes but not the same amount of drum strokes. Different drum strokes give different drum feel.
 
ONE,two,three,FOUR,five,six,SEVEN,eight,nine,TEN,eleven,twelve
1.........and..........2......and.........3..........and........4..........and...... see how the notes fit above.
,or 1 and ah 2 and ah three and ah 4 and ah,or and ah 1 and ah 2 and ah 3 and ah 4.
 
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