Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [tuplet]

For questions about the notation or use of a tuplet (the most common form being a triplet). Questions with this tag will most likely also contain the rhythm tag.

Tuplet is the generic term for triplets, quintuplets etc. where a number of notes have their duration modified according to the same ratio. Typically tuplets are notated via a horizontal bracket showing the number or ratio.

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How is it that 12 eighth notes fit in a measure labeled as common time?

I am looking at Franz Liszt's Consolation S.172 No.3. I have checked out two different music scores of the same composition and they both have the same time signature (standard), however the base line includes 12 eighth notes (making it a 3/2 time…
KJ Price
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How are very long tuplets in Romantic music played in practice?

In Romantic music, especially for piano, one can often find oversized tuplets like this one: (the excerpt comes from the very beginning of the 3rd movement of Grieg's piano concerto) Are you really supposed to play them "precisely" (i. e., in the…
Ramillies
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What exactly does a 3 mean over a quarter note and an 8th note?

There is an eighth note followed by a quarter note, and above them is a little overarching bracket with a little 3 in it. I know this has something to do with the timing, but I have no idea what. This is for piano, by the way.
temporary_user_name
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Effective way to notate triplets

I was directed by America Luke to this forum site. I hope this is the correct place. I have a score with a lot of triplets. It's awkward to write always \times 2/3 {c16 d e} \times 2/3 {d e f}. Since the \times causes not only the duration scaling…
harper
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Triplets against twos in Bach's music

I was reading up on tuplets and polyrhythms because I was having trouble playing some of Bach's keyboard works containing three-against-two rhythms. Then I found something interesting: (...) It is prudent to note that even until the latter half of…
neuviemeporte
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Unknown indication below upper stave

The number 2, quite large and in italics, appears twice below the notes on the upper stave. There are some fingering indicators but one quarter the size. The time signature is 6/8
Anne
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What does it mean when there are two 1s with a curve over a note?

I have never seen this kind of symbol before and google has failed me. This notation occurs in Chopin Nocturne Op. 9, No. 1, measure 2 beats 4–6.
ebracho
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What note values cannot be represented in conventional notation?

Using dots, ties and tuplets of standard note values (whole, half, quarter, etc.), are there values that cannot be represented? Examples: 1/8 is an eighth 7/16 is a two-dotted-quarter 15/8 is a three-dotted whole 1/3 results from a triplet of a…
nightcod3r
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Why did Beethoven use triplets for the whole first movement of Moonlight Sonata rather than writing it in say 6/8?

I just came across the score for Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and I was surprised when I saw the time signature of the first movement. (My background is that I've played music for many years—mainly guitars and keyboard—but not studied music theory…
Reg Edit
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How Do I Count Note Durations In These Bars?

I am learning a piece at the moment which is in 4/4, however some bars look like they should be 12/8, and I am confused about the mixing of notation of sometimes triplets sometimes not. Here is the section in question: Consider bar 48. The right…
Alan
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Notation of triplets in Bach’s *Orgelbüchlein*

In the following piece from J.S. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein, the nearly constant triplet line seems to be incorrect: The time signature is 3/2, but there are 9 eighth-note triplets per measure rather than the 9 quarter-note triplets I would have…
Pat Muchmore
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How to tackle this tricky rhythm -- nested triplets?

I play in a local brass quintet, and we were sent some new music by a local composer. When we played it through, my part contained this rhythmic pattern which stopped me dead. I realised that when I sight read, I'm relying mostly on memory and…
Brian THOMAS
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How to interpret in swing a 16th triplet followed by an 1/8 note?

So the combined 1/16 triplet and 1/8 note cover a quarter note. The question is does the 1/16 triplet cover a straight 1/8 note or does it cover the 1st two 1/8 notes of a set of an 1/8 triplet. So is the quarter note duration considered two…
Josiah Hoskins
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What do the numbers 2 & 3 mean (duplet/tuplet/finger indication?) in this first bar of a song?

I was looking for a simple anime song piece where I encounter this piece whose first bar does not make sense to me (I uploaded the first bar picture ). Especially what is meant by 2 and 3 at the top of the first two notes? Is it tuplet or finger…
Anklon
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How to write 2 crotchet (quarter note) triplets when they don't start on the down beat?

I gave this question some thought but I may have worded it wrong so the best I can do is give an example. If you look in the second bar of the piece I am writing (below), there are three sets of quaver (eighth note) triplets. The last two sets of…
armani
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