5 Methods to Use and Feel Triplets in All Forms of Music

A triplet divides a beat into three equal parts, and you can learn to feel it naturally by practising triplet rhythmic devices, 3-over-2 polyrhythms, compound time such as 6/8 and 12/8, accented sets of three, and swing.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 25 min

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This lesson from Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music is an informal, practical introduction to triplets. It suits any musician who finds triplets awkward and wants them to feel natural. The examples are played on piano, but every idea works on any instrument or simply by clapping.

What a triplet is

A triplet divides the beat into three equal units. Your pulse, your head movement and the way you react to the music fall into groups of three. You can count it as one-two-three, or use Konnakol syllables from Indian rhythm, which feel very natural on the body.

Where you hear triplets

• Epic movie themes: a single repeated note divided into threes quickly builds a dramatic, drum-like feel.
• Indian and Eastern music: many grooves with an Eastern flavour sit on triplets.
• Waltzes and ballads: these are often in 3 or 6/8, such as Hallelujah.
• Ends of sections: you might play quavers through a phrase, then slip in a triplet at the end as a filler or roll, just as a drummer would.
• Rap and heavy metal: many vocal phrases and riffs are built on triplets.

Triplets are not the same as the Latin tresillo, dotted notes or simple accents, even though musicians sometimes mix them up.

Method 1: Rhythmic devices

Write out every way a triplet can be used within one beat:

1. Play all three notes.
2. Play only the first. This is just a crotchet.
3. Play nothing. A rest can also be thought of as a triplet.
4. Play the first and third and leave out the middle. This is the swing feel.
5. Play the first two and rest on the third.
6. Rest on the first and play the second and third.
7. Play only the middle note.
8. Play only the third note, which gives a bouncy feel.

Combine these devices into patterns across a bar. Count one-two-three-four while you clap or snap them. Then play anything you like on those hit points, either a melody or chords. Mixing swing with a closing triplet, as in a Roadhouse Blues style groove, is a good one to try.

Method 2: Tuplets and polyrhythms

Arpeggiate a D minor chord (D F A) in quaver triplets. Then rest on every alternate sub-beat. The result is a crotchet triplet, which sits as three against two: a 3-over-2 polyrhythm. Remove even more notes to reach minim triplets, which are slow and groovy. On the piano you can play one pattern in each hand.

Method 3: Compound time

In 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 and even 15/8, the strong beat falls once in every three. In 6/8 the main claps land on 1 and 4, so you can feel it in two. 9/8 can be felt in three, and 12/8 feels like 4/4 with each beat packaged as a triplet. Weave your music around those hit points.

Method 4: Accents and sets of three

Play steady quavers or semiquavers in the right hand over a held F, then accent them in groups of three instead of twos. This is not strictly a triplet; it works more like a fake triplet. You can make the groups fit a bar, for example 3+3+3+3+4 = 16 semiquavers. Many pop songs use this accented feel.

Method 5: Swing

Swing, used widely in blues and jazz, is felt on the triplet. Take a familiar tune such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and play it with the swing triplet feel. This gives it a bluesy vibe.

Bonus: add a triplet feel to anything

Play any song and choose how you feel the subdivisions in your mind. Do not think in fours (semiquavers) or twos (quavers). Think in threes. The tune stays the same, but once you feel triplets inside it, you can bring that feel out on your instrument.

How to practise

Start by clapping each rhythmic device while counting the beat. Next, move from quaver to crotchet to minim triplets on a simple chord. Then take your favourite songs and replay them with a triplet or swing feel.

Questions about this lesson

What is the difference between a triplet and a swing rhythm?

Swing is felt as a triplet with the middle note left out. You play the first and third parts of the triplet, which gives the long-short lilt used in blues and jazz.

How is 6/8 related to triplets?

In 6/8 the main beats fall on 1 and 4, so the six quavers are packaged as two groups of three. That lets you feel the bar in two, with a triplet on each beat.

What is a 3-over-2 polyrhythm?

It comes from playing crotchet triplets against a regular two-part division of the beat. You can find it by playing quaver triplets and resting on every alternate sub-beat.

Are accented groups of three the same as triplets?

Not strictly. Accenting quavers or semiquavers in sets of three, such as 3+3+3+3+4 in a bar of sixteen semiquavers, creates a triplet-like feel without actually dividing the beat by three.

Practise it

• Swing GardenWork with straight and swung rhythm in an interactive teaching workspace.
• Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• Improve Your Sense of Rhythm on Piano: Time Feel, Swing and Triplets (Part 2)To build a strong time feel on piano, keep a steady pulse, divide each beat by two, three or four, choose straight or swing, and then create grooves by playing only some of the divisions or accenting them in irregular groups. In short: divide more and play less.
• Bring Piano Chords to Life With Ghost Notes and Swing (Double-Thumb Trick)To make piano chords groove, feel each beat divided into swung eighths or triplets, then bring that subdivision out with broken chords and arpeggios in the right hand, soft root, octave and fifth ghost notes in the left hand, and both thumbs working together.
• Piano Hand Independence: The Exercise That Finally WorksTo build piano hand independence, play the first five notes of C minor (C D Eb F G) up and down in both hands, keeping one hand on the pulse while the other divides each beat by two, three or four, then swap hands.
• Proven Ways to Instantly Improve Your Rhythm (Piano and Any Instrument)To improve your rhythm, move your body to the pulse, know how each beat is subdivided, imagine a ghost drummer, sing the melody as you play, save the metronome for checking your timing at slow settings, use notation and rhythmic patterns, and play regularly with other musicians.