Fix Your Timing With Triplets: A Piano Exercise for Rock-Solid Rhythm

To improve your timing and triplets, set a metronome to 60 BPM, play the A major scale up to the ninth (B) and back in even subdivisions, then play the I and IV chords (A and D) as triplets, moving from quarter notes with half-note triplets down to 32nd notes with 16th-note triplets.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 11 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

This lesson from Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music is a timing exercise that also teaches you how triplets feel. It suits any student who can already play a major scale and simple chords and wants a steadier inner pulse. It is shown on keyboard, but you can try it on any instrument.

Why practise slowly?

Many players practise with a metronome at fast speeds such as 150 or 180 BPM to build technique. That does make you faster, but it often leaves out your natural sense of timing, the tempo running in your own mind. This exercise stays at 60 BPM for most of the time. Playing slowly is a challenge of its own, especially when you have to place triplets accurately.

Step 1: The scale up to the ninth

The exercise uses the A major scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A. Normally you play it up to the octave and back. Here you add the ninth note, which is the second note played an octave higher. From A, the ninth is B.

So you run up from A to the B above the octave, then come back down the scale. Adding the ninth makes the run fill complete groups of four, so you do not arrive back on A and have to wait around the way you usually would.

Step 2: The chord pattern

After the scale, play the I and IV chords of the key. In A major these are:

• A major (I): A, C#, E
• D major (IV): D, F#, A

Play them in this rhythm:

1. A chord three times
2. D chord three times
3. Land on A and hold it until the bar completes

These repeated chords are played as a triplet, which means dividing a beat into three. The scale gives you the melody and the chords give you the triplet.

Step 3: Move through the subdivisions

Keep the metronome at 60 throughout. Only the note values change. Each scale speed is paired with a triplet that is twice as fast:

1. Quarter notes (on the beat) for the scale, followed by a half-note (minim) triplet on the chords.
2. Eighth notes (two per beat, which feels like 120 BPM) followed by a quarter-note triplet.
3. 16th notes or semiquavers (four per beat, which feels like 240 BPM) followed by an eighth-note triplet.
4. 32nd notes (eight per beat) followed by a 16th-note triplet, if you want to push yourself.

You can also try slower values, such as half notes, where you play one note every two beats. Players often skip these, but they are just as useful. The challenge is switching between even divisions of two and triplet divisions of three without rushing or dragging.

How to practise it

• If the triplets feel unsteady, practise only the chord triplets against the click before adding the scale back in.
• Keyboard players should keep a pulse in the left hand, or in whichever hand is free. This builds your own timing so you do not always rely on the metronome.
• Once it feels secure, turn the metronome off. Play through the quarter notes, then each faster subdivision, with the left hand keeping the beat.

Over time this gives you a deeper, more natural feel for rhythm and a tighter connection to the beat.

Questions about this lesson

What is a triplet?

A triplet divides a beat into three equal parts. In this exercise the repeated A and D chords form the triplet after each scale run.

Why add the ninth note to the scale?

The ninth is the second note of the scale played an octave higher, which is B in A major. Adding it makes the run fill complete groups of four, so you do not land on A early and have to wait.

Why practise at 60 BPM instead of a fast tempo?

Fast practice builds technique, but it often neglects your natural internal sense of timing. Slow tempos make you place every subdivision and triplet accurately, which is harder than it sounds.

Can I do this exercise on an instrument other than piano?

Yes. It is shown on keyboard, but the scale and triplet patterns work on any instrument. Keyboard players can add a left-hand pulse as an extra step.

Practise it

• Groove MetronomeWork with tempo, accents and polyrhythms instead of a single unchanging click.
• 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

• Why Your Piano Trills Are Uneven (And How to Fix It)To even out your piano trills, play a one-octave D major scale up and down and add a short trill at the top with your ring and little fingers, without changing the number of beats in the cycle.
• How to Really Practise Scales on Piano: Creative Rhythmic Approaches (Part 2)To make scale practice more musical, play the scale up and down with your normal fingering but count it in groups of three (triplets) or five instead of twos and fours, marking each group's first note with a left-hand note or chord.
• Fix Your Timing: Build a Rock-Solid Sense of Rhythm on Piano (Part 1)To build solid timing, first feel a steady pulse with your body (such as a head movement), use breathing in and out to change volume without rushing or dragging, then count how many beats make up each repeating cycle to find the meter, splitting odd meters like 5 and 7 into smaller groups of 2, 3 and 4.
• 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.