# Threes

Every cut so far was into two or four. A beat can also be cut into three equal parts. It feels different, rolling instead of stepping, and it is the raw material of swing and of rhythms that run against each other.

> Lesson 9 of 12.
>
> - You learn: To cut one beat into 3 equal parts (a triplet), and to feel a bar of 6/8 as two big beats of three.
> - Why now: So far every beat was cut into 2 or 4. Threes feel different, and swing and polyrhythm are both made from them, so they come before both.
> - You need: Lesson 2: cutting a beat.

## Three in a beat: triplets

Three even notes in the space of one beat is a triplet. Count it trip-le-let, or 1 & a. Compared with eighths you are fitting three in where you had two, so each note is a little shorter.

**Triplets**

    hits     x x x x x x

In notation: the small 3 over a beam is a triplet. It means three notes in the space of one beat, not the two the beam would normally hold. The grid has three columns per beat, the notation has three notes under a 3.

1. Tap the count 1 2 3 4 on your knee with the click.
2. Say “trip-le-let, trip-le-let” so that every “trip” lands on a tap.
3. Press play and clap on every dot: three claps to every tap.
4. Switch between this and the eighths from lesson 2 and hear two-to-a-beat turn into three-to-a-beat.

## Two big beats of three: 6/8

The same six counts can be felt as two big beats, each cut in three. That is 6/8. A waltz has six counts too, but it feels three big beats of two; in 6/8 you feel two big beats of three.

**6/8**

    Hat      x . x x . x
    Snare    . . . x . .
    Kick     x . . . . .

In notation: 6/8 counts six eighth notes in a bar, felt as two groups of three. A dotted quarter, three eighths, is therefore one big beat, and two of them fill the bar. Each row is its own line, and every dotted quarter and rest is one beat.

1. Tap only two beats, on one and four (the bold counts), with your foot.
2. Say “one two three four five six” so the taps land on one and four.
3. Clap the Hat row (all the dots) while you keep tapping the two big beats.

## Self-check

- Say trip-le-let evenly against the click for a minute
- Tell a triplet from a pair of eighths by ear
- Feel the same six counts as 3/4 (three beats of two) and as 6/8 (two beats of three)

## Play it on your instrument

- Drums: A 6/8 groove: two big beats, each cut in three. (6/8)
- Piano: Compound meters: 6/8 felt as two beats of three. (Time signatures)
- Madal: Jhyaure taal, the 6/8 folk dance groove. (Jhyaure taal)

All instruments: apply.html