To really challenge yourself and feel the difference as you expand the triplet, tap a constant eighth note triplet subdivision in your left hand and the expanding triplets in your right. Play examples 1 through 5, and then back down again. You’re counting out groupings of 16 within a triplet subdivision which gives you a ton of space between each note played. The double whole note example (Ex.5) is a good introduction to this concept. The more space you have between notes played, clapped, or sung, the harder the exercise is going to be and the deeper you will have to concentrate on your execution. Beginning with eighth note triplets, clap the circled notes as you count, and loop each example until you feel totally comfortable. Set a metronome to about 60 BPM, and count an even triplet subdivision for each of the above examples. Either will work, but I recommend clapping at first to get comfortable with the idea before moving the exercise to your instrument.
( Adam Neely also dives deep into the concept here.) You can decide to practice with your instrument or just clap. This first exercise was something I learned from Dave Clark in a bass lab at Berklee College of Music.
(And if you want to dive deeper into an overhaul of your practice routine, consider chatting with a Soundfly Mentor.) The Expanding Triplet With all that in mind, I offer up some practice techniques for every musician who hopes to develop their internal sense of time. Sometimes, playing or singing on the pulse can create interesting, non-percussive reinforcements of the drum beat as well, like in Missy Elliott’s hit song, “Lose Control.” It’s important to note that I’m not saying, “Play whatever you want, maaaaan, it’ll totally work out.” What I mean is that knowing where the pulse is will allow you to play right on it, ahead of it, or behind it to create different rhythmic textures. I’ve always thought of musical time as being much more elastic than strict.
#Triplety practuce how to#
That doesn’t mean being able to play everything precisely all the time, but rather, it means knowing how to adapt and shape what you play to the moment, and what serves the song. Whether you’re a singer, drummer, or Lisa Simpson playing an empty jug, you need to have a well-ingrained sense of time. Well, one of the key areas every musician needs to work on is internalizing time. Sure, I had likely already spent the prescribed time with my instrument (the bass, for those keeping score) but had I achieved mastery? Were the hours I put in focused? It’s easy to understand that practice is essential to your growth, but knowing what to practice can get overwhelming.
When Malcolm Gladwell famously professed that 10,000 hours of dedicated practice is what it takes to achieve mastery in any field (increasing the anxiety levels of musicians everywhere), I began to take stock of my own practice habits. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. + Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it.