finger-picker - Posted - 02/14/2021:  17:42:35

I have seen these little boogers come up in a variety of my tabs and had some questions on them:

1. Are they called "triplets" in other musical circles or is there a more technical name for them?


2. Can any instrument play them?


3. In terms of timing, do they cover the span of 1 or 2 quarter notes, depending on the time signature?


4. Are they played in pretty much any string combination (forward, backward, alternating, single string, strings farther apart e.g. 5-2-1)? 


5. Aside from songs like Waveland by Noam Pikelny, are there specific circumstances in a song when they sound better, or is it pretty much up to the whims of the arranger? 


6. A: Some songs that have a HO/PO combination like Scrugg's Down the Road, would that be considered a triplet too if using a double slur to accomplish it, or is this called something else (a trill perhaps)?
   
   
   
   • 6B: Is a HO/PO the same time duration as a triplet? 
   
   
   • 6C: Could a single HO or PO be used in conjunction with 2 of the 3 picks in quick succession to accomplish a triplet? E.g. a 2(0)-1(2)-1(0) string triplet with a pull off from 2-0 (E to D).
   
   
   
   


7. Any other info on triplets I might've forgotten to ask?

Edited by - finger-picker on 02/14/2021 18:12:47

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 02/14/2021:  18:38:09

A triplet consists of three notes crammed into the space where you would normally have only two. You can have quarter-note triplets (three in the space of one half-note), eighth-note triplets (three in the space of one quarter-note), sixteenth-note triplets (three in the space of one eighth-note), etc. This is a general musical thing, NOT just a banjo thing; any instrument can play triplets. You can put them in wherever you think they'll sound good. Some three-note combinations (like a HO-PO move) could end up being triplets, but it may also be possible to phrase them in other ways, too.

That should answer at least some of what you're asking.

szbassoon - Posted - 02/14/2021:  19:11:37

I'm from the classical world, and we also call them triplets. If there's a more technical name for them, then I've never heard it.

Old Hickory - Posted - 02/14/2021:  20:25:36

Assume that in the following examples, everything within vertical lines takes the same amount of time. Consider them quarter notes and all the typed characters are eighth notes. Each example is one measure. Tap your toe or finger. Keep your speed the same.  A number falls on every tap.  A played note happens on every character that gets counted.

Straight:

| 1  &     |  2  &     |  3  &     |  4 &     |

Triplet:

| 1  & a  |  2  & a  |  3  &  a |  4 &  a |

Obviously, a measure of music might not be full of triplets. This is just by way of example to demonstrate the timing as Ira said: three notes in the space of two.

clive_jet - Posted - 02/15/2021:  02:16:52

Put relaxed hand on table. Do not move thumb or pinky. Strum the other three fingers like you are impatiently waiting for someone. Count 3 6 9 12. Tap foot twice in same time frame as 3 6 9 12.There's your triplets.
Greetings from across the pond to all our friends in the USA.
Clive.

Greg Denton - Posted - 02/15/2021:  04:37:07

Triplets are everywhere. They're another common way of dividing a beat.

Think of quarters notes as one note per beat: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
Eighth notes as two notes per beat: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Triplets as three notes per beat: 1-Trip-let 2-Trip-let 3-Trip-let 4-Trip-let
Sixteenth notes as four notes per beat: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a

Attached is a pdf that illustrates the idea in rhythmic notation (4_4 & 3_4 time)
and a pdf that illustrates some rolls to articulate the four different beat divisions on a banjo (those these are just one option of many).

I find that in a lot of banjo tabs hammer-ons, slides, and pull-offs are written as quarter-note and sixteenth note combos. But I think they achieve a clearer articulation when played as a triplet with the three notes played evenly across the beat.

Also when you "swing" or "shuffle" eighth notes, you're actually playing them as though they are triplets with the middle note silent. Like 1-(trip)-let 2-(trip)-let 3-(trip)-let 4-(trip)-let

Hope this helps in some way.

Rolling Rhythm Exercise

Beat Divisions

finger-picker - Posted - 02/15/2021:  08:42:08

I thought about just googling this for an answer but I'm glad I didn't, I always get such a diverse range of responses and information from BHO. Though I'm still curious about the following:

1. Are they played in pretty much any string combination (forward, backward, alternating, single string, strings farther apart e.g. 5-2-1)? 


2. Some songs that have a HO/PO combination like Scrugg's Down the Road, would that be considered a triplet too if using a double slur to accomplish it, or is this called something else (a trill perhaps)?


3. Is a HO/PO the same time duration as a triplet?


4. Could a single HO or PO be used in conjunction with 2 of the 3 picks in quick succession to accomplish a triplet? E.g. a 2(0)-1(2)-1(0) string triplet with a pull off from 2-0 (E to D).