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Tutorial 6.4
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The Scottish Whistle
Triplets
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Whistle Tutorial - Lesson 6.4
Triplets
In traditional Scottish and Irish music, you often come across triplets, either written into the tune itself, or used as decoration. A triplet is a group of three notes, all of the same length, and they are usually joined with a bar, a curved line and have a figure "3" underneath or above. Look at the lines in exercise 4 below and tap out a 4/4 rhythm with your feet. Count the beats in your head or out loud at the same time. Tap your foot only on the beats which are underlined. The easiest way to sound a triplet in which all the notes are the same, is by saying tuh-kuh-tuh with your tongue.
Exercise 4
When triplets are used as decorations, it's often a case of substituting, say, a quarter note with a triplet. In the second example (ex.5), the first line uses some quarter notes. The second line uses triplets where the quarter notes were, used purely for decoration and to give the tune a bit of excitement.
Exercise 5
