I’m a retread just shy of 10 months of lessons. My lessons are done for the summer months and teacher gave me a little homework for the summer. Other than that she said to have fun and play anything I want…as long as I count!

I’ve decided to tackle Debussy’s Reverie (just for fun!) but already hit a snag at measure 5. What’s throwing me is a 2 beat triplet in the right hand melody. How do I count that? I count a 1 beat triplet as “one-ta-ta” but the 2 beat is a mystery to me and I don’t want to guess and learn incorrectly.



Thanks.

Hi, PattyP:

Just a beginner, myself, but this is what I would try:

Count: 1 & a 2 & a
Play: x x x


Have fun!

. . . Linda

Edit:

OK, I can't make this appear properly on the screen. Play the 1st note on the "1", the 2nd note on the first "a", and the 3rd note on the second "&". It's just an algebraic formula - to evenly space 3 notes across 2 beats, you need to have 3*2=6 subdivisions of time. Then, each note receives the time value of 2 subdivisions. I'll send my little chart to you in an e-mail.