triplets are doing my head in :(

_brian_

_brian_

Member
hi everyone, i'm not a great drummer - like to throw that in at the start lol

anyway, i wrote a song that is 4/4, but the snare plays a triplet on the second beat (it carries on for that full beat, so i'm guessing it's a quarter note triplet)

i find it very easy playing quarter note high hats along with the snare triplet, but after the first verse and chorus it needs to switch to 1/8 hi hats along with the 1/4 not snare triplet, but my brain just cant get the hang of it, and i mess up.

do you have any tips on how to get out of this very annoying inability to play this, part of the problem is i dont really understand what's going on, and so my hands have no idea what to play.

cheers
 
C]1---2---3---4---
H]x---x----x---x---
S]----ttt-------0---
K]0--------0-------

this i cant do:

C]1-----2-----3-----4---
H]x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x
S]------ttt-----------0---
K]0-----------0----------
 
That is tricky. I would fudge it, even just as a practice guide. Lay down the hi-hat and snare separately, and crank the click. 1/8th note hi-hats should be a breeze, and snare triplets, too, albeit played separately. Now listen to them together, and get the idea of how to practice them.
 
thanks for that, i might have to end up doing that


i had to use a drum machine as i couldn't play it, though i do like to make things harder for myself :(
 
Last edited:
It's so not hard. I suck and can follow along tapping on my legs. I have no easy explanation though. Just keep practicing it. It's just a matter of basic limb independence.
 
the problem is i'm not really a drummer, i just play drums to write the parts. taking the advice before, i played midi drums back, slowed it right down and tried to remember the leading hand on the second hit of the triplet on the snare swaps over to the hi hat half way into it's time. it still sounds very rusty, but with practice i might be able to do it at normal speed and without it sounding so rotten lol
 
Everything involving drums just takes practice. I remember hearing patterns and thinking to myself, "never in a million years will I be able to do that". If you break it down into manageable chunks and practice it slowly, pretty much anything is possible. Once you get the two halves of the brain in sync, it can get pretty easy. Now I hear patters that I can't play and think "well, I'm sure I could play it if I really wanted to". :D
 
The second piece you posted, the one you can't play: Focus on the snare part, when you're hitting it thrice. Match the first hit of the snare in the triplet part with the third hit on the hi hat, and the third snare hit with the fourth hit on the hi hat. In other words, the middle snare hit in the triplet will come right between the 3rd and 4th hi hat hits. I'm not sure if you get what I'm saying, but it's not so hard. Program what you want to learn, play it at half speed, and try to play along. It'll take a couple hours, but playing a newly learned drum beat is probably the most exciting thing in music.
 
C.B.S. = Control Before Speed
Practice things SLOWLY at first and gradually increase the tempo as you get comfortable with them.
 
Ok, first of all, those are eighth note triplets. That same pattern in quarter notes would take 2 beats.
Now, as in any pattern you want to play on any instrument, slow way way down and get it in your hands at a speed that you can play it clean. Use a metronome.
This is how I would go about it: First, set the metronome to eighth note triplets and play your right hand on the high hat pattern. This should be steady eighth note duples against the triplets of the met. Now, set the met to straight eighth note duples and play the triplet pattern with your left hand against it. Once you can wrap your head and your hands around this, try putting them together, at a very slow tempo, then gradually increasing the tempo with the metronome. If you don't have a met, there are dozens of good online metronomes, just do a google search.
 
I've played drums for twenty years. I'm not great, but I'm good enough to learn how to play anything I want. My advice is slow down, assign your body parts their role and let it happen. work on it until you get frustrated, quit and go back later. One of my favorite parts about being a drummer is I can work things out anywhere I am. I've always been able to play anything I sought out to. It may not happen right away but It will happen. About twelve years ago I thought it would be fun to play Van Halen's Hot for teacher, intro and all. When I first started, it seemed un-do-able for me, It took some time and commitment, but I got it, today I will play it a few times in a row just to get warmed up. Good luck!!
 
Eighth not triplets take the same time as 2 eighth notes. So simply you can think of it as adding another hit between the 2 and the &.
 
Funnily enough, that kind of thing is one of my favorite things to do as a funky fill or to add a little flavor to a funky beat. It's pretty easy to learn to do, you just have to practice it. Since you're just trying to play the triplets for one beat (2-and-a) I'd practice it by playing on your right hand a simple "1-and-2"...while you do that, play on the left hand play the "1" and the "a" before beat 2. As in part of the sixteenth note "(1)-ee-and-(A)-2". If you can play this combination without much difficulty, then you're just one more beat on the left hand from playing the triplet (1-(AND)-a). Of course, since it's a triplet feel that means you'll be "swinging" the 'a' before beat 2 a bit. Still, this shouldn't be too hard.
 
Depending on what the kick is doing, I tried recording it (separately!), and it is a bit weird. If the BPM's are around 80 for a 1/4 note, it can sound funky. But fast BPM's just sound busy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top