# 16th notes on top of triplets? How are they played together? (r/l hand piano)



## Manok

I will say that I don't play many pieces that involve triplets, and I just want to know how to end the beat specifically. 4 16th notes on top, one triplet on bottom. Do the final note of the 16th notes, and triplet get played at the same time? Or one shortly before or after the other?


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## Taggart

You're playing 4 against 3. 4 x 3 = 12 so subdivide the beat into 12 parts.


BeatTriplet 1/8 notes1/16 notes1112342526738931041112

The 1/8 note triplets come every 4 beats of the 12, the 1/16 notes come every 3 beats of the 12. The table above shows how they interact. OK at speed that's impossible to count but it helps define the pattern for you.

Hope this helps.


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## Manok

Taggart said:


> You're playing 4 against 3. 4 x 3 = 12 so subdivide the beat into 12 parts.
> 
> 
> BeatTriplet 1/8 notes1/16 notes1112342526738931041112
> 
> The 1/8 note triplets come every 4 beats of the 12, the 1/16 notes come every 3 beats of the 12. The table above shows how they interact. OK at speed that's impossible to count but it helps define the pattern for you.
> 
> Hope this helps.


Thanks, this is the first thing I've seen that's helped! I'll have to borrow this the next time I run into this issue. It's really clearly understandable. The pattern is all I cared about anyway!


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## EdwardBast

There are several passages like that in the slow movement of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 2 no. 1, which I am currently playing. The way to approach such figures is to thoroughly learn the left and right hand parts separately before putting them together. Ultimately, though, like playing triplets against 8th notes, one just has to get the feel of it. To help with this one can tap 16ths with the right hand and triplets with the left as an exercise.


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## Taggart

Absolutely! You must have a strong sense of beat for each hand. 

Dividing the beat works for some people but not all because of its mathematical nature. It doesn't work at speed but it does define quickly the relationship between the parts. It also works for any combination e.g. playing five against seven 

Ultimately, it comes down to the classic remedy - lots of separate practice to get each hand totally right.


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## Phil loves classical

tough to time in your head, but with music software you can hear it played perfectly on computer. It is a lot faster to learn (program) in your head that way than working it out beat by beat.


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