A triplet is three notes played in the time of two of the same value, marked with a small 3 above or below the group.
It is how music borrows a different subdivision for a moment. Three triplet eighth notes fill exactly one quarter-note beat, so the beat does not change, only how it is divided.
How to spot it
Look for a small 3 over a group of notes, usually with a bracket or a beam holding the group together.
Find it in thirty seconds
Say "tri-pl-et" evenly on one beat, tapping the beat with your other hand. Then play the triplet in the music the same way.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each, clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Eighth Note: Eighth Note in piano music. An eighth note is a filled note head with a stem and one flag, and it lasts half a beat in common time. Two of them fill one quarte…
Quarter Note: A quarter note on the piano staff: how to spot the filled head, and a thirty-second hunt for one on a real page.
Time Signature: Time Signature in piano music. The time signature is the pair of numbers after the clef. The top number says how many beats are in each measure; the bottom say…
More in This Section
Whole Note: Whole Note in piano music. A whole note is a hollow note head with no stem, and it lasts four beats in common time, a full measure of 4/4.
Whole Rest: Whole Rest in piano music. A whole rest is a small filled rectangle hanging below the fourth line of the staff. It means silence for a whole measure.
