A. Dance / C. Music · Music and DanceMusic: Triplets, Pick-up Notes and Tempo Marks
C1.5 C1.4 C1.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can read and perform triplets in simple metre.
- I can find a pick-up note (anacrusis) and start a song on the right beat.
- I can read common Italian tempo marks and perform at the right speed.
- I can use tools of musicianship: counting in, steady beat, and following a conductor.
Words to know
triplet
Three equal notes played in the time of two of the same kind, marked with a 3.
pick-up (anacrusis)
A note or notes that come before the first full bar of a song.
tempo
The speed of the beat.
allegro
Italian tempo mark: fast and lively.
adagio
Italian tempo mark: slow.
ritardando (rit.)
Gradually slow down.
accelerando (accel.)
Gradually speed up.
metronome marking
A sign like ♩ = 60 that tells how many beats per minute.
Remember from earlier grades
You can already read quarter notes (ta), eighth notes (ti-ti), sixteenth notes (ti-ka-ti-ka), dotted rhythms and syncopation. In Grade 5 you felt beats that split in three in 6/8. Today you'll borrow that "three" feeling inside 4/4, learn to start songs that begin before beat 1, and read tempo words.
Triplets
In 4/4, one beat usually splits into two eighth notes (ti-ti). A triplet squeezes three equal eighth notes into the same beat. It is written with a 3 over the beam.
Say it tri-po-let or count 3-trip-let. All three notes are equal: don't rush the first two and stretch the last!
Pick-up notes (anacrusis)
Some songs start before the first strong beat. Those first notes are called a pick-up or anacrusis. The pick-up bar is not full. Often the last bar of the song is shortened too, so that the pick-up and the last bar together make one full bar.
Songs with pick-ups include Happy Birthday ("Hap-py" comes before the strong beat on "birth") and Auld Lang Syne, sung on New Year's Eve ("Should" comes before "auld").
Tempo marks
Composers often write the tempo in Italian, because Italy was a leading centre of music when composers began writing these instructions, and the Italian words stuck.
A metronome marking like ♩ = 60 means 60 quarter-note beats per minute: one beat every second. ♩ = 120 is twice as fast.
| Tempo mark | Meaning |
|---|
| largo | very slow and broad |
| adagio | slow |
| andante | at a walking pace |
| moderato | at a moderate speed |
| allegro | fast and lively |
| presto | very fast |
| accelerando (accel.) | gradually speed up |
| ritardando (rit.) | gradually slow down |
| a tempo | go back to the first speed |
Tools of musicianship: starting together
When musicians perform together, someone counts in or a conductor shows the beat.
- Count in one full bar at the right tempo: "1, 2, 3, 4." If the song has a pick-up on beat 4, count "1, 2, 3" and start singing on 4.
- Conducting patterns (right hand): 2 beats = down, up. 3 beats = down, out to the right, up. 4 beats = down, in to the left, out to the right, up. Beat 1 is always down.
- Keep a steady beat, and watch for rit. and accel.
Worked exampleExample: Let's count in a song with a pick-up
Auld Lang Syne is in 4/4, and "Should" is a one-beat pick-up. How do you count in and start?
- The pick-up is one beat long, so it is beat 4 of an incomplete bar.
- Choose a tempo, for example andante (walking pace).
- Count out loud: "1, 2, 3," and sing "Should" on beat 4.
- "auld" lands on beat 1 of the first full bar, the strong beat.
- If you conduct, "Should" is on the up beat (beat 4 goes up) and "auld" is on the down beat.
Count "1, 2, 3" and start on beat 4. The strong word "auld" falls on the downbeat.
Worked exampleExample: Let's read a rhythm with triplets
Read this 4/4 bar: triplet, quarter, two eighths, quarter. Say it and check that it adds up.
- Beat 1: triplet = 3 notes in one beat: tri-po-let.
- Beat 2: quarter: ta.
- Beat 3: two eighths: ti-ti.
- Beat 4: quarter: ta.
- Total: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 beats.
Say: tri-po-let ta ti-ti ta. It adds up to 4 beats. Notice how the triplet feels smoother and rounder than ti-ti.
Just for funQ: What does a metronome set to ♩ = 60 keep saying?
A: "Just a sec... just a sec... just a sec..." (60 beats per minute is exactly one beat every second.)
Hands-on activityTempo detectives and conductors
You need: a free metronome app or website (ask a grown-up), or a clock with a second hand, and two or three songs you know.
- Set the metronome to ♩ = 60. Clap along. Then try ♩ = 120. Which Italian word fits each?
- Clap this 4/4 rhythm four times: ta, ti-ti, tri-po-let, ta. Then make up your own bar with at least one triplet and teach it to someone.
- Sing Happy Birthday. On which word does the strong beat 1 fall? (Hint: it's not "Hap-".)
- Conduct a song in 3 (like Happy Birthday) and one in 4 (like Auld Lang Syne) while someone sings. Count them in correctly!
- Sing one song adagio, then allegro, then with a ritardando at the end. How does the mood change?
Your turn
Three equal notes played in the time of two of the same kind, marked with a 3.
2Say this 4/4 bar: ta, tri-po-let, ti-ti, ta. How many beats does it fill?
Look for a steady beat with three equal notes on beat 2. It fills 4 beats.
3What is a pick-up (anacrusis)?
A note or notes that come before the first full bar.
4In Happy Birthday, which syllable lands on the first strong beat?
"Birth" ("Hap-py" is the pick-up).
5What does allegro mean? What does adagio mean?
Allegro: fast and lively. Adagio: slow.
60 quarter-note beats per minute, one beat every second.
7Draw (or show in the air) the conducting pattern for 3 beats.
Down, out to the right, up.
More practice: warm-up
1What does rit. tell you to do?
2What does accel. tell you to do?
3Which is faster: andante or presto?
4In which direction does beat 1 go in every conducting pattern?
5What number is written over a triplet?
More practice: on your own
1A song in 4/4 starts with a two-beat pick-up. How do you count it in?
Count "1, 2" and start singing on beat 3 (the pick-up takes beats 3 and 4).
2A song in 3/4 has a one-beat pick-up. If the song is written correctly with a shortened last bar, how many beats are in the last bar? Explain.
2 beats. The pick-up (1 beat) + the last bar (2 beats) = 3, one full bar.
3Put these in order from slowest to fastest: allegro, largo, andante, presto, adagio.
largo, adagio, andante, allegro, presto.
4Why might a composer write a ritardando at the end of a piece?
To make the ending feel calm, grand or final, slowing down to signal that the music is finishing.
5Your friend plays a triplet as ti-ti-ta (short, short, long). What's wrong, and how can they fix it?
The three notes should be equal. Fix: say tri-po-let slowly and evenly with a metronome, tapping the beat, so each note gets one-third of the beat.
Challenge
1Write a 4/4 bar that uses a triplet, a dotted quarter + eighth, and a quarter. Check that it adds up.
Example: dotted quarter + eighth (beats 1–2), triplet (beat 3), quarter (beat 4). 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 beats. (Any correct order is fine.)
2At ♩ = 90, how many beats happen in 20 seconds? How many full bars of 3/4 is that?
90 beats per minute = 1.5 beats per second. 20 × 1.5 = 30 beats. 30 ÷ 3 = 10 full bars of 3/4.
3You are leading a group singing Auld Lang Syne. Describe everything you do to start the group together and keep them together, using musicianship words.
Example: choose a tempo (andante); give a clear count-in ("1, 2, 3") so everyone starts the pick-up on beat 4; show the beat with the 4-beat conducting pattern (down, in, out, up), with the pick-up on the upbeat; keep the beat steady, and show a ritardando at the end by making the conducting pattern bigger and slower.
Quiz
1. A triplet fits ___ equal notes into the time of two.
2. The note(s) before the first full bar are called ___.
5. In every conducting pattern, beat 1 goes ___.
6. A 4/4 song has a one-beat pick-up. You count in ___ and start.
7. Which tempo mark means gradually slow down?
Big idea: Students read and perform Grade 6 notation: triplets, pick-up notes (anacrusis) and common Italian tempo marks such as allegro and adagio (C1.5, C1.1), using tools of musicianship such as counting in and keeping a steady tempo (C1.4).
How to help at home:
- Use a free metronome (many websites and apps) and clap rhythms together at different tempos.
- Sing Happy Birthday at the next family birthday and notice the pick-up!
- Let your child conduct the family singing a song; it's fun and builds leadership.
Common difficulties:
- Uneven triplets. Practise slowly with a metronome, saying tri-po-let.
- Starting pick-up songs on beat 1. Count in and point to the beat where the pick-up starts.
- Mixing up rit. and accel. Link rit. with "relax" and accel. with "accelerator" in a car.