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I have heard:

"Ham bur ger Hot dog"

so many times that I can now only think of it in my teacher's voice.

Normal or not, it's just something to learn

It's never easy when a triplet rhythm suddenly appears from nowhere in the middle of a piece or it goes back and forth. I have never used words but I spent a lot of time playing pieces with triple meters quite early. After you get the "feel" of a triplet ingrained it gets easier to switch. So maybe more practice with triples outside this piece in the same tempo would help, making sure you emphasize the first note.

This kinda rhythm change is tricky and it took me a long time to sorta get there. Don't panic. Ride it out.

There's a cheap little book/ebook that helps with rhythm, it's called Basic Timing for Pianists by Allan Small.

Also, are you playing scales in triplets? You start with a single octave in quarter notes, slowly (no more than 60 bpm), then you play two octaves in eighth notes, then three octaves in triplets, then four octaves in sixteenths. No stopping between them. It feels weird at first. For me, putting a strong accent on the first note of each triplet is the key.

Because it's written with a C clef, which was still common in Bach's time. The bottom line of the top staff is middle C.

Thanks, I had asked around about it last night and was told it was common to use what was called the Soprano clef during the Baroque period, or C on the bottom line as you said. Always something new to learn!

I really enjoy learning new concepts, ideas and information from all of you!

Wonder if it's like the "Schwencke measure".....someone thought they were fixing Bach's error, lol. For the record, I loathe the Schwencke measure.

I wonder if it would help to play something that's practically all triplet, just to get the feel of that rhythm solidly into your body and brain. Others have said something similar above, like the triplet scales. Another way you can think of triplets is that they're like playing 6/8 time with stresses on beat 1 and 4, only faster.

I think it's really important to feel the main beat stresses. Then if both duple and triple feel "normal" to you, it's not as big a deal whether the beat is one note, or divides into two notes, three notes, four notes--it's still the same steady beat.

Here's something you might try if it doesn't make you crazier. I wouldn't use the metronome on your piece itself, but either with or without it, what if you play four very steady beats--one note, two notes, three notes, four notes (or you could skip the four, but to me it helps with that feeling that we're just subdividing the same beat into the number of notes we want). Or you don't even have to play them, maybe better first to just tap your foot and say /ba/ba-da/ba-da-ba/ba-da-ba-da/ (slashes indicating the steady beat point, accent always on the downbeat ba). There are lots of possible variations of this, e.g. doing it backwards, going straight between 1 and 3 or 2 and 3 syllables. Focus most on the steady beat and just toss in the syllables.

I think Sonatina in C Major by Duncombe is a good exercise in triplets. It's RCM 1, but I still play it from time to time. I found using a metronome helps to make sure the eight notes after the triplets are played correctly.

FWIW, I found the opening by Philip glass to be excellent for this, it is easy to sight read and you can really focus on that exercise. Once comfortable and you start getting the hang of it, you can then focus making the triplets sound more musical too in a piece such as this.

Lisista has a wonderful rendition of it, it's on spotify. There is a rather dull mechanically played version of it showing the score on youtube, but you get the idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc1KM57LblQ

For me it just clicked with some practice over a number of days practising those 3 v 2 timings. The way I recall it, it was bit like learning to juggle or ride a bike, at first you can't do it, it feels unnatural, but you stick at it for for a few days, then, suddenly it just clicked into place one day for me (for the most part).

PS I am not a teacher, everyone may have had different experiences, so I am no expert, I am just sharing the fact I found it personally very useful to play that piece to help with that issue.

Good luck.

The best advice I have had about triplets are that from my guitar tutor. The down-up-down, then up-down-up plectrum sequence lit up a light bulb in my brain. I still use this rhythmic feeling when playing piano triplets.

Ian

I unfortunately don’t have the grade 1 book. Can you link me your soundcloud of 116?

Hi Sarah,

The Duncombe piece is a 1 pager. It's easily found on Google Images. See link below

https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.musescore.com/2159181/987a8f2656/score_0.png

Here is the SoundCloud link

https://soundcloud.com/crouthamel/minuet-g-major-bwv-116

Here is a YouTube video, but where I play all three (114, 115, 116), but on the YDP-181. It was put together to try and sell it on Craigslist. Wow, so many scammers, lol. I had one person send me a check for $2000 and asked me to send $800 to the shipper. I just laughed. She/he followed up and asked if I got the check (which was obviously fake). I said, yea, I got it, I cashed it, and bought 2K worth of cocaine to make holidays merry, haha. I love playing scammers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx_Z2Sa81bg

Omg hilarious!! Thank you for the links. I’m going to watch tonight.

Hi Sarah

I don't know the piece and I haven't seen the sheet music, and I'm not really a 'classical' Piano player. But I can read music, quite well, and know about the difficulty of trying to translate rhythms from the page.

This is what I suggest, and have just tried doing. Sitting down, tap your left hand on the chair at a steady beat, like you are a metronome, use a metronome at the same time if that helps you to keep a steady pulse. Then count out loud (if neccessary) 1 2 3 to each tap for a while, then switch to counting 1 2 to each tap for a while (obviously keeping the pulse at exactly the same tempo). Then switch between counting 1 2 3 and 1 2 whilst tapping until you can effortlessly do both. Now go to the piano and tap your left hand on anything, the stool, the lid whatever, and play 1 2 3 on the same note to the pulse, then switch to 1 2 (count out loud at the same time if required to start with) and then eventually alternate 1 2 3 and 1 2 on a single note. Once you can do this start articulating the actual notes in the phrase you are trying to play, whilst continuing to keep a pulse with the other hand. Then stop tapping!! and just play :-)

I haven't read the other replies, so I'm sure you'll of had loads of other helpful advice.
Listening to a recording repeatedly will also make it sink in eventually...

Cheers

Yes, you're normal. Music is hard.



This is, at the end of the day, the main point. If you can't feel a steady beat, you're never getting anywhere. So make that your priority. You said you hate the metronome, which is also very normal for beginners. It's definitely worth making friends with it, though. And it is entirely possible.