This month we’re going to look at quarter- and 8th-note-triplet rhythms that are offset to the upbeats. When we talk about upbeats, we’re usually referring to the “&” counts between the quarter notes in a straight 8th or swung context. In the following exercises we’ll start triplets on upbeats instead of the usual downbeats. These upbeat triplet rhythms can open up new worlds of creativity, yet they’re not so far out that they’ll lose the average listener. We’ll start with exercises that focus on upbeat quarter-note triplets. If you play a bar of 8th-note triplets and accent every other note, the accent pattern will be quarter note triplets. If you accent every other beat starting on the second note of the triplet, the accent pattern will be upbeat quarter-note triplets. Here are those rhythms, with a check pattern in between. Now play the same thing, but drop out the inner […]

August 2014 Issue