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Rhythm & timing · Expert · 6 min

Three Over Two

Play quarter-note triplets, three even hits across every two beats.

How to play it
  1. Count eighth-note triplets under your breath: 1-trip-let 2-trip-let.
  2. Hit on 1, on the 'let' of 1, and on the 'trip' of 2. That is three even hits across two beats.
  3. Use a muted strum or a single note. Keep the spacing even rather than landing on the beat.

What the coach checks: Timing of each attack against the triplet grid.

Goal80 BPM · 80% accuracy
Your bestNo result yet
Rating–

Rhythm player

Hear the rhythm

1234

Tap any hit to hear it. Four clicks count you in.

100% is the goal tempo, 80 BPM. The speed presets climb from Learn to Goal about 10% at a time, and the practice slider below uses the same scale. Build a full ladder to your goal

Your practice room

Keep a steady pulse

Audio-attack timing feedback. This check does not identify chords or distinguish every background sound from a strum. Use a quiet room and visual beats.

This checkpoint needs 80 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 24 targets
  1. 1. 1Bar 1 · beat 1
  2. 2. letBar 1 · beat 1.67
  3. 3. tripBar 1 · beat 2.33
  4. 4. 3Bar 1 · beat 3
  5. 5. letBar 1 · beat 3.67
  6. 6. tripBar 1 · beat 4.33
  7. 7. 1Bar 2 · beat 1
  8. 8. letBar 2 · beat 1.67
  9. 9. tripBar 2 · beat 2.33
  10. 10. 3Bar 2 · beat 3
  11. 11. letBar 2 · beat 3.67
  12. 12. tripBar 2 · beat 4.33
  13. 13. 1Bar 3 · beat 1
  14. 14. letBar 3 · beat 1.67
  15. 15. tripBar 3 · beat 2.33
  16. 16. 3Bar 3 · beat 3
  17. 17. letBar 3 · beat 3.67
  18. 18. tripBar 3 · beat 4.33
  19. 19. 1Bar 4 · beat 1
  20. 20. letBar 4 · beat 1.67
  21. 21. tripBar 4 · beat 2.33
  22. 22. 3Bar 4 · beat 3
  23. 23. letBar 4 · beat 3.67
  24. 24. tripBar 4 · beat 4.33

Chord names and stroke directions are visual guidance. Rhythm scoring measures attack timing.

1Target 1 of 24 · attack when the cue lights up

Keep counting through the spaces. Chord names and stroke directions are visual guides; only attack timing is measured.

Bar 1 of 5 · beat 1 of 4

1234

Tune first. Audio stays on this device.

Why this drill

Quarter-note triplets float across the bar line and are a staple of blues and soul phrasing. They are easy to square off into straight quarters and eighths, and the timing grid shows the moment that happens.

Common mistakes

  1. The middle hits snap to the eighth-note grid

    Fix: The second hit drifts toward the 'and' of 1 and the third toward beat 2. They belong to neither: the second comes just after the 'and' of 1, the third a third of a beat after beat 2.

  2. The foot follows the hits

    Fix: Tap all four beats. Only two hits per bar land with your foot, on beats 1 and 3; the other four fall between taps. If the foot starts tapping on every hit, slow down to the Learn rung and tap first.

  3. Feeling it without counting

    Fix: Count eighth-note triplets, 1-trip-let 2-trip-let, and hit every other syllable: 1, let, trip, then 3, let, trip.

Tempo plan

100% is the goal tempo, 80 BPM. Each rung sits about 10% above the one before it, so every step up is one you can hold. The speed presets in the player above use the same rungs.

  1. Learn 60 BPM · 75%Start in the rhythm player's Tap along mode. It needs no microphone and scores each tap against the grid.
  2. Build 66 BPM · 83%Move to the guitar on a muted string so only the attack counts, still counting triplets under your breath.
  3. Push 73 BPM · 91%Switch to Play · full check here. Two clean passes in a row earn the next rung.
  4. Goal 80 BPM · 100%Twenty-four evenly spaced hits over four bars, with beats 1 and 3 still landing on your foot. A pass at 80% accuracy or better clears the drill.
  5. Stretch 88 BPM · 110%Run a few passes here, then return to the goal. Time above the goal makes the goal feel settled.

Build a full ladder to your goal with holds and back-off sessions, starting from the tempo you can play today.

Make it music

Quarter-note triplets are how a blues or soul phrase stretches across the beat. End a phrase with three notes from A minor pentatonic, such as A, C and D, played as one quarter-note triplet; the line sounds unhurried while the band keeps time.

Variation

Play half-note triplets: three even hits across a full bar. They are every other hit of this drill, so the grid you just learned already contains them. Then put a chord change on beat 3: the fourth hit of each bar lands right on the change, a reliable anchor.

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