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Rhythm & timing · Advanced · 6 min

Gear Shift: Triplets to Sixteenths

One bar of eighth-note triplets, one bar of sixteenths, back and forth.

How to play it
  1. Bar 1: three even notes per beat. Bar 2: four even notes per beat.
  2. Keep the beat itself dead still. Only the number of notes inside it changes.
  3. Use one muted string and alternate picking so the timing is the only variable.

What the coach checks: Timing of each attack.

Goal72 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, 72 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 72 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 56 targets
  1. 1. 1Bar 1 · beat 1
  2. 2. tripBar 1 · beat 1.33
  3. 3. letBar 1 · beat 1.67
  4. 4. 2Bar 1 · beat 2
  5. 5. tripBar 1 · beat 2.33
  6. 6. letBar 1 · beat 2.67
  7. 7. 3Bar 1 · beat 3
  8. 8. tripBar 1 · beat 3.33
  9. 9. letBar 1 · beat 3.67
  10. 10. 4Bar 1 · beat 4
  11. 11. tripBar 1 · beat 4.33
  12. 12. letBar 1 · beat 4.67
  13. 13. 1Bar 2 · beat 1
  14. 14. eBar 2 · beat 1.25
  15. 15. &Bar 2 · beat 1.5
  16. 16. aBar 2 · beat 1.75
  17. 17. 2Bar 2 · beat 2
  18. 18. eBar 2 · beat 2.25
  19. 19. &Bar 2 · beat 2.5
  20. 20. aBar 2 · beat 2.75
  21. 21. 3Bar 2 · beat 3
  22. 22. eBar 2 · beat 3.25
  23. 23. &Bar 2 · beat 3.5
  24. 24. aBar 2 · beat 3.75
  25. 25. 4Bar 2 · beat 4
  26. 26. eBar 2 · beat 4.25
  27. 27. &Bar 2 · beat 4.5
  28. 28. aBar 2 · beat 4.75
  29. 29. 1Bar 3 · beat 1
  30. 30. tripBar 3 · beat 1.33
  31. 31. letBar 3 · beat 1.67
  32. 32. 2Bar 3 · beat 2
  33. 33. tripBar 3 · beat 2.33
  34. 34. letBar 3 · beat 2.67
  35. 35. 3Bar 3 · beat 3
  36. 36. tripBar 3 · beat 3.33
  37. 37. letBar 3 · beat 3.67
  38. 38. 4Bar 3 · beat 4
  39. 39. tripBar 3 · beat 4.33
  40. 40. letBar 3 · beat 4.67
  41. 41. 1Bar 4 · beat 1
  42. 42. eBar 4 · beat 1.25
  43. 43. &Bar 4 · beat 1.5
  44. 44. aBar 4 · beat 1.75
  45. 45. 2Bar 4 · beat 2
  46. 46. eBar 4 · beat 2.25
  47. 47. &Bar 4 · beat 2.5
  48. 48. aBar 4 · beat 2.75
  49. 49. 3Bar 4 · beat 3
  50. 50. eBar 4 · beat 3.25
  51. 51. &Bar 4 · beat 3.5
  52. 52. aBar 4 · beat 3.75
  53. 53. 4Bar 4 · beat 4
  54. 54. eBar 4 · beat 4.25
  55. 55. &Bar 4 · beat 4.5
  56. 56. aBar 4 · beat 4.75

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

1Target 1 of 56 · 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

Switching subdivisions while the beat stays put is a core test of solid time. The shift into sixteenths is the usual place for the tempo to creep forward.

Common mistakes

  1. Speeding up at the switch into sixteenths

    Fix: The first sixteenth of the new bar lands exactly on beat 1; only the notes after it are closer together. Say "one-e-and-a" across the bar line and keep the foot steady. If the sixteenth bar still rushes, loop just the last triplet beat into the first sixteenth beat until both beats feel equally long.

  2. Triplets that limp

    Fix: Uneven triplets turn into a swing feel. Accent the first note of each group lightly and keep "trip" and "let" exactly as long as the beat note.

  3. The picking direction surprises you

    Fix: With strict alternate picking, triplets start beats 1 and 3 with a down stroke and beats 2 and 4 with an up stroke, while sixteenths start every beat with a down stroke. Expect that flip and practice it.

Tempo plan

100% is the goal tempo, 72 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 54 BPM · 75%Use Tap along first, then a single muted string, counting the bar's subdivision out loud.
  2. Build 60 BPM · 83%Loop the bar line from triplets into sixteenths. That crossing is where the tempo tries to creep forward.
  3. Push 65 BPM · 90%Switch to Play · full check here. Two clean passes in a row earn the next rung.
  4. Goal 72 BPM · 100%Fifty-six attacks over four bars on a beat that never moves. A pass at 80% accuracy or better clears the drill.
  5. Stretch 79 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

Changing subdivision is how a solo builds intensity without a tempo change: phrase in triplets, then break into sixteenths for the climax. Run the drill on A minor pentatonic notes and it becomes a lead line. Start on the low A at string 6 fret 5 and walk up the box, one scale note per attack.

Variation

Add a bar of plain eighth notes at the start, so the line climbs from two notes per beat to three to four, then back down.

Drills

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