Question

What is the proper counting for an eighth and two sixteenths that start on beat 4 of a 4/4 measure?

Answer 1

Answer:

3

Explanation:

This would’ve made more since if they put a ratio. You are playing 4 notes, starting on the and of 3 and ending with the downbeat of the next bar. That’s 4 8th notes in the space of 3 8th notes, commonly referred to as 4:3. In this case, the writer wrote the notes as 16ths instead of 8ths, but they fill the same space. Technically speaking, this is 4:6, or 4 16th notes in the space of 6 16th notes. Every tuplet has a ratio, whether the writer expressly puts that ratio or not. Common examples include Triplets = 3:2, 3 8th notes in the space of 2 8th notes Fivelets = 5:4, 5 notes in the space of 4, or 5:3, 5 notes in the space of 3. There are many others, but each time you see a tuplet, figure out how much space it takes up in the bar, figure out what the ratio should be, and remember to think of it as X notes in the space of Y notes.