How to Play Guitar Triplets

Oh those sexy triplets. Learn how to take one beat and break it down into 3. With a demonstration on drum triplets, learn how to incorporate them into your guitar playing with dynamic strumming and alternate picking through scales.

[@brackenquinton2955]

can't get over how good of lessons this guy pumps out!! so easy to understand!

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much man. I'll keep em coming!

[@edwardmendiola4146]

You're an amazing teacher! I have been playing for about 40 year's, and I learn something new from you all the time! You rock man!

[@seandaniel23]

So great to hear Edward! I appreciate you reaching out!

[@Wxtst.3]

Wow the way you explained the drums part! You’re a great teacher! Thank you so much ☺️

[@wes3791]

Great job explaining triplets. Using the drums for as a demonstration helped tremendously. Something so simple can make a huge difference in playing. Really appreciate your time.

[@prodkwop]

Anyone else trying to learn All My Loving?

[@rickyleonardi7605]

You must be a wizard.

[@indrektapalt3252]

yes.. yes i am

[@natalieueno]

Yup! Hahaahah

[@Anderyeh]

jeez how did you know?

[@0801075001]

OMG that's me... LOL

[@sweeney71]

i was a good rhythm player but had a lot of trouble with finger work on the frets. your videos have helped me a ton. Thank you Sean

[@seandaniel23]

So cool to hear!

[@Vinchester87]

Just letting you know I really appreciate randomly finding your channel. It has accompanied me getting back into practicing guitar. Keep making them!

[@seandaniel23]

You keep practicing and I'll keep makin em!

[@horseofunreason]

This was excellent! I watched two other videos and was even more confused than before, but now I actually understand what a triplet is! Cheers!

[@bigbattenberg]

And I really like that you absolutely jam-pack every video with information, and talk fast. I myself have always been a fast talker, people often have a hard time keeping up. Fast mind I always say. Keep up the good work Sean!

[@philjames1019]

Is there no end to your talent my friend .... brilliant tutorial as usual!!

[@seandaniel23]

I'm sure we'll find the end soon! :) I'll keep rockin it though.

[@denverabrahams3535]

The most practical lesson on triplets that I have ever come across. You nailed it!

[@seandaniel23]

Happy to help!

[@laveur]

Giving a like for that intro.

[@REUBS14]

No formal training. Learnt half of what I know from you. Thank you so much! ❤️

[@wbwright79]

perfect example. wow. such great examples of this technique. i have to incorporate this into my ensemble.

[@voiceoftreason1760]

Thanks Sean, I'll try this tommorow. It's about time i'll catch up on my triplet playing. Especially mixing them up with eight notes seems to be what I need to practise to incorporate them into my playing. Another thing you can do to get a good feel for triplets is practising tapping a 3:2 or 4:3 polyrhythm with your hands.

[@seandaniel23]

Oh for sure, I think eventually I'll do a video just on triplet tapping, it's a great demonstration. Thanks for watching!

[@bigbattenberg]

Great lesson again from the BEST musis teacher on YT! It's just plain impressive how you really master multiple instruments and make it look so easy. Also the way you connect the different instruments to the underlying theory is, well, impressive.

[@seandaniel23]

Man thanks so much for the kind words!

[@JESL_TheOnlyOne]

Solid. This is an excellent example of revisiting and refreshing techniques and concepts. Personally, I have a pretty darn good sense of rhythm, which can be a bit detrimental to that part of your development, because you tend to take it for granted and assume you can handle any rhythmic situation. I have hand drums and work on L-L-R in triple time, because I'm not instinctively good with it. I drill it for speed and fluidity. It's good to be aware of the technical side of things and incorporate this awareness, and exercises, into your approach.

[@ashu7pathak]

@Sean Daniel (Not Jack Daniels or Stormy Daniels or both together :D, just Sean Daniel) Thanks ! I needed this to play intro and last part of outro of the song *Eight Days a Week* by *The Beatles* . Eight days a week begins with *D E/D G/D D* and the strumming pattern is triplets

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mickhills9751]

This guy is brilliant and so easy to understand

[@seandaniel23]

+Mick Hills Thanks so much Mick!

[@musicfriend2051]

Actual lesson starts at 5:16 You’re welcome

[@rand2400]

Opening jokes take these lessons above the rest! Keep it up

[@evanboyd6903]

Exactly this is why I love the videos. The clever jokes and easy to comprehend lessons. The content will draw people in but the jokes will make them stay.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much! I'll try and keep it rollin!

[@tuxsito5704]

Lmao I didn't stay to watch the full video but your joke in the beginning nearly made me cry laughing. Cheers

[@johnneely2035]

Dude, great video really appreciate it. This helped clear up the concept for me in nine minutes flat.

[@seandaniel23]

So great to hear it's helping out John!

[@kimorourke9988]

Thank you for this! I'm trying to figure out a song by ear and I could not for the life of me decipher how to switch from single note beats to triplet strums, and back. The triplet picking excercise also looks like a great drill for memorising scales and the fretboard.

[@matthewlobato9624]

Ok, that's a good video that explains a basic and common splitting of a single beat, into 3's. Here's a challenge: split a single beat into 5 notes; so that a four-beat (4/4) measure, you play 20 notes (instead of 12). Or for a drummer: 5 strikes (instead of 3) on the drum head(s) in each beat - 20 strikes in a measure, and do it without a paradiddle, that is, alternating sticks throughout, accenting every 5th strike. R2345L2345R2345L2345R2345. A guitarist could also strum a note or a chord, accenting every 5th strum. At speed, the rhythm sounds amazing, four strikes faster than 16ths.

[@PeterGriffith-dz1vc]

Great Lesson

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much!

[@evanboyd6903]

Great video I've always had trouble with figuring out how to count triplets but this video helped me out a lot. I can't wait to see how it improves my rythym playing and soloing/improv.

[@seandaniel23]

For sure, when I actually stop to think about it, I'm always surprised by how often I use them without even knowing it now.

[@delcapslock100]

There are two famous pentatonic triplet runs in Led Zeppelin's Good Time Bad Times that are great practice.

[@seandaniel23]

That's why they're the kings. Especially the way Page and Bonham lock into triplets together.

[@soulsoundstudio]

Great lesson, thanks!

[@GuywithLongEmoHair]

Thank you for this! Amazing lesson

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for watching Ed!

[@myprettyselena]

Great lesson!

[@ciachetti]

A really great tutorial. I learned alot

[@markburnett7740]

like your lessons are very informative, good sense of humour too. thanks

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much for watching Mark!

[@TD-jd7ru]

My guitar book says DUDDUDDUDDUD for playing triplets... which is really hard for my brain. yours is easer! thanks!

[@seandaniel23]

Right!? Why would they explain it like that?

[@heron8875]

make sure everyone in the room has context before watching the intro

[@seandaniel23]

Smart

[@kd_kissed]

Very nice explained. I get the rhythm but I have a hard time incorporating it a normal beat. And I don’t know how I could practice this. Do you have a tip? Anyone else with that problem!

[@saltyben7130]

Is it possible for you to make a video on harmonics?

[@seandaniel23]

That's for sure in the works :)

[@lansicus1160]

Was anyone else waiting for Ian to peek a boo through that door

[@seandaniel23]

I'm always waiting for that.

[@timothyjrosser1]

Ive heard the phrase triplets and never really got the theory, so as always thanks for explaining it so well. But does this open up other questions, I guess any number that subdivides into the beat of the bar would work ok? I mean a double speed triplet (sixthlet?) probably exists. So I guess Im asking are triplets part of a bigger category of 'fraction-lets'?

[@seandaniel23]

Yup, triplets are the most common of the 'tuplets' category. Check out this page if you're interested: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuplet

[@timothyjrosser1]

You really live to give dont you Sean- thanks so much for the follow up like the term gruppetto best!

[@evangittus8530]

Went into this video being like “how could you talk about triplets for 9 minutes?” Cut to me 6 minutes in going “trih-pa-let-trih-pa-let-trih-pa-let-four” Also it’s the triplet in Behind Blue Eyes by The Who I’m trying to get

[@xxay]

Varry helpful

[@seandaniel23]

Glad to hear it!

[@TheFallingGoat]

+Sean Daniel, hey man I love you're videos! You keep it light hearted and informative. I always hit up your channel for refreshers on stuff I maybe learned in highschool, or to expand into stuff I need to learn!!! But hey I noticed a lot of the videos are unavailable for casting (remote viewing), I usually pull up ur videos to cast to my Chromecast, but it frequently cuts it off. Would you be able to adjust the settings of ur uploads to make them available for remote viewing? That'd be SOO DOPE!!! Thanks for sharing the knowledge and educating the masses! keep up the good work mate!

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for pointing this out. Not totally sure why some are streamable and somer aren't but I'll email my support person at youtube and try to get it fixed!

[@TheFallingGoat]

Sean Daniel thanks dude, I appreciate that. Nothing beats a life size version of u cracking jokes in my bedroom tv saying some stuff about "sexy triplets" or "Craigslist missed connection" on my surround to make my roommate wonder what the hell I'm searching for! Lol keep up the good work mate!

[@Jshortca]

trip o la trip o la trip o la trip o la trip o la Love your channel man.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much!

[@JCloyd-ys1fm]

This was a real good lesson. Thanks.

[@seandaniel23]

Thank you for watching!

[@remikaremika1696]

Thanks sir for your help..its really hard for beginners tho

[@PaulHeagen]

Brilliant. I'm still amazed that, given your proficiency at playing triplets on both guitar and drum kits, you have not yet landed a role in a soap opera. By the way, a very cool application of triplets is the chorus of Dave Matthews' You And Me. While he plays it all with a manic pace of downstrokes, they are triplets. (Of course being a manic contrarian is who Dave Matthews is...)

[@datrucksdavea2080]

cool, lots of info. and stuff to try...

[@seandaniel23]

+datrucks Dave a :)

[@dougp2917]

Whoa did I need this lesson. :) Thanks!

[@seandaniel23]

No problem!

[@Stevali1966]

great video using the advice with a metronome.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much. Great call on that metronome.

[@zebo11]

Makes me hear how Jerry Garcia's solos are often tripletmania

[@seandaniel23]

Oh for sure!

[@SimeonDaniel98]

So what's the difference between 3/4 rhythm and playing a triplet on a 4/4 rhythm?? Both sounds same??

[@donmccown6645]

Excellent! Great explanation.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much!

[@brunogomesdrums]

Quick Tip to count triplets- one - and - a - two... etc etc

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for the tip Bruno!

[@carlfolcojr.3497]

You rock bro

[@YonderZev]

I could not fully concentrate on what you were saying..... because the door behind you was slightly cracked! Maybe a bit OCD on my part, but I was anticipating a scene from Scream to happen any moment :0 I was okay on the second watch.... great job as always ;)

[@seandaniel23]

I'm definitely happy I didn't get murdered on youtube. That would be a bummer.

[@jacobdavies8717]

you look like musical pew die pie and I mean that in the best possible way

[@seandaniel23]

i'll take it

[@mannu1965]

Love from india

[@arlo2203]

is there a difference between a triplet and a giblet?

[@ronlight7013]

I like your analytical approach to this. In the same vein, the shuffle has been explained to me as (sort of) a modified triplet with an accent on the first note, then the middle note not played at all before an unaccented final note. TRIP - le - et becomes SHUFF - le. Care to explicate? Thank you!

[@seandaniel23]

You know I've never thought of it that way but it makes sense! Use it ;)

[@lia6115]

ok no yes i understand but how the heck do i use it in the first sanitarium solo

[@kroekadoke8212]

And u are awesome at wat u do!! Just thought id get that in!!

[@kroekadoke8212]

Its so bad ass fun. Do fingerpickn open d slide acoustic. And wats really the difference between D and E?

[@anupchak]

Can we use Triplets in 12 bar blues

[@KaranSharma-1612]

See the English captions on 5:56

[@Ma_rkw589]

trim the chocolate more ! yee

[@derry3344ii]

Thankyou 🇮🇪

[@johnwilliams3197]

Thanks great info

[@seandaniel23]

Happy to help John!

[@PaArmyVet]

Your triplet example beginning at the 6:15 mark sounded like the ending to the acoustic version of Hotel California. Well, at least to me. Ha!

[@seandaniel23]

Now that you mention it I hear it too.

[@pikiwiki]

this is great info! very applicable. thank yoo

[@seandaniel23]

Happy to help!

[@michowdy6707]

Triplets = basically in every Metallica solo

[@jeannes6636]

Can you show how to it with a metronome?

[@benjaminvera3736]

Can you do a John Lennon triplet strum?

[@seandaniel23]

I'll have to listen for what that technically is.

[@benjaminvera3736]

Sean Daniel In "All My Loving"

[@tonypizza8571]

'this boy' too

[@lSil3ntZer0l]

Benjamin Vera That is precisely why I’m here. Lol

[@bobu5213]

Is this what I often hear in the ZZ top solos?

[@SGVB22]

how do i do this wiht picking

[@danr5105]

I ask. If you time the 4 beat bar will it have the same elapsed time as the 3 beat bar (meaning the beats in the 3 beat are simply longer?) I am only a bit over a year in (I am 66) I read many (like 75%) quit before completing the 2nd year,most often citing hand pain. My feeling is that the technical side also send people away. I don't know of anyone besides myself and the crew at the music store that watches. I usually watch 2.5hrs of guitar video per day, easily 3hrs practice (I am retired,no wife/kids)

[@sorinsoria]

So what would those triplets in the song Raining blood by Slayer like 40 seconds in or like the triplets in Holy wars by megadeth, those are triplets but they have the pause before the next beat. How do you feel about those

[@seandaniel23]

I think especially in the Megadeth case, I'd tend to think of them as accents with kind of a triplet feel, because you know that right hand is just grooving in like an alternate picking way. But honestly, I personally could care less what would technically be considered a true 'triplet'. I mean it sounds awesome and it has a triplet feel, so I'd call it a triplet. The only time you'd run into trouble is if you're transcribing it to sheet music, the notation wouldn't match up, but come on now!

[@sorinsoria]

haha oh i didnt mean it to sound like that, an actual question, because those confused me in how you would put them in sheet music, not that i would but it just has always questioned me.

[@sorinsoria]

so pretty much its kinda like having one note but with a triplet sound?

[@bernieorbust6104]

those aren't triplets. he kinda adressed that misconception in the video. thatis just a gallop rhythm. its two sixteen notes followed by an eigth. yes its a group of three notes, bit a triplet is a group of three EVENELY timed notes.

[@colinbradford2671]

Nice EE and a good EE a explanation EE ….

[@petmomful2260]

I want to be able to put in that really fast extra down stroke. Down, down up down. I don't seem to be fast enough.

[@Melvorgazh]

@Sean Daniel Hi from Belgium! I play Irish trad flatpicking guitar and I wondered if you had a few examples on an Irish reel on the guitar with triplets? I am not comfy with them and I am sure would improve a lot with mastering the triplets on reels and also jigs. Kind regards, Sláinte! ;)

[@s.pmurphy6083]

great video thanks for that i have one question though, is (1 and A) (2 and A) and so on the same as saying (trip er lets) and if so why do people say it that way and say it as triplets instead of (1 and A) surely if your learning the (1 2 3 4) (1 and 2 and 3) and so on up to (1 E and A) then would it not make sense to keep the same format and say (1 and A) rather then (trip er let) i would be very grateful if someone could explain thanks.

[@andrewwilliams6410]

Please do a lesson for "the partisan" by Leonard Cohen 🙏

[@samb759]

this is great, enjoying a good few of your videos - how much coffee do you drink before each one?! Very snappy teaching

[@seandaniel23]

Oh the coffee is flowing for sure. Still working on my Starbucks endorsement.

[@samb759]

Keep up the good work! I'd be keen on seeing a video on triads which progresses onto incorporating them into solos, I always think triads sound good mid solo... Thanks again

[@seandaniel23]

Great idea, I actually was thinking about that the other day. I'll try and do one soon!

[@samb759]

Brilliant thankyou mate - give me a shout when it's out and I'll drop you a little donation for coffee fund!

[@seandaniel23]

Alright posted the video yesterday! Let me know if it's helpful! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hovGfHZueq5podE

[@kroekadoke8212]

Now how do u do fingerpick chix pick triplets?

[@seandaniel23]

Might have to make a vid on that :)

[@raulfajardo1319]

What kind of strings do you use? And what gauge?

[@seandaniel23]

Elixir phosphor bronze .12s

[@bobbeckey6941]

that is a dumb question. really what gauge strings? why would you ask that.

[@suspendedanimation2269]

what about trplets on one string? any tips?

[@akiouchiyama]

John Lennon was an expert on Triplets...

[@seandaniel23]

Hey oh!

[@samuelfernandes4251]

Thanks pewdiepie!!!

[@justinjex1]

Thank you

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for watching Justin!

[@jaw444]

Are these triplets that are played with this slide guitar, throughout the song? (Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, Blind Willie Johnson) the accent seems different to me from what i'm hearing in the beginning of this lesson, and i'm not sure if it's the same as what you're talking about i'm trying to learn what to call that sound, those fast notes on one beat. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5urnWBrbMR8Zsk

[@seandaniel23]

Never heard of the song but I'll give it a listen!

[@akmt123]

Damn good....

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks so much!

[@vizzo7]

what about quarter triplets

[@seandaniel23]

You can always rock those too!

[@kroekadoke8212]

Hey if u do, do it with a slide on the acoustic!!! Do it!!! Please

[@seandaniel23]

I need to start using a slide more!

[@andruw291]

again: thanks

[@seandaniel23]

Happy to help!

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Hey Sean, I am struggling to play sixteenth note sextuplets and paired groupings of sixteenth notes in triplet format. How would I play these on guitar?

[@seandaniel23]

I personally don't do a lot of that, but people really like to talk about that 'chunking' method where you just get it down one beat's worth, super slow to a metronome, leave space for the next three beats and then just shred that into your muscle memory til you can speed it up.

[@Lampkeeper]

Pentatonic Paradiddles, please.

[@VinicioHaner]

TRIPLE H TRIPLE H TRIPLE H

[@seandaniel23]

+Vinicio Haner The Game!

[@VinicioHaner]

oh damn I lost

[@jose2226]

Watching on .50 is recommended

[@chhtony1190]

one chocolate, two chocolate, three chocolate FOUR!

[@seandaniel23]

That's too distracting for me to count that way :)

[@chhtony1190]

hahaha :P very good lesson by the way, i learned a lot from you thank you

[@viktorb4447]

Banderas's brother?

[@giovannysanchez4028]

no pues en verdad lo explicaste bien y gracias.

[@seandaniel23]

Thanks for watching!

[@rexdaileg6573]

So how's being the singer for the "The Killers" working out for you

[@seandaniel23]

Man it was working out a lot better in 2010.