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I'm not that good in music theory. There is this rhythm I can't find the right way to notate. Logic Pro shows it like this: (if you need mp3. let me know).

enter image description here

And this is the rhythm I play. Right hand is very fast. The 2 notes under is the left hand. The other notes are the right hand. enter image description here

2 Answers 2

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I don't personally see anything wrong with this notation; it's perfectly clear! If I came across it in a score, I would know exactly what was intended.

It's a slightly tricky rhythm to perform, because the performer must subdivide the first two sixteenth notes in three before immediately switching to a duple subdivision starting on the third sixteenth note. But this is a standard skill, so most competent musicians will perform it without problem.

This rhythm looks 100% correct to me as is, and I don't see any reason to try to improve it. But one possible improvement, as Heather S. mentions in the comments, is to beam all of the right-hand sixteenth notes into one beat:

enter image description here

If you're worried by what appears to be five sixteenth notes in the span of only four, the first three are part of a triplet. See What exactly does a 3 mean over a quarter note and an 8th note?

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  • Agreed. It looks correct.
    – b3ko
    Commented Jul 25, 2018 at 2:04
  • The only thing that would make it slightly easier to read is a bar connecting the last 16th to the triplet 16ths with the rest floating above it where the 3rd 16th note would be.
    – Heather S.
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 10:50
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    @HeatherS. I almost included that originally; you've inspired me to edit it in, thanks!
    – Richard
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 11:32
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I don't see any mistakes in the notation, although the alternative beaming suggested by Heather S. and Richard is a good idea for clarity.

However, looking at the piano roll screenshot that you posted, and speaking from experience, perhaps that is not exactly what you intended to write. Automatic notation tends to cluster some of the notes and also create unwanted offbeats. What I see on the piano roll looks more like this to me:

enter image description here

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  • This is a really great point; I didn't notice that they were staggered in the screenshot!
    – Richard
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 4:28
  • Although the eighth rests in the right hand should be sixteenths, no?
    – Richard
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 14:18
  • Maybe, but since I don't know whether that was intended or not, I wrote it based on the piano roll only. The 4 base notes are pretty equidistant in time, so that's why I wrote it like this.
    – FSimardGIS
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 21:04

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