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From the below image, What does the 3 above the three quarter notes represent? I attempted to look it up here but I did not find anything similar to it.

staff

I am assuming it makes the 3 notes shorter, due to the fact that if you add together the three ♪, the 8th rest, and the three ♩ you get a total of 1¼. But I would like a detailed explanation of what I should be doing when I play it.

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The 3 indicates a triplet. The quarter notes should be played at 2/3rds their normal duration. You end up with the three quarter notes taking up the last 2 beats of the measure, divided equally.

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    A tip that was useful to me as to how to play it when you don't know how a triplet over several beats sounds or feel : play 3 "eight" notes for both quarter note, making it 6 1/8 over 2 1/4. Then only play the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of that group : that is where the attacks of the triplet will fall. A bit like adding fractions with different denominators, really.
    – Pif
    Sep 21, 2012 at 9:08
  • @Pif, actually that is EXACTLY what I did last night trying to figure it out on my own.
    – Scott Chamberlain
    Sep 21, 2012 at 13:43
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    That's because it's the right way to do it (^_^). As an example, here's someone taking this approach too far vai.com/tempo-mental (O_o)
    – Pif
    Sep 21, 2012 at 14:52
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    The way I learned the timing was from "Carol of the Bells"; the rhythm is a transposition of a triplet pattern over a tuplet pattern. BTW, in triplet times like 6/8, you can see the reverse; a "2" and bracket will be placed over two notes, indicating a "tuplet"; those two notes should be played in the space of three of the same note value in the natural time.
    – KeithS
    Sep 25, 2012 at 22:39
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    As for quintuplets and septuplets, etc, they are seen, especially in solo pieces and etudes. In those situations, the advice I got from a working professional violinist was, don't try to count or subdivide it; just cram all the notes into the space you're given and chalk up any variance as artistic expression :)
    – KeithS
    Sep 25, 2012 at 22:44

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