converting 16th to triplets

[mmike]

what is the easiest way to convert several (30) bars in 4/4 of 16ths notes to 16th triplets (or 8th triplets)?
In Finale's Change Note Durations I see no obvious way of doing this, and JW Change > Note Entries > Duration is also a complete mystery as to how to do it
thanks for any help

[miker]

JW Meter and Rhythm, might help you. If we can see a couple of those measures, we can probably give you better advice.

[Peter Thomsen]

What Mike said.

We need more info from you - since it is not clear, what you are trying to do:
The duration of 16ths is not the same as the duration of triplet 16ths.
How to “account” for the different duration?
- change time signature (e. g. from 4/4 to 3/4)?
- add rests?
- use mixed values (e. g. from two 16ths to one triplet 8th plus one triplet 16th)?

[mmike]

See attached - I just want all of these 16ths to be grouped in 3 (as triplets, which will give a different feel when performed) - can be 16ths triplets or 8ths triplets. Obviously the number of bars will change, no problem, and also the tempo, which I can adjust accordingly.

[zuill]

Do you want 4/4 with triplets? That would put 8 groups of 16th triplets in each bar. That can be done in a series of steps. But first, we need the answer to the first question.

Zuill

[zuill]

Maybe something like this.

Zuill

[mmike]

Yes, exactly. But how did you do it?

[zuill]

1. Utilities/Change/Note Durations--Change 16th to 8th. Choose Rebar
2. Time Signature Tool--Change 4/4 to 12/8 (Compound, not Simple Meter). Also choose Rebar
3. JW Meter and Rhythm plugin--Compound Meter/Compound Meter to Triplet.

3 easy steps. If 16th triplets is preferred, there are slightly more steps.

If you don't have Jari's plugin, you'll need to download it.

Zuill

[mmike]

Thanks very much.

3 easy steps.

Ha! Easy if you know where to look. Not exactly obvious ....
Just out of curiosity and to learn more - what would the steps be to create 16th triplets?

[zuill]

1. Change meter to 12/6 (Compound)
2. Use the JW Meter and Rhythm plugin to change Compound to Simple meter (It will now be in 4/8 time
3. With Time Signature Tool, change to 4/4 (with Rebar selected)

I guess that's still only 3 steps as well. The only think needing fixing might be the way the triplets are beamed. It is customary to break the second beam between sets of triplets. I can't recall if there is a plugin for that. I'll check it out.

Zuill

[zuill]

To get the secondary beam split, let's do this (from the beginning):

1. Change 4/4 to 12/8 Compound
2. JW Meter and Rhythm--change compound to triplets.
3. JW Meter and Rhythm--Tuplets/Split. Choose 6-tuplet Only and Secondary Beams Only.

Voila!

Zuill

P.S.: In the attached file, only the last tuplet remained a 6-tuplet. Otherwise, it came out correctly, with the secondary beams done the common way.

[mmike]

wow! brilliant!
thanks again

[mmike]

following a rather curious post scriptum ....

As per the attached file - I have converted 15 bars of 16th notes (A / tempo 114) to 10 bars (B) of 16th triplets
I have adjusted the tempo of B to 79, which, to my ears, makes the sequence sound just about the same.
However .... when I time the sequence (Utilities > Check Notation > Check Elapsed time), there appears to be a differenc of about 10 seconds.
Since I use this feature quite often to time segments of compositions, I wonder why there is a difference and what would cause this? Are these timings not reliable?

[miker]

The difference is probably in the Human Playback, which (I believe) slightly randomizes some elements, just like real musicians would.

[mmike]

The timings are the same with or without HP- It's still strange to have such a large (10 seconds) difference for such short pieces.

[zuill]

I believe Finale is basing the timing of the second section on the first measure of that section. Since the tempo mark is set to kick in at the alignment point, Finale thinks it is still being calculated for the prior section's tempo. Change the assignment to beginning of Measure and recheck the elapsed time.

Zuill

[mmike]

yes, that works ... done it again!
although the logic escapes me, since it would seem that playing back from alignment point 1 or even 0 (is that not the beginning of the measure?) would be the same as playing back from "Beginning of measure"
well, apparently not, but good to know anyway, thanks

[highlife66]

Hi folks. I was wondering if it is ever plausible to group triplet 16ths in sets of 6 notes as opposed to two sets of three? Thanks!

[miker]

It’s easy enough to do it, but, when would you want to? I’ve seen all kinds of tuplets. I guess it depends on the context.

[highlife66]

Gotcha. Thanks for responding, Mike.