GCSE-readyMore rhythm: dotted notes, triplets, swing and 6/8
Once you can read crotchets and quavers, you can add the rhythms that make music bounce, swing and dance.
Dotted rhythms and triplets
A dotted crotchet followed by a quaver fills two beats.
A triplet is three notes in the time of two. A quaver triplet fits three equal quavers into one crotchet beat. It is shown with a small 3 over the notes.
Swing and syncopation
Syncopation puts accents off the beat, for example on the 'and' between beats, or on weak beats. It gives energy and is common in pop, jazz, reggae and Latin music.
An anacrusis (or upbeat) is a note or notes before the first full bar.
Simple and compound time
In compound time each beat splits into three quavers. The beat is a dotted crotchet.
6/8 has six quavers in a bar, grouped in two sets of three: so it has two dotted crotchet beats, giving a lilting feel (ONE two three FOUR five six).
How many dotted crotchet beats are there in 4 bars of 6/8?
- 6/8 has six quavers per bar, grouped in threes.
- Each group of three quavers is one dotted crotchet beat, so there are 6 ÷ 3 = 2 beats per bar.
- 4 bars × 2 beats = 8 dotted crotchet beats.
Answer: 8 dotted crotchet beats.
A dotted quaver plus a semiquaver fills one beat. A triplet is three notes in the time of two. Swing makes quaver pairs long-short. Syncopation accents off-beats. 6/8 is compound time: two dotted crotchet beats per bar.
- Quaver
- A note lasting half a beat in 4/4 time.
- Semiquaver
- A note lasting a quarter of a beat in 4/4 time.
- Triplet
- Three notes played in the time of two.
- Syncopation
- Accents placed off the beat, between the main beats.
- Compound time
- A metre where each beat divides into three, such as 6/8 (two dotted crotchet beats).
- Crotchet
- A note lasting one beat in 4/4 time.
- Not “A chord of three notes”. A three-note chord is a triad.
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2 more questions
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A dotted crotchet lasts how many crotchet beats? Give your answer as a decimal.
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Answer: 1.5 beats
A crotchet is 1 beat; the dot adds half (0.5): 1.5 beats.
How is a triplet usually shown in notation?
- A dot after the note
- A small 3 above or below the group of notes
- A tie between notes
- A double bar line
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Answer: A small 3 above or below the group of notes
The 3 shows three in the time of two.
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Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.