syllables for counting

[Misty Harrison]

Wondering if anyone has syllables for counting large ‘tuplets, like groups of five (five-lets), etc. Something like 1-la-le or 1-e-&-a

[rosalind-beck]

Misty, I don’t have any suggestions for quintuplets or septuplets, but for sextuplets you can say 1-ah-da and-ah-da.

[Sid Humphreys]

Rosalind.

[Misty Harrison]

Thanks!

[tonie-ogimachi]

I still sometime hear myself counting “huckleberry” for 16th notes.

[kimberly-rowe]

I use words:

Quarter note = “Pear”
two eighths = “Ap-ple”
triplet = “Pin-ap-ple”
four sixteenths = “Wa-ter-mel-on”
quintuplet = “Un-i-ver-si-ty” or “Phil-a-del-phi-a” (sadly, no fruit)

I would love words for sextuplets and beyond if anyone has found them!

KIM

[Stephanie]

For a quintuplet my teacher came up with Span-ni-ko-pi-ta because I love Greek food.

[sherry-lenox]

Spanikopita works beautifully! “Hark, How the Bells” is actually “quarter-two eights-quarter”.

Using real words is a Kodaly device. I’m sure music teachers used the idea before he did, but he refined it.

Using real words or phrases is more helpful to learners, because meaningful verbalizations stick with you more easily than sequences of unrelated syllables.

[harpglo-jean]

These are great!!! really struggle with this all the time, and all I had was “straw-ber-ry” for a triplett, so the other words will help!

Thanks,

Gloria

[patricia-jaeger]

Kim, sextuplets might be hig-ge-ly pig-ge-ly, adapted from the old nursery rhyme- Higgely piggely my black hen–!

[kay-lister]

Another one for sextuplets is: do-ya-want-a-cook-ie.

[kay-lister]

AND – have-you-seen-my-pup-py-dog (7)

K

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Syllables are great for counting tuplets, but it’s really important to make sure that all the syllables are evenly stressed, or you end up with an incorrect rhythm. “University”, “Hippopotamus” and “Philadelphia” all work brilliantly for fives. “Strawberry” can be pronounced as an eighth note with two sixteenths, so I would suggest “hamburger”. In fact, “Hamburger, Pepsi” is good for going back and forth between triplet and duplet rhythm. Two against three was “old rattletrap” when I was learning piano. Sixes can be “hamburger hamburger”, if they are to be counted as two groups of three, or “Have you seen my homework?” if they are three groups of two.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

My favorite for quintuplets is Car-los-Sal-ze-do, naturally. For septuplets, I like pa-ra-leg-al-ass-is-tant. My sister learned ta-ki-ta for triplets and ta-ka-dee-me for quadruplets. Miss Lawrence used not-diff-i-cult for two against three. Miss Chalifoux used something like puddle-uddle-uddle for spelling out a chord.

[diane-michaels]

I believe it was Miss Chalifoux who taught the opening notes of Chanson dans la nuit as “Blueberry huckleberry pie.”

My 4 against 3 is PG-13: pass the goddamn butter.

Funny how many food words get us through rhythms!

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