main Notes on Music in Triple Meter July 3, 2025 Thu, Jul 03 2025 00:00:00 -0800

A single example of “slow” triple time (Tollite jugum meum)—the remaining are “fast”.
- Slow triple time is properly hypermeter: as each semibreve in a group of two under the usual alla breve is contrapuntally identical, so they are in groups in three.
Dissonance types:
- Full time suspension, almost always on beat 2.
- Half time suspension (hastened by portamento figure), usually on beat 3.
- Passing tone minim (or crotchet).
- Neighbor tone minim (or crotchet).
Rhythmic patterns:
- Predominantly trochaic:
  - Beat 1 is always articulated; beat 3 very often; beat 2 sometimes not.
  - Beat 2 is most likely to be subdivided; beat 1 least likely.
- Characteristic examples:
  - B S
  - S. M S
  - S. M M M
- Fast triple time does not use quavers.