Creating tuplets

Select the first note of the group and press F1 P, then a digit from duplet through nonuplet — or dial in a custom ratio.

Creating tuplets

A tuplet groups a run of notes into a bracket marked with the ratio it plays against — three notes in the time of two, for a triplet, and so on.

Creating one

Select the first note of the group, open the Note palette with F1, then press P followed by a digit:

  • 2 — Duplet (2:3)
  • 3 — Triplet (3:2)
  • 4 — Quadruplet (4:3)
  • 5 — Quintuplet (5:4)
  • 6 — Sextuplet (6:4)
  • 7 — Septuplet (7:4)
  • 8 — Octuplet (8:6)
  • 9 — Nonuplet (9:8)

QuickStave groups the selected note and however many follow it into the bracket, restyled to fit the ratio’s total duration.

A custom ratio

F1 P 0 — or the … button in the tuplet menu — opens a dialog for any ratio the standard list doesn’t cover, such as 5:3 or 11:8. Set the two numbers by typing them or with − and +: how many notes, and in the time of how many. The line beneath them says what will be created and how its number will print; Apply creates it.

The notes are written on the selected note’s value. When a ratio calls for a different value, QuickStave writes it that way and the dialog says so: five notes in the time of two quarters are written as eighths, 5:4. A ratio that is really plain notes, or that runs past the bar line, is explained in the dialog and can’t be applied.

How the number prints

A tuplet prints just its first number when the second is the one a player expects — 3 for 3:2, 5 for 5:4, 7 for 7:4, 11 for 11:8. Any other ratio prints in full, such as 5:3 or 3:4, so it can’t be misread. A tuplet whose notes are all under one beam shows only its number; otherwise it has a bracket too.

Changing how a tuplet prints

Select a note in the tuplet and open the tuplet menu with F1 P. Its bottom two rows set how the tuplet prints:

  • Bracket — A automatic, as above; B always show the bracket; D hide it.
  • Number — N the first number only; R the full ratio, such as 3:2; H no number.

The tuplet’s current settings are highlighted. With a range selected, a choice applies to every tuplet in it: to number only the first bar of a passage of triplets, select the rest of the passage and press F1 P H. With no tuplet selected, the two rows are greyed out.

Removing a tuplet

F1 P Delete ungroups the tuplet containing the current selection, replacing its notes with rests that fill the same time.

Tips

  • See Entering notes for setting durations before grouping them into a tuplet.