MusicReasonRhythm, Tempo, Meter, and Practice Timing
How long is each note in this tuplet?
Declare how many notes the tuplet actually contains, how many of the containing note value it normally would take, and which note value contains it. This tool computes the exact fractional duration per note and the span they together fill, never rounding the fraction away.
Answer
Want to learn more? Groove, Swing, Tuplets, and Polyrhythm
Understand
A tuplet packs an "actual" number of equal notes into the time a "normal" number of the stated note value would occupy. The classic triplet packs 3 notes into the time 2 of that value would normally take; less common tuplets (quintuplets, septuplets) follow the same rule with different counts. The total span never changes; only how many equal slices fill it does.
Worked examples
Three eighth-note triplets (actual 3, normal 2, containing value an eighth note) together fill exactly one quarter note, since two eighth notes normally equal one quarter. Each individual triplet note then lasts exactly one-third of a quarter note, not the one-half a plain eighth note would last.
Method and limitations
The normal span is the normal count multiplied by the containing note value's own duration; the tuplet's per-note duration is that span divided by the actual count, preserved as an exact fraction rather than a rounded decimal wherever the interface allows it. Supplying a BPM additionally converts both the span and the per-note duration into milliseconds. This tool computes one flat tuplet at a time and does not generate engraving rules for a tuplet nested inside another tuplet, which is a notation-rendering concern outside its declared scope.
A quintuplet (actual 5, normal 4) packs five equal notes into the span four of the containing value would normally take, following the identical formula as a triplet with different counts substituted in; there is nothing structurally special about 3:2 beyond its far greater everyday frequency in written music. Changing only the actual count while holding the normal count and containing value fixed shortens each individual note's duration without changing the total span the group fills.