Any bracketed number over a group does the same job as the triplet's 3: fit that many
notes into the space a different number would normally fill. The family is called tuplets.
duplet — a 2 in compound time: two notes where you'd expect three (one beat split
in two instead of three)
quintuplet — 5 in a beat
sextuplet — 6 in a beat (usually felt as two groups of three, or three of two)
septuplet — 7 in a beat
You will read these in K.216 and in Romantic repertoire. You won't drill them in Stage 2 —
this page is just so the bracketed number never surprises you.
Five and seven in a beat
52 bpm
Bar 1: five even notes in beat 1 (a quintuplet), then a plain quarter on beat 2. Bar 2: seven even notes in beat 1 (a septuplet). Don't hunt for a syllable — keep the beat rock-steady and spread the notes evenly across it.
A duplet in compound time
104 bpm
Beat 1: the normal three eighths of 6/8. Beat 2: a duplet — two notes filling the space of those three. It's the compound-time mirror image of a triplet.
Quick check
Check yourself
1
2
3
The usual mistake
Trying to find a neat word for a 5 or a 7. There isn't one that helps. Lock the beat with
your foot or the metronome and let the notes divide it evenly — the bracket has already told
you how many.