Stromian Tuplet Notation
Unfinished page!!!
Stromian tuplet notation is a system for expressing tuplets. The main purpose of STN is to convey complicated tuplet ideas over text. The system strikes a balance between legibility and efficiency.
It can get frustrating when you send your homie a Fizz WIP and they ask “what’s that rhythm 8 seconds in?” To which you reply “It’s a bar long triplet but the first and last of those 3 beats are both nonuplets, and the beat in the middle is just filled with 8th notes. Or 8th note triplets rather... Never mind, you get what I mean. Actually I'll draw a picture and send it...". STN allows you to reply with "it's 3[9:1+4:1+9:1]:2/2" like an absolute chad.
Nested Tuplets
The notation system used on the Metr tool on chambercode.com is very similar to STN for nested tuplets, the main difference being that it doesn’t have STN’s redundant numerator.
| Tuplet | Notation | |
|---|---|---|
| Stromian | 11:8 with a nested 8:6 at the beginning | 11[8:6+5]:8 |
| Metr | 11:8 with a nested 8:6 at the beginning | [8:6+5]:8 |
Bridge Tuplets
One way of notating bridge tuplets in STN is by using two bracketed sections, the first one laying out the two tuplets being bridged, and the second one laying out where the bridge tuplet starts, its ratio, and where it ends. For example, a bridge tuplet in which a 7:4 and a 6:4 are being bridged by a 6:4 somewhere in the middle could be written like [7:4+6:4][5+6:4+4].
Limitations
Ambiguity
When written with STN, the exact length of the tuplet can be ambiguous. If there’s a 4 in the denominator, that could mean that the tuplet is 4 quarter notes long, but it could also be 4 eighth notes, 4 sixteenth notes, etc. This ambiguity can be solved by writing the denominator as a time signature instead of a plain number.
11[8:6+5]:8 —> 11[8:6+5]:8/8
Legibility
A triplet inside of a nested triplet is pretty easy to conceptualize when reading it on sheet music, as opposed to STN, where it would be written like “3[3[3:2+1]:2+1]:2”. STN has its limitations, but it allows those familiar with it to glance at “11[6+9:5]:8” and think “ah yes, a 11:8 tuplet with a nested 9:5 at the end”.