Counting 36th notes and sixtuplets

How about:

1 zi pi tee doo da and a 2 zi pi tee doo da and a 3 zi pi tee doo da and a 4 zi pi tee doo da and a 1

What I have been doing lately though is starting out with one metronome beat per 32nd note, then one beat per sixteenth (treating 32nd notes like eighth notes), then one beat per 8th note (treating 32nd notes like 16ths).  Well, I haven't done it with 32nd notes per se, but with 16ths.  Then I usually have a good idea about the rhythm so I don't have to say anything to myself... just sort of mentally concentrate on how it should be between beats when I get up to quarter or half note beats.

Sixtuplets (sp) are 6 notes played in the space of 4 - usually you'll see them as 16th notes, but as you've referred to 36th's I'll use 32nd notes as the example:

To get 36, you'll need to be playing 6 lots of 6 32nd notes in the space taken up by 6 lots of 4.

4 32nd notes equals one eighth note, so you'll be playing in 6/8 time.

Not easy to get your head around. No doubt somebody will tell me if I've got it wrong. Play them slowly to start with.

Best,

A :-)

Hmmm...I personally haven't heard the term, "sixtuplet" too much (or 36th notes for that matter).  I like markyerme's idea for counting 32nd notes - works real good!  
Triplets can be defined as "three in the time of two."  So, 8th note triplets take the same time as two regular 8th notes - one quarter note.  Quarter note triplets take the same time as two regular quarter notes - one half note.  I think what you're calling "sixtuplets" are 16th note triplets.  This would be one triplet figure per 8th note instead of one triplet figure per quarter note.  To count it, say in 4/4, you have to subdivide the 8th notes in to three.  You could use the same convention of placing syllables on the notes - like 1-I-need-a-bin-go 2-I-need-a-bin-go (or whatever - I just made this up).  I personally just count 'em with numbers.

thanks everyone, i'm not completely sure if it's called a "sixtuplet" but i think it is. basically it is 6 notes that when played together equal 1 beat, so it's like a triplet but 6 instead of 3... i've figured out that "1 six-tup-let-and-a-2..." is a good way to count them. By the way, 36th notes and the "sixtuplets" are usaully in really fast music, i saw it in the guitar solo to "The Call of the Ktulu" by Metallica.

I've never run across the term 'sixtuplet', but the rhythm is pretty common.  There are two different approaches you can take to make counting 'em easier:

First off, you can alternate pick (down stroke, up stroke) and count on just the downstrokes.  Then you can count one-trip-let-two-trip-let with counts on JUST the downstrokes.  Make the rhythm even, and you've got six notes per beat.

If you don't like that one, and feel you need a count for every note, just think of it as two back-to-back triplets that each get a half beat.  If you'd be counting half beats as one-and-two-and, you'll then count one-trip-let-and-trip-let-two-trip-let-and-trip-let.

It's best when you have very small divisions of a beat to count VERY slowly, and get the rhythm into your bones.  Then you'll be able to speed it up without having to count every note.... lots of music, particularly jazz, will use irregular divisions (like 5 notes in a beat, or 7).  They're actually a heck of a lot easier to play than count!

Tom