Which description best defines the tresillo rhythm according to the material?

• A. Four-on-the-floor 4/4 feel
• B. A straight 4/4 with no triplets
• C. Triplets over a composite duple beat
• D. A duple-meter with no triplets

Answer: (C)

Tresillo is a cross-rhythm: three notes played in the time normally given to two beats in a duple meter. When described as “triplets over a composite duple beat,” it means the two-beat unit (a duple pulse) is subdivided into triplet-equipped timing, so three notes fit across those two beats. That 3:2 relationship creates the distinctive syncopation that defines tresillo and underpins many Latin and Afro-Cuban feels.

The other options describe patterns that are steady or lack triplet subdivision, so they don’t capture this cross-rhythm. Four-on-the-floor stays on every beat, a straight 4/4 with no triplets stays evenly spaced, and a duple-meter with no triplets has no triplet feel at all.