Time signatures explained: what 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 mean and how to count them
A time signature is the pair of stacked numbers at the start of a piece. The bottom number names the note value being counted (4 a quarter note, 8 an eighth, 2 a half note); the top number says how many of them fill one bar. So 3/4 means three quarter notes per bar, and 6/8 six eighth notes.
Time signatures are the first thing to read on a page of music after the clef and the key. They tell you how the beats are grouped, which beat is strong and how to count. This guide covers what the two numbers mean, the difference between simple metres such as 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 and compound metres such as 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8, the symbols for common time and cut time, and how to count odd metres like 5/4 and 7/8. You can then hear each one on a free online metronome.
Key ideas
- Bottom number = which note is counted; top number = how many of them make a bar. 4/4 is four quarter notes, 6/8 is six eighth notes.
- Simple metres (top number 2, 3 or 4) split each beat in two; compound metres (top number 6, 9 or 12) split each beat in three.
- 6/8 and 3/4 hold the same amount of music per bar but feel different: 6/8 is two beats of three eighths, 3/4 is three quarter-note beats.
- Odd metres are counted in groups of twos and threes: 5/4 as 3+2 or 2+3, 7/8 as 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2.
What do the two numbers in a time signature mean?
The top number tells you how many beats or note values fill one bar, and the bottom number tells you which note value is counted. A 4 on the bottom means quarter notes, an 8 means eighth notes and a 2 means half notes. So 2/4 is two quarter notes per bar, 3/4 is three, 4/4 is four, and 2/2 is two half notes.
Bar lines divide the music into those equal chunks, and the first beat after each bar line, the downbeat, is the strongest. In 3/4 you count “1 2 3, 1 2 3” and lean on every 1; in 4/4 you count “1 2 3 4” and lean on every 1. The time signature does not say how fast to go; that is the job of the tempo marking or a BPM figure.
A time signature is written once at the start and stays in force until a new one appears. Pieces can change metre midway, and the new signature is printed right where the change happens, so it is worth scanning a page for them before you start playing.
Simple vs compound metre: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 vs 6/8, 9/8, 12/8
In a simple metre each beat divides naturally into two, and the top number is 2, 3 or 4: duple, triple or quadruple. In 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 the beat is a quarter note that splits into two eighths, which is why simple metres are counted “1 and 2 and 3 and”.
In a compound metre each beat divides into three, and the top number is a multiple of three: 6, 9 or 12, usually over an 8. Here the top number counts the divisions, not the beats. A bar of 6/8 has six eighth notes but is felt as two beats, each a dotted quarter made of three eighths; 9/8 is felt as three such beats and 12/8 as four. One common way to count 6/8 is “1 and a, 2 and a”, or simply “1 2 3 4 5 6” with the weight on 1 and 4.
That is why 6/8 and 3/4 are not the same thing even though both bars hold six eighth notes’ worth of music. In 3/4 the six eighths are grouped in three pairs, 1-2 3-4 5-6, giving three beats. In 6/8 they are grouped in two threes, 1-2-3 4-5-6, giving two beats. Clap both patterns and the difference is obvious: one sways in three, the other rocks in two.
What are common time and cut time?
Common time is another name for 4/4 and is often written as a large C instead of numbers; cut time is 2/2 and is written as the same C with a vertical line through it. Cut time is also called alla breve. Both symbols descend from the time signatures of mensural notation used in earlier centuries.
In cut time the notes on the page can look like 4/4, but you count two half-note beats per bar instead of four quarter-note beats. It is used when a piece moves quickly: counting “1 2” on the half notes is easier and makes the music flow, where counting four quick quarter notes would feel busy.
Many dance forms are tied to a metre, which helps you recognise them by ear. Waltzes, minuets and scherzi are in 3/4, with a strong first beat and two lighter ones. Marches, polkas and galops are typically in 2/4, a firm left-right; marches also appear in 6/8 and in cut time.
How to count 5/4 and 7/8, and practise any metre on a metronome
Odd metres are counted as a mix of groups of two and three. A bar of 5/4 has five quarter-note beats and is usually heard as 3+2 (“1 2 3 1 2”) or 2+3 (“1 2 1 2 3”), with a stress at the start of each group. Folk music uses quintuple metre widely: the Bulgarian paidushko dance runs in a fast 2+3, the tsakonikos dance of the Peloponnese is written in 5/4, and the Basque zortziko is a quintuple form.
A bar of 7/8 has seven eighth notes grouped as 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or, less often, 2+3+2. Count 2+2+3 as “1 2, 1 2, 1 2 3”: it feels like three beats, the last one a little longer. Septuple rhythms are characteristic of Balkan folk music; the Bulgarian rachenitsa is a quick 7 divided 2+2+3, and the Greek kalamatianos is in 7/8 as well.
The free online metronome at VITON13 SCHOOL lets you hear all of this. Choose a time signature from 1/4 to 7/4 or from 3/8 to 12/8, including 5/4, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8 and 12/8, and pick a grouping for the odd ones: 3+2, 2+3 or 5 for 5/4, and 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2 for 7/8. Each beat is a dot; tap one to make it strong, accented, normal or muted. In x/4 metres a click is a quarter note, in x/8 metres an eighth note, and for 3/8, 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 the page also shows the tempo in dotted quarters. Add eighths, triplets or sixteenths to hear the subdivisions, and turn on muted bars to test whether you can keep counting on your own.
In everyday language
A time signature is like the pattern of steps in a dance. A waltz goes “step-step-step” in threes, a march goes “left-right” in twos, and 7/8 is a dance with two short steps and one longer one. The bottom number tells you the size of each step, the top number how many steps make one round.
Try it yourself
Open the metronome, set 3/4 and count along for four bars, then switch to 6/8 at the same click speed and count again. Finish with 7/8 in the 2+2+3 grouping.
Expected result
You hear three even accents per bar in 3/4, two accents per bar in 6/8 and a short-short-long pattern in 7/8.
Check your answer: How many eighth notes fit into a bar of 9/8, and how many beats do you feel?
Nine eighth notes. 9/8 is compound, so they are grouped in threes and you feel three beats, each a dotted quarter note.
Questions
What is the difference between 3/4 and 6/8?
Both bars hold the same amount of music, six eighth notes. 3/4 groups them in pairs and is felt in three quarter-note beats; 6/8 groups them in threes and is felt in two dotted-quarter beats.
What does the C mean in a time signature?
A C stands for common time, which is 4/4. A C with a vertical line through it is cut time, or alla breve, which is 2/2: two half-note beats per bar.
Open the free VITON13 SCHOOL metronome, set 6/8 and then 7/8 in each of its groupings, and count each one aloud until the accents feel natural; then mute some bars and see whether you are still on the downbeat when the click returns.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Time signature (simple and compound metre, common and cut time) ↗Sources checked:
- Wikipedia: Quintuple meter (5/4 and its groupings) ↗Sources checked:
- Wikipedia: Septuple metre (7/8 and its groupings) ↗Sources checked: