Five-four time

Five beats cannot be divided into two halves of equal size. If you play or count in five-four time, you therefore divide the bar into two unequal groups: three and two quarter notes. The unequal division gives the time signature its peculiar swing, which always “limps” a little. Such time signatures are called irregular metres.

Two possibilities, one notation

The time signature 5/4 alone does not say whether 3+2 or 2+3 is meant. You recognise that from the music itself: from beams, slurs, accents and the course of the melody. The two lines above deliberately have the same notes. The stress lies differently depending on the grouping, and you hear the difference when you play or tap yourself: in the first line stress the four, in the second the three. The playback on the page sets no accents, both lines sound the same there.

A well-known example

The best-known piece in five-four time is “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1959 and a worldwide hit in the early 1960s. It is counted in 3+2: “1 2 3, 1 2”. The piece is protected by copyright and is therefore not in the sheet music archive.

How to count 5/4

Count aloud “1 2 3 4 5” and mark the secondary accent with your foot or a tap. A sequence of syllables helps: for 3+2 something like “straw-ber-ry, ap-ple”, for 2+3 “ap-ple, straw-ber-ry”. Changing between the two groupings with the pulse staying the same is a good exercise for the sense of metre.