Five-four time

What it means

Five-four time contains five quarter notes per bar. Because five cannot be divided into equal groups, the bar falls into two unequal parts: either 2+3 or 3+2. Which grouping applies is not fixed by the time signature but follows from the music — and it can change within a piece.

The metre thus belongs to the odd or asymmetrical metres, to which seven-eight and eleven-eight time also count. It is to be distinguished from the compound metres such as 6/8 or 9/8: there the groups are equal in size, here precisely not. The appeal of five-four time lies in this inequality, which gives the course a lasting restlessness.

In the notation

The time signature 5/4 stands at the beginning of the line. The beaming shows the grouping: if eighth notes are gathered into groups of two and three quarter notes, the division is thereby indicated. Some editions write the grouping expressly as 2+3 or 3+2 above the time signature, others set a dashed line within the bar. If both are missing, one has to infer it from melody and harmony.

Musical use

Asymmetrical metres have long been in use in the folk music of several regions, for instance of the Balkans. In art music they occur sporadically earlier but become more frequent only in the late nineteenth and the twentieth century, when composers deliberately leave the regularity of the metre. In jazz and popular music too, five-four time is widespread as a means of rhythmic alienation.

Well known is the movement from Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony.

Performance practice

First determine the grouping and count it aloud — “one two, one two three” carries farther than counting to five. Mark the two group beginnings distinctly, for they hold the bar together. Watch for places where the grouping changes; they are the most common source of error. And practise slowly with accented group beginnings until the pattern sits, before you increase the tempo.