Quadruplet
A quadruplet puts four equal notes in the time of three. In 6/8 four eighth notes with the figure 4 fill the time of a dotted quarter; likewise it can put four sixteenth notes in the place of six.
- Division
- four equal parts instead of three (4:3) or instead of six (4:6)
- In the score
- figure 4, with a bracket if there is no beam
- Typical time signature
- compound times such as 6/8 or 9/8
- Counterpart
- triplet
Four instead of three
In compound time each beat consists of three parts, in 6/8 of three eighth notes. A quadruplet squeezes four notes into this time. The ratio is called 4:3. There is a second way of writing the same duration: you replace six sixteenth notes by four and write 4:6. How much time the group fills does not change thereby, only the notated note value.
Four eighth notes in the time of three (6/8)
In each bar the four eighth notes fill exactly the time of a dotted quarter. Each of these eighth notes is therefore shorter than an ordinary eighth, namely only three quarters as long.
Four sixteenth notes instead of six (6/8)
The same duration, written differently: four sixteenth notes take the place of six. In sound this line is identical with the upper one.
Notation
The figure 4 is written above or below the group, with a bracket if there is no continuous beam. Because the figure alone does not reveal whether four notes replace three or six, composers write out the ratio when necessary.
Quadruplet and triplet
The triplet divides a value that normally splits in two into three parts. The quadruplet divides a value that splits into three parts into four. Both therefore leave the usual division of the bar. In 6/8 the quadruplet sounds like a moment of “even” four-beat pulse in the middle of the three-beat pulse.
Common mistakes
- Playing four eighth notes like ordinary eighth notes: Then the bar would be too long. The notes of the quadruplet are shorter.
- Stressing one note of the quadruplet: All four notes are equally long and equally loud.
- Confusing 4:3 and 4:6: Both fill the same time but differ in the notated value.
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Related terms
TripletDupletQuintupletSextupletNote valueBar / measureTime signatureBeatEighth note
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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