Six-eight time
Six-eight time has six eighth notes per bar, arranged in two groups of three. The beat is the dotted quarter note: the bar has two beats, each divided into three. It is one of the compound time signatures.
- Time signature
- 6/8
- Beats
- two (dotted quarter notes)
- Subdivision
- three eighth notes each
- Related
- 9/8, 12/8 (also compound)
- Not to be confused with
- 3/4 time
Two beats, each in three
The bar has two main beats, and each beat can be divided into three eighth notes. It is therefore not counted “one, two, three, four, five, six” with equal stress but “one two three four five six”, with the stresses on one and four. The beat is the dotted quarter note, which is as long as three eighth notes.
6/8: two groups of three eighth notes
The eighth notes are beamed in two groups of three. The second bar has two dotted quarter notes, that is, two beats. The tempo 90 refers here to the quarter note, which means the dotted quarter note runs at about 60 beats per minute.
The same notes in 3/4: three groups of two
The notes are identical. The difference lies in the beaming and the stress: in 3/4 time the eighth notes group themselves in three pairs, there are three beats. In the second bar the two dotted quarter notes run across the three beats.
In the glossary: 3/4 time · Dotted note · Time signature
6/8 and 3/4
Both time signatures contain six eighth notes. The difference lies in the stress alone, and it is audible: 3/4 time has three points of stress, six-eight time two.
| 6/8 | 3/4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Eighth notes per bar | 6 | 6 |
| Grouping | 2 × 3 | 3 × 2 |
| Points of stress | two | three |
| Beat | dotted quarter note | quarter note |
| Character | rocking, rolling | dancing, waltz |
Deliberately reinterpreting one as the other, with 6/8 and 3/4 alternating or laid over each other, is a well-known rhythmic device, especially in music of Spanish and Latin American character.
Where you hear it
Six-eight time carries dances such as the gigue and the tarantella, as well as barcarolles and pastorales and many lullabies and folk songs. The rocking character arises from the threefold division of the two beats, which gives the flow a rolling motion. In quick movements the same time signature drives forward, because the small values follow one another closely. It is conducted in two beats, at very slow tempo also in six.
When setting the metronome note: the tempo marking in this time signature usually refers to the dotted quarter note, not to the eighth notes. A point that is easily overlooked.
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Related terms
Three-four timeTime signatureDotted noteQuarter noteEighth noteMetronomeTempo
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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