Six-eight time

What it means

Six-eight time contains six eighth notes per bar, organized into two groups of three each. The beat is therefore the dotted quarter: the bar has two beats, each of which is divided into three. It belongs among the compound time signatures.

The most important distinction concerns three-four time. Both contain six eighths, but there they form three groups of two, here two groups of three. The difference lies solely in the accentuation, and it is audible: three-four time has three points of emphasis, six-eight time two. The deliberate reinterpretation of one into the other is a well-known rhythmic device, especially in music of Spanish and Latin American character.

In the notation

The time signature 6/8 stands at the beginning of the line. The beaming groups the eighths into two groups of three; the organization can be read from this in the written image. A full bar is filled by a dotted half note or two dotted quarters. Metronome markings in this metre usually refer to the dotted quarter, not to the eighth — a point often overlooked when setting the metronome.

Musical use

Six-eight time carries dances such as the gigue and the tarantella, barcarolles and pastorales, as well as many lullabies and folk songs. The rocking character arises from the threefold division of the two beats, which gives the course a rolling movement. In fast movements the same metre works propulsively, because the small values follow one another densely.

It is conducted in two beats, each beat comprising three eighths. It is typical of the siciliano, the barcarolle, and the gigue.

Performance practice

Count in two beats, not in six, as soon as the tempo allows it — otherwise the bar falls apart. Keep the three eighths of each group even; the middle eighth easily becomes too short. Accent the first beat more strongly than the second. And check, with passages that sound like three-four time, whether the composer intends the reinterpretation: the beaming usually gives information about this.