Three-eight time
A time signature with three eighth notes per bar. It is half as long as 3/4 time and so feels lighter and nimbler. At a fast tempo you often feel only one beat per bar.
- Time signature
- 3/8
- Basic beat
- eighth note
- Beats per bar
- 3
- Stress
- strong – weak – weak
- Length of a bar
- one dotted quarter note
- Related time signatures
- 3/4, 6/8, 3/2
Three-eight time is a triple metre: it has three beats, with the stress on the first. Unlike in 3/4 time the basic beat is formed not by the quarter note but by the eighth note. A bar is therefore only half as long: three eighth notes last as long as a dotted quarter note, three quarter notes as long as a dotted half note.
Three eighth notes per bar
The one of each bar is marked. Each bar lasts three eighth notes. In the last bar the dotted quarter note replaces the three eighth notes, it is exactly as long.
The same order, a smaller unit
On paper 3/8 and 3/4 differ in the note value that forms a beat. In sound the difference lies in the size of the unit: in 3/8 the stresses follow each other quickly. When the tempo becomes high, the basic beat moves from the eighth note to the whole bar. You then no longer count “one-two-three” but feel a single beat per bar that falls into three parts.
Comparison with other triple time signatures
| Time signature | Basic beat | Beats per bar | Length of a bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/8 | eighth note | 3 | 3 eighth notes |
| 3/4 | quarter note | 3 | 6 eighth notes |
| 6/8 | eighth notes in 2 groups of three | 2 leading beats | 6 eighth notes |
| 3/2 | half note | 3 | 12 eighth notes |
The table shows how the length of a bar changes if you change only the denominator. 6/8 has the same length as 3/4 but is counted in two groups of three. It is a compound time, 3/8 by contrast a simple one.
How to recognise 3/8 in the notation
In the notation 3/8 is usually met as a group of three eighth notes under one beam. The barlines follow one another closely, the line contains many bars. In counting it helps to speak each group of three like a word, for example “straw-ber-ry”, with the accent on the first syllable.
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Related terms
Three-four timeSix-eight timeTriple metreTime signatureBar / measureBeatFour-four time
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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