Three-four time
Three quarter notes per bar — the metre of the waltz and the minuet.
What it means
Three-four time contains three quarter notes per bar. The beat is the quarter note, the articulation is in three: one strong and two weak beats. It thus belongs to the odd or triple metres, in contrast to the even ones such as two-four and four-four time.
It is to be distinguished from six-eight time. Both contain six eighth notes, but in three-four time there are three groups of two, in six-eight time two groups of three. The difference thus lies in the emphasis and becomes audible as soon as one counts along. The alternation between the two feelings is a well-known rhythmic device.
In the notation
The time signature 3/4 stands at the beginning of the line after clef and key signature and applies until a change of metre. Eighth and sixteenth notes are beamed into groups of one quarter each, so that the three beats remain recognizable in the notation. A whole note does not fit into the bar; a full bar is represented by a dotted half note or a whole rest.
Musical use
Three-four time is the metre of the waltz, the minuet, the Ländler, and the polonaise and thus one of the most important dance metres of all. In the sonata and symphony it stands over minuet and scherzo movements. Outside dance music it carries slow movements of a striding character and many songs. Characteristic is the tension between the strong downbeat and the two lighter beats, from which different dance characters are derived: the waltz emphasizes the downbeat strongly, the minuet more evenly.
Performance practice
Emphasize the one and keep two and three light — the most common weakness is a third beat that is too heavy. At a fast tempo, count the bar as one unit instead of in three beats, otherwise it seems stumbling. With accompaniment figures, take care that the chords on two and three stay shorter and quieter than the bass on the one. And with eighth-note motion, check the beaming: it shows you whether the thinking is in three or in two.