3/4 Metronome

Tap a beat to accent or mute it

bpm Andante

Time signature

Subdivision

Sound

  • Space Play / stop
  • Up arrowDown arrow Tempo
  • T Tap tempo
  • 1-4 Sounds

Speed Trainer

3/4 has three beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note. It is the time signature of the waltz, which is why people call it waltz time, and you hear it in folk songs, country ballads, hymns and plenty of rock songs too.

What does 3/4 mean?

The top 3 means three beats per bar, and the bottom 4 means each beat is a quarter note. So a bar of 3/4 is one beat shorter than a bar of 4/4.

TypeSimple triple, 3 quarter notes per bar

How to count 3/4

Say it: "One, two, three"

Beat 1 is strong and beats 2 and 3 are weak, so the feel is "ONE two three, ONE two three". That lilt is what makes a waltz sway.

Accent patterns to try

Press a pattern to set the metronome to it and start the click.

The tempo in 3/4

Every click is a quarter note, so what you hear matches the number on the screen: 100 bpm is 100 clicks a minute.

How 3/4 feels

3/4 feels round and rolling. Because the bar has an odd number of beats, the strong beat comes around sooner than in 4/4, and that gives the music a swinging, circular motion.

A common guitar pattern is to play the bass note of the chord on beat 1 and strum the higher strings on beats 2 and 3: "bass, strum, strum".

Songs in 3/4

  • Piano Man by Billy Joel
  • The Times They Are a-Changin' by Bob Dylan

Practice 3/4 on guitar

  1. Set the tempo to 80 bpm and strum a downstroke on each click, counting "1, 2, 3" out loud. Change chords on beat 1.
  2. Try the waltz pattern: pick the bass note on 1, then strum the top strings on 2 and 3.
  3. Turn on eighth notes and strum down and up: "1 and 2 and 3 and". Keep the accent on 1.
  4. When it feels natural, set the click to just the 1 and keep the waltz going on your own.

Learn 3/4 with a teacher

Hear it played, count along and try it yourself with these video lessons from the Infinite Guitar library:

Time Signatures: 3/4 - Overview Sean Conklin Time Signatures: 3/4 - Example 1 (Easy) Sean Conklin

Other time signatures

4/4Simple quadruple 2/4Simple duple 6/8Compound duple 12/8Compound quadruple 5/4Odd meter (quintuple) 7/8Odd meter 9/8Compound triple 5/8Odd meter 15/16Odd meter (sixteenth notes) 19/16Odd meter (sixteenth notes)

Back to the online metronome

3/4 time FAQ

What is the difference between 3/4 and 6/8?

Both have six eighth notes in a bar, but they group them differently. 3/4 has three beats of two eighth notes (1 and 2 and 3 and), while 6/8 has two beats of three eighth notes (1 2 3 4 5 6, with accents on 1 and 4). 3/4 feels like three, 6/8 feels like two.

Is every waltz in 3/4?

The waltz is a dance in triple time, and it is almost always written in 3/4. That is why 3/4 is often called waltz time.

How do I find beat 1 in a 3/4 song?

Listen for the bass note or the chord change. In most 3/4 songs both land on beat 1, and the next two beats are lighter.