4/4 Metronome
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4/4 is the time signature you hear more than any other: four beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note. Most rock, pop, blues, country, funk and metal is in 4/4, which is why it is also called common time.
What does 4/4 mean?
The top number tells you how many beats are in a bar, and the bottom number tells you which note gets the beat. In 4/4 there are four beats, and the 4 on the bottom means each beat is a quarter note.
You will often see 4/4 written as a big C on sheet music. That C stands for common time, and it means exactly the same thing.
TypeSimple quadruple, 4 quarter notes per bar
How to count 4/4
Say it: "One, two, three, four"
Beat 1 is the strongest, beat 3 is a little lighter, and beats 2 and 4 are the weak beats. In rock and pop the drummer hits the snare on 2 and 4, which is called the backbeat, and that push and pull between the downbeat and the backbeat is what makes 4/4 groove.
Accent patterns to try
Press a pattern to set the metronome to it and start the click.
The tempo in 4/4
Every click is a quarter note, so what you hear matches the number on the screen: 100 bpm is 100 clicks a minute.
How 4/4 feels
Because 4/4 splits so evenly, it feels steady and solid. Four beats divide into two halves, and each beat divides into two eighth notes or four sixteenth notes, so riffs and strumming patterns fall neatly into place.
That evenness is also why 4/4 is the best place to build your timing. Once you can lock in with a 4/4 click at any tempo, every other time signature gets easier.
Songs in 4/4
- Back in Black by AC/DC
- Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
- Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
- Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Practice 4/4 on guitar
- Set the tempo to 70 bpm and strum a downstroke on every click while you count out loud. Make the chord change land right on beat 1.
- Turn on eighth notes and strum down on the numbers and up on the "ands": "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and".
- Switch to the backbeat pattern and accent your strums on 2 and 4 to feel the groove a drummer gives you.
- When that feels easy, try clicks on 2 and 4 only. If you drift, the click will land in the wrong place right away.
Learn 4/4 with a teacher
Hear it played, count along and try it yourself with these video lessons from the Infinite Guitar library:
Other time signatures
4/4 time FAQ
Why is 4/4 called common time?
Because it is by far the most common time signature in Western music. On sheet music it is often written as a C, which stands for common time.
What is the difference between 4/4 and 2/4?
2/4 has two quarter-note beats per bar and 4/4 has four. You could write a 4/4 song as two bars of 2/4, but 4/4 adds a stronger accent on beat 1 and a lighter one on beat 3, so the music breathes in four-beat phrases.
What bpm should I practice at?
Start slow enough to play every note cleanly, often 60 to 80 bpm, then raise the tempo a few bpm at a time. The Speed Trainer on this metronome can do that for you.