Why Is 6/8 Time So CONFUSING???
Jan 18, 2025Your music teachers lied to you.
For time signatures, they taught that the top number tells how many beats are in each measure.
And the bottom number is the note that gets one beat.
In their defense, that works for simple meters.
Like 4/4 or 3/4 or 2/4.
But it doesn’t work when you get to compound meters. Like 6/8.
What’s a compound meter?
To understand this, let’s focus on understanding 6/8:
1. 6/8 Is Not 3/4
When I first heard about 6/8, I thought of math class.
You can reduce fractions to their simplest form.
So you can reduce 6/8 to 3/4, right?
Wrong.
Not in music.
While 6/8 and 3/4 both have six eighth notes in each measure, they have different ways of grouping eighth notes.
2. 6/8 Has Groups of Three Eighth Notes
This is an important characteristic of compound meter.
In 6/8, we would count two groups of three eight notes:
1 and a 2 and a:
Or 1 2 3 4 5 6:
In 3/4, on the other hand, we would count three groups of two eighth notes like this:
1 and 2 and 3 and:
Or if we counted to 6, we could say:
1 2 3 4 5 6:
That's because in 3/4, the beat in is on the quarter note, but:
3. In 6/8,the Beat is on the Dotted Quarter Note
In 6/8, if you had notes only on the beats, you would have two dotted quarter notes:
In 3/4, if you had notes only on the beats, you would have three quarter notes:
So there are three beats in a measure of 3/4, but two beats in a measure of 6/8.
When you first play a piece in 6/8, it can definitely be confusing.
What helps the most is to feel the rhythm physically.
Clap 1 2 3 4 5 6 with that extra emphasis on the 1st and 4th eighth note.
As you get comfortable with that, tap your foot on 1 and 4 so your foot is tapping dotted quarter notes while you clap every eighth note.
After you feel the rhythm in your body, it will be easier to play on the guitar.
Keep making music!
Before you practice 6/8 time, I recommend starting with a simple Warmup Routine.
If you want a free PDF of my Warmup, click here.