5/4 Metronome

How 5/4 works

Five quarter-note beats per measure. It sounds exotic until you stop counting to five and start feeling it as two uneven halves.

Counting and accent groupings

Usually 3+2 (ONE-two-three-FOUR-five) or 2+3 (ONE-two-THREE-four-five). Decide which your music uses before you practice — they feel completely different.

Music in 5/4

• "Take Five" — the most famous 5/4 in jazz (3+2)
• The Mission: Impossible theme (its famous 3+3+2+2 eighth-note rhythm — 3+2 at the beat level)
• Holst's "Mars" from The Planets

Practicing 5/4

The fastest route to feeling 5/4 is hearing the subdivisions while you count the groupings out loud. Add a subdivision with the subdivision metronome, or build a practice track that alternates a familiar meter with this one using the multi-section click track tool. One honest limitation: this free tool accents only the downbeat. To accent the actual groupings — like 3+2 in 5/4 — Subdivide for iOS supports custom accent patterns per measure, which makes this meter dramatically clearer to practice.

Other time signatures

4/4 metronome · 3/4 metronome · 6/8 metronome · 7/8 metronome · 9/8 metronome · 12/8 metronome — or see every time signature.