6/8 Metronome
A free online metronome in 6/8 — play it in your browser or download the click as a WAV file.
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How 6/8 works
Six eighth notes per measure felt as two big beats of three — a rolling, compound lilt that's everywhere in ballads, folk, and worship music.
Counting and accent groupings
Always 3+3 (ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-six). If it splits 2+2+2 it's really 3/4 — same six notes, different feel entirely.
How the tempo works: this tool always reads BPM as quarter-note BPM (♩ = BPM), so with the meter set to 6/8 the beat is an eighth note and the click runs at twice the number you set. At 120 BPM that's 240 eighth notes a minute. Because the eighths group in threes, the pulse you actually feel is a dotted quarter at about 80 BPM — which is how printed music usually marks this meter: a chart that says ♩. = 80 means ♩ = 120 here. Start slower than you think you need.
Music in 6/8
- Slow-burn ballads and blues standards ("House of the Rising Sun")
- Irish jigs at speed
- A large share of modern worship ballads
Practicing 6/8
The fastest route to feeling 6/8 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 the 3+3 of a compound meter — 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 · 5/4 metronome · 7/8 metronome · 9/8 metronome · 12/8 metronome — or see every time signature.
Frequently asked questions
How do you count 6/8 time?
As two big beats: ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-six, with the main pulses on one and four. Each beat is a dotted quarter that divides into three eighth notes.
What's the difference between 6/8 and 3/4?
Six eighth notes either way, but 6/8 groups them 3+3 (two beats of three) while 3/4 groups them 2+2+2 (three beats of two). The grouping is the whole difference — 6/8 rolls, 3/4 waltzes.
How is tempo marked in 6/8?
Printed music usually gives a dotted-quarter tempo, like ♩. = 60. This tool reads BPM as quarter-note BPM, so multiply the dotted-quarter marking by 1.5 — ♩. = 60 becomes 90 here.