How to count and practise 6/8
Most 6/8 music is felt as two dotted-quarter beats per bar. Count the six eighth notes as “ONE two three FOUR five six,” with the strongest accent on ONE and a secondary pulse on FOUR. Browser Metronome’s 6/8 BPM number therefore refers to dotted-quarter beats.
Example: 6/8 · 60 BPM · 8ths · stopped
- 60 BPM means 60 dotted-quarter beats a minute. Each large beat lasts one second. The dotted-quarter symbol beside the number tells you the BPM unit.
- Count six eighth notes in two groups. With 8ths selected, each large beat contains three audible eighth-note positions: “ONE two three FOUR five six.” The long and round marks locate those clicks. The faint short marks between them are smaller, silent positions in this setting.
On this page
A 6/8 subdivision routine
Check the setup
- Meter
- 6/8
- Tempo
- 60 BPM · dotted quarter note beats
- Subdivisions
- 8ths
- Swing
- Straight
- Accent sound
- On
- Mode
- Session
- Count-in
- 1 bar
- Duration
- 16 bars
Opens in a new tab. Review the settings, then press Start when ready.
- Set 6/8 at 60 BPM and choose 8ths under Subdivisions so all six eighth-note positions sound.
- Count “ONE two three FOUR five six” for four bars.
- Clap only ONE and FOUR while continuing to say all six counts.
- Play your passage while feeling two large beats, each divided into three.
- Switch Subdivisions to Main beats and keep the smaller subdivisions internally.
Optional progression
Alternate four bars with audible eighths and four bars with only the two dotted-quarter beats. Later, use Gap Trainer to remove a bar of click while keeping the two-in-a-bar pulse.
Common mistakes
- Counting six unrelated beats: group the notes 3+3 and feel ONE–FOUR.
- Treating the BPM as an eighth-note value: here the displayed dotted-quarter note (♩.) is the beat unit.
- Making both pulses equally heavy: FOUR supports the bar, but ONE remains the downbeat.
Success criterion
Progress when the passage stays steady with Subdivisions set to Main beats. The six eighth-note positions should remain even, and the next downbeat should stay clear without counting aloud.
Count and practise 7/8
Change one source of support after the present task is repeatable.
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