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Compound Time: A Beat That Splits into Three

Compound time means each beat divides into three, usually a dotted quarter made of three eighth notes. The top number is a multiple of 3: 6, 9 or 12 for the ordinary cases. 6/8 is two of those beats, 9/8 is three, and 12/8 is four. 5/4 does not belong here.

  1. 1strong
  2. laeighth
  3. leeighth
  4. 2lighter
  5. laeighth
  6. leeighth

That row is one 6/8 bar: two beats, each split 1-la-le. Say the syllables, not six equal footsteps.

6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 side by side

Wikipedia’s time signature article, read on 2026-10-14, describes compound meter this way: the upper number is a multiple of 3 (6, 9, 12), and the beat is usually a dotted value of three of the bottom notes. Divide the top number by 3 and you have the number of beats.

Three compound meters at one dotted-quarter speed
Signature Beats in the bar Eighth notes At 60 dotted quarters / min
6/8 2 6 2-second bar, 30 bars / min
9/8 3 9 3-second bar, 20 bars / min
12/8 4 12 4-second bar, 15 bars / min

Count the dotted quarter, then the three eighths

Feel the slow pulse first. In 6/8 that pulse happens twice per bar. Only after the pulse is clear, split each one into three equal eighths: 1-la-le, 2-la-le. 9/8 adds a third pulse. 12/8 adds a fourth. Counting every eighth as its own beat is simple time wearing a compound signature, and the music will feel rushed.

  1. Tap the pulse you could conduct. That tap is the dotted quarter.
  2. Listen inside one tap for three equal parts, not two.
  3. Count how many taps finish a bar: two, three or four.
  4. Match that count to 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8.

Simple time splits in two. 5/4 is a different oddity.

Simple meters such as 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 give the beat a two-way split: a quarter becomes two eighths. Compound meters give it a three-way split. The same bar of six eighths can be written either as 3/4 (three simple beats) or as 6/8 (two compound beats). That pairing is already worked out, with a march you can play, on the 6/8 and 3/4 page. This page’s job is the rule that makes a meter compound.

5/4 has five quarter-note beats. People call it odd, and it is, but the beat still splits in two. Odd length is not the compound test. Cut time is simple as well: two half-note beats, on the cut time page.

No new recording on this page

A compound-meter march is already hosted with its license and its measured pulse: the 6/8 clip on the 6/8 and 3/4 page. Nothing here pretends to be a second player, and that clip is not copied onto this URL. 9/8 and 12/8 stay in the table until a recording with a checked meter and a usable license is in hand.

One dotted-quarter tempo across 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8

Enter a speed in dotted-quarter beats or in eighth notes. The table keeps that eighth-note rate and shows how long a 6/8 bar, a 9/8 bar and a 12/8 bar become.

Same eighth-note speed, three bar lengths
Value
Eighth notes per minute 180
Dotted-quarter beats per minute 60
One 6/8 bar lasts 2 seconds
6/8 bars per minute 30
One 9/8 bar lasts 3 seconds
9/8 bars per minute 20
One 12/8 bar lasts 4 seconds
12/8 bars per minute 15

Set the dotted beat at ninety a minute and the eighths run at 270. The 6/8 bar then takes 1.3 seconds (45 of them fit in a minute). The 9/8 bar takes 2 seconds. The 12/8 bar takes 2.7 seconds.

The BPM tool does not label compound time

Use the audio analyzer for a speed and tap tempo if you would rather tap the dotted beat yourself. Neither one decides 6/8 versus 3/4. The BPM guide says what the printed number is counting.

Compound time: quick answers

What is compound time?

A meter whose beat splits into three equal parts. The beat is usually a dotted note worth three of the bottom notes.

Which signatures are compound?

Ordinary ones have a top number of 6, 9 or 12. 6/8 has two beats, 9/8 has three, 12/8 has four.

Is 3/4 compound time?

No. 3/4 is simple triple: three quarter-note beats, and each quarter splits in two. 9/8 is the compound triple with the same three beats, each split in three.

Is 5/4 compound time?

No. Five is not a multiple of 3, and the 5/4 beat is a quarter note that splits in two.

Where is a compound recording on this site?

On the 6/8 and 3/4 page, which already hosts a 6/8 march. This page does not add another player.

What does 60 dotted quarters a minute do to a 6/8 bar?

The bar lasts 2 seconds, so you get 30 bars a minute. 9/8 at that beat lasts 3 seconds. 12/8 lasts 4 seconds.

What this page leaves open