19/16 Metronome
Tap a beat to accent or mute it
bpm Larghetto
Time signature
How the beats are grouped. The top number is how many beats are in a bar, the bottom number which note gets the beat: 4/4 is four quarter notes, 6/8 is six eighth notes. Custom builds any other.Subdivision
Adds extra clicks between the beats: two per beat (eighth notes), three (triplets) or four (sixteenth notes), so you can lock in faster rhythms.Sound
The click itself: Hi Hats, Rim Click, Digital or Toms. Pick whichever cuts through your guitar best.Custom time signature
- Space Play / stop
- Up arrowDown arrow Tempo
- T Tap tempo
- 1-4 Sounds
Speed Trainer
Builds speed for you. Turn it on and the tempo starts at Start at, then goes up by Speed up by every few bars until it reaches Stop at.19/16 has nineteen sixteenth notes in every bar. Think of it as a full bar of 4/4 with three extra sixteenth notes tacked on at the end. It is a long, winding meter you hear in progressive rock, metal and jazz fusion.
What does the 19/16 time signature mean?
The top 19 means nineteen notes per bar, and the bottom 16 means they are sixteenth notes. A bar of 4/4 holds sixteen sixteenth notes, so 19/16 is a 4/4 bar plus three more.
TypeOdd meter (sixteenth notes), 19 sixteenth notes per bar
How to count 19/16 time
Say it: "1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a, 1 2 3"
Count a normal bar of 4/4 in sixteenth notes, then add three more notes before the next bar starts: "1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e and a, 1 2 3". That is 4+4+4+4+3. Other groupings work too, as long as they add up to nineteen.
Accent patterns to try
Press a pattern to set the metronome to it and start the click.
The tempo in 19/16
In 19/16 the metronome clicks every sixteenth note. The tempo number still counts quarter notes, so you hear four times as many clicks as the number says: at 60 bpm that is 240 clicks a minute.
How 19/16 feels
19/16 feels like 4/4 that keeps going a moment too long before it starts over. Each bar has an extra little tail, and riffs built on it have a stretched, winding feel.
Songs in 19/16
- Keep It Greasy by Frank ZappaThe first verse, some bridges and the guitar solo
- Celestial Terrestrial Commuters by Mahavishnu Orchestra
- Home by Dream TheaterThe ending
Practice 19/16 on guitar
- Keep the tempo slow, around 50 bpm, and play a palm-muted note on every click while you count out loud.
- Play a 4/4 sixteenth-note riff and add three notes to the end of it. That is a 19/16 riff.
- Accent the start of each group with a power chord and play muted notes in between.
- Once you can count it, try the other grouping and hear how the short group changes the feel.
Learn 19/16 with a teacher
Hear it played, count along and try it yourself with these video lessons from the Infinite Guitar library:
Other time signatures
19/16 time signature FAQ
How do you count 19/16 time?
Count a bar of 4/4 in sixteenth notes, "1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e and a", then add "1 2 3" before you start the next bar.
Is 19/16 used in real music?
Yes, though it is rare. You hear it in progressive rock, metal and jazz fusion, from Frank Zappa and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to Dream Theater.