2/4 Metronome
Tap a beat to accent or mute it
bpm Andante
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.2/4 has two beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note. It is the time signature of marches and polkas, and it gives you a strong "left, right" pulse that is easy to feel.
What does the 2/4 time signature mean?
The top 2 means two beats per bar, and the bottom 4 means each beat is a quarter note. A bar of 2/4 is half a bar of 4/4.
You will also see 2/4 used for a single short bar in the middle of a 4/4 song, when a phrase needs two extra beats before the next section starts.
TypeSimple duple, 2 quarter notes per bar
How to count 2/4 time
Say it: "One, two"
Beat 1 is strong and beat 2 is weak, so every bar goes "ONE two". Because the accent comes back every two beats, 2/4 feels driving and busy.
Accent patterns to try
Press a pattern to set the metronome to it and start the click.
The tempo in 2/4
Every click is a quarter note, so what you hear matches the number on the screen: 100 bpm is 100 clicks a minute.
How 2/4 feels
In country and bluegrass, guitarists often play 2/4 as "boom-chick": a bass note on beat 1 and a strum on beat 2. Polka players call the same idea "oom-pah".
Songs in 2/4
- Tico-Tico no Fubá by Zequinha de AbreuA choro tune guitarists love
- The Entertainer by Scott JoplinOften arranged for guitar
- Oh! Susanna by Stephen Foster
- Arkansas Traveler by TraditionalFiddle tune
Practice 2/4 on guitar
- Set the tempo to 90 bpm and play a bass note on 1 and a strum on 2: "boom, chick".
- Alternate between two bass notes of the chord on each beat 1, the root and then the fifth, while keeping the strum on 2.
- Turn on eighth notes and add an upstroke after each strum.
Learn 2/4 with a teacher
Hear it played, count along and try it yourself with these video lessons from the Infinite Guitar library:
Other time signatures
2/4 time signature FAQ
What is the difference between 2/4 and 2/2?
Both have two beats per bar. In 2/4 each beat is a quarter note, in 2/2 (cut time) each beat is a half note. They can sound the same, the difference is in how the music is written.
What is the difference between 2/4 and 4/4?
A bar of 2/4 is half as long as a bar of 4/4. 4/4 has a big accent on 1 and a smaller one on 3, while 2/4 puts the same strong accent on every other beat.