5/4 Metronome
Tap a beat to accent or mute it
bpm Allegro
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.5/4 has five beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note. It is the most popular odd meter, and almost everyone feels it as a group of three plus a group of two.
What does the 5/4 time signature mean?
The top 5 means five beats per bar, and the bottom 4 means each beat is a quarter note. It is one beat longer than 4/4, and that extra beat is what makes it sound unusual.
TypeOdd meter (quintuple), 5 quarter notes per bar
How to count 5/4 time
Say it: "ONE two three, FOUR five"
Counting to five is easy. Feeling it is the hard part, so split the bar into groups. Most 5/4 music is 3+2 (accents on 1 and 4), and some is 2+3 (accents on 1 and 3). Pick the grouping the song uses and accent the start of each group.
Accent patterns to try
Press a pattern to set the metronome to it and start the click.
The tempo in 5/4
Every click is a quarter note, so what you hear matches the number on the screen: 120 bpm is 120 clicks a minute.
How 5/4 feels
5/4 feels like a bar of 4/4 with an extra beat, or a bar of 3/4 joined to a bar of 2/4. Either way it never quite settles, and that slight lopsidedness is what makes 5/4 riffs stick in your head.
Songs in 5/4
- Take Five by Dave Brubeck QuartetGrouped 3+2
- White Room by CreamThe opening
- YYZ by RushThe opening
- My Wave by SoundgardenThe verses
- Living in the Past by Jethro Tull
Practice 5/4 on guitar
- Set the tempo to 90 bpm, strum on every beat and count "1 2 3 4 5" out loud.
- Use the 3+2 pattern and play a chord on 1 and another on 4. Then try 2+3 with the second chord on 3.
- Take a simple 4/4 riff and add one beat to the end of it. That is a 5/4 riff.
- Once it feels natural, turn the accents off and keep the grouping in your head.
Learn 5/4 with a teacher
Hear it played, count along and try it yourself with these video lessons from the Infinite Guitar library:
Other time signatures
5/4 time signature FAQ
How do you count 5/4 time?
Count "1 2 3 4 5" and accent the start of each group. In 3+2 the accents are on 1 and 4, in 2+3 they are on 1 and 3.
What is the difference between 5/4 and 5/8?
Both have five pulses per bar. In 5/4 each pulse is a quarter note, in 5/8 each is an eighth note, so 5/8 usually feels quicker and lighter.
Is 5/4 hard to play?
It feels strange at first because your body expects four beats. Counting out loud with the accents on usually clicks within a few practice sessions.