Skip to content

5/8 time signature

5/8 means five eighth notes in a bar, in a long group and a short one: 3 + 2 (ONE two three FOUR five) or 2 + 3. It is an odd time signature, felt as two uneven beats.

160 BPM, Vivace: lively and fast

Make a beat at 160 BPM

Opens the free editor with a beat playing. No account needed to start.

How to count 5/8

Count 1 2 3 1 2 for 3 + 2, or 1 2 1 2 3 for 2 + 3, leaning on each 1. The metronome plays 3 + 2: the first click highest and the start of the 2 next.

5/8 at a glance: its type, its beats and what a bar holds
5/8
TypeOdd: 3 + 2 or 2 + 3
Beats in a bar2 uneven beats, 3 + 2, of 5 eighth notes
A count isAn eighth note
A bar holdsfive eighth notes

Music in 5/8

Balkan and Greek folk dances, and odd-time passages in progressive rock and jazz.

5/8 or 5/4?

Both bars drawn to one scale: the wider a box, the longer its note.

5/8: 1 2 3 1 2
5/4: 1 2 3 4 5

5/4 has five quarter-note beats, so a bar is twice as long on paper and each count is a beat. 5/8 is usually faster and felt as two uneven beats.

How to count it and where it is heard are on the page for the 5/4 time signature.

Questions about 5/8

What does 5/8 mean?

5/8 means five eighth notes in a bar, in a long group and a short one: 3 + 2 (ONE two three FOUR five) or 2 + 3. It is an odd time signature, felt as two uneven beats.

How do you count 5/8?

In two groups: 1 2 3 1 2 for 3 + 2, or 1 2 1 2 3 for 2 + 3. The music says which; the first beat of each group is the stronger.

What music is in 5/8?

Balkan and Greek folk dances, and odd-time passages in progressive rock and jazz.

What is the difference between 5/8 and 5/4?

5/4 has five quarter-note beats, so a bar is twice as long on paper and each count is a beat. 5/8 is usually faster and felt as two uneven beats.

Other time signatures

4/43/42/45/46/47/42/23/26/89/812/83/85/87/8

For any tempo in any of them, use the online metronome.

Play along with a beat

Open the free editor with a beat playing, then add a melody, a bass line or your voice, part by part. No account needed to start.

Start a beatTime signatures

Keep going