6/8 is compound meter: six eighth notes to a measure, but counted in two big beats, each one three eighth notes long (a dotted quarter). Count "ONE-two-three TWO-two-three" rather than counting to six.
Time signatures come in two families. A top number of 2, 3 or 4 is simple meter, where the beat splits in half. A top number divisible by 3 and larger than 3 is compound meter, where the beat splits into three. 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 are all compound — divide the top number by 3 and you have the number of big beats: two, three, four.
Six eighth notes to the measure, beamed 3 + 3. One beam is one big beat.
So 6/8 has only two stressed points, on the first and fourth eighth notes. Counting to six is fine while you are reading it slowly, but at tempo you have to switch to counting two — anyone still counting six plays every eighth note at the same weight, and it sounds like someone counting rather than someone playing.
3/4
6/8
A measure holds
three quarter notes
six eighth notes
Count
three
two
One big beat is
a quarter note ♩
a dotted quarter ♩.
Eighth notes beam
2 + 2 + 2
3 + 3
Typical of
waltzes
lullabies, barcarolles, jigs
Common questions
Is 6/8 two beats or six?
Two. There are six eighth notes in a measure, but they are felt as two big beats of three. Counting to six is a way to read slowly, not how the music is played at tempo.
What is the difference between 6/8 and 3/4?
The length is the same; the grouping is not. 3/4 is three beats that each divide into two eighth notes, and 6/8 is two beats that each divide into three. Two eighths to a beam means 3/4, three to a beam means 6/8.
What songs are in 6/8?
Lullabies, barcarolles and jigs use it a lot. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and the barcarolle from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann are both in 6/8.