Meaning & use
three four time
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablemusic
A musical meter with three beats in each bar, where a quarter note gets one beat.
Grammar: Used like a mass noun: play in three four time; no plural form is standard.
Patterns
- in three four time
- play something in three four time
- a piece in three four time
The teacher asked us to clap a simple tune in three four time.
Most waltzes are written in three four time, which gives them that swaying feel.
If you count 'one two three, one two three', you are counting three four time.
nouncountablemusic
The time signature 3/4, printed at the start of a piece to show this meter.
Grammar: Can be used as a countable label for the written symbol: a three four time signature.
Patterns
- a three four time signature
- marked as three four time
The score begins with a three four time signature, so each bar has three quarter-note beats.
He wrote '3/4' at the top, meaning the whole song is in three four time.
Common combinations
- in three four time
- The whole second movement is in three four time.
- play in three four time
- Can you play this melody in three four time instead of four four?
- a waltz in three four time
- The orchestra opened with a waltz in three four time.
- count in three four time
- Count in three four time before the choir comes in.
- change to three four time
- The middle section changes to three four time for eight bars.
Synonyms and how they differ
- waltz time
- An informal name for the same three-beat feel, but it is mainly used for waltzes rather than for meter in general.
- triple meter
- The technical term in music theory for any meter with three beats per bar; it is more formal than three four time.
Opposites
Word family
- time signature noun
- The pair of numbers at the start of a piece that shows the meter.
- bar noun
- A group of beats between two bar lines; three four time has three beats per bar.
- beat noun
- One pulse in the music; three four time has three beats in each bar.
- waltz noun
- A dance and musical form usually written in three four time.
Commonly confused: three four time or three quarter time? three four time or common time?
three four time vs three quarter time
'Three quarter time' is not the usual music term; say 'three four time' or '3/4 time'. 'Three-quarter' normally describes a fraction, as in a three-quarter-length coat.
three four time vs common time
Common time means four four time (4/4), not three four time, even though both are very common meters.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'three four time' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'In three four time' is the fixed pattern for describing a meter. 'In three four times' wrongly makes it plural, and 'on' or 'by three four time' are not used in this musical sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “three four time”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.