6/8 Time acts like 3/4 time and only allows 3 beats per measure
Reported version
3.3
Type
Functional
Frequency
Once
Severity
S2 - Critical
Reproducibility
Always
Status
by design
Regression
No
Workaround
No
Project
1) Open Musescore.
2) Create a new score in 6/8 time.
3) Try adding notes.
4) Muse score only allows three beats per measure.
I am using the latest Musescore 3.3.4.9066.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Sample_6_8_Time.mscz | 4.95 KB |
Comments
What do you expect?
A 6/8 time sig allows for 6 8th notes or for 3 quarter notes, or for one dotted half note, in that respect it is indeed not different at all from a 3/4 sime sig.
The difference is how 8th (and shorter) notes beam, in 6/8 they beam in 2 groups of 3 8th, in 3/4 they beam in 3 groups of 2 8th.
In reply to What do you expecvt? A 6/8… by Jojo-Schmitz
If you add a quarter note to an empty 6/8 measure, the rest that remains is a half note rest instead of an eighth note rest plus a dotted quarter rest. Also, if you add a dotted quarter note to an empty measure, the resulting rest is not a dotted quarter rest, but an eighth rest and quarter rest, which is a bit confusing.
![68 time.png]()
@BFI221: See #4867: Rests in measures should be grouped according to time signature, I don't think that's @Brandon Travis Goins' point though.
Right, the sample score shows correct 6/8 notation: six eighth notes (aka quavers) per measure. This is mathematically the same as three quarter notes (aka crotchets) per measure, but the quarter note isn't what gets the beat - the 8 here tells you it's the eighth note that does. Although actually, that's only the "background" beat (aka "little" beat), the real beat is two dotted quarters.
For more info, see:
https://musescore.com/marcsabatella/scores/5705386