Slow blues in twelve
This page opens the metronome in 12/8 at 50 dotted quarters a minute: four big beats in each bar, beat 1 accented, and twelve eighth notes clicking quietly in groups of three. At slow tempos the triplets are what keep a band together, because a beat that lasts more than a second is long enough to drift inside.
Using it
- Beats only: set Clicks per beat to Beats and you hear just the four dotted quarters, for when the triplet feel is solid and you want space.
- Every eighth: press Every eighth under the time signatures to click all twelve eighth notes as beats, with accents on 1, 4, 7 and 10; the tempo converts (50 becomes 150).
- Accents: tap a circle to accent beats 2 and 4 (medium), the backbeat a drummer plays on the snare in a slow blues.
- Tempo: slow 12/8 ballads often sit far below where a click feels comfortable. If 50 is too slow to follow, keep the triplets on: they give you three clicks per beat to lean on.
Practice ideas
Play a twelve-bar blues shuffle on the triplets, then turn on the gap trainer (2 bars on, 2 silent) and keep the triplets even yourself. For a lighter compound feel in two, open the 6/8 metronome.