Five beats with a shape
This page opens the metronome in 5/4 at 120 BPM with the bar split 3+2: beat 1 is the accent, beat 4 a medium accent where the second group starts, and the rest normal clicks. Hearing that grouping is what turns five beats from a count into a groove, and it’s how players think of 5/4 in practice: a bar of three followed by a bar of two, glued together.
Setting it up for your piece
- Grouping: listen for where the second strong beat falls. If it comes on beat 3, choose Groups 2+3 under Accents.
- Tempo: tap along with a recording using Tap tempo, tapping every beat, not just the accents.
- Subdivisions: add 2 per beat to hear the eighth notes; uneven beats show up straight away against them.
- Longer odd meters: Custom sets anything up to 16 beats, and the Accents menu lists every split into twos and threes (7 as 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2, and so on).
A practice routine
- Clap or play only the accents (beats 1 and 4) with the click for a minute.
- Fill in all five beats, counting ONE-two-three FOUR-five out loud.
- Turn on the speed trainer from about 70% of your goal tempo, adding 4 BPM every 4 bars.
- Finish with the gap trainer to check that the bar stays five beats long without the click.
For odd time in eighth notes, open the 7/8 metronome.