One of our favorite holiday songs is “Christmas Waltz” written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn for Frank Sinatra, the same songwriting team that wrote “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
The lyrics in “Christmas Waltz” include a line, “this song of mine in three quarter time,” and since we’ve been studying rhythm and rhyme as part of this year’s Songpreneurs training, we figured this is a great place to answer the question –
What is three quarter time?
Time Signatures
You’ve probably heard someone say that music is math.
There’s a lot of truth to that statement, and especially when we’re talking about time signatures.
A time signature tells you a couple important things about the music you’re about to play.
Time signatures in music come at the beginning of the line of sheet music, and look like a fraction – that is, two numbers, one on top of the other.
The top number of the fraction tells you how many beats are in each measure.
The bottom number tells you what kind of note is counted as one beat.
Common Time
Almost every song you’ll hear is in what we call common time, also known as four-four time or 4/4.
This means that each measure has four beats, and the quarter note gets one beat count.
Three Quarter Time
In three quarter time, also known as three-four time, the beats are different.
The top number tells you how many beats are in the measure – that’s three.
And the bottom number tells you what kind of note gets one beat count – that’s a quarter note.
So, three quarter time is a type of time signature where there are three beats in the measure and the quarter note gets one beat count.
Waltz
Songs that are played in three quarter time signatures have another special name – a waltz.
A waltz is a type of dance in three-four time.
One of the characteristics of a waltz is the strong emphasis on the 1 beat.
When you’re counting a waltz, you’ll count “ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three,” noting that there are three beats per measure, and putting special emphasis on the “one” count.
Waltzes always have a strong accent on the “one” beat, and that helps the dancers stay on the right step.
Conclusion
So this holiday season, challenge yourself to listen to the time signature of the songs you’re singing.
Are there other popular three-four time signature songs?
Challenge yourself to write a song in three quarter time, and explore the wonderful world of time signatures to expand your writing skills.
See you around the campus in the New Year.
Study with us –
Now accepting 25 applicants to our Songpreneurs Leadership Community 2025 Class.
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