How to play 5 against 4: two methods that work
By Asztalos Levente Updated 3 min read
5 against 4 fits five evenly spaced notes into four beats. On a grid of 20 counts the five falls on 1, 5, 9, 13 and 17 and the four on 1, 6, 11 and 16. To play it, split each beat into five and accent every fourth note: the accent moves one place earlier on each beat.
Five against four is where polyrhythms stop being something you can fake. The layers only meet at the start of each cycle, and the combined rhythm has eight notes with uneven gaps. It takes patience, but two methods make it manageable.
Where the notes fall
The smallest grid both layers fit on has 20 counts. The five lands on every fourth count, the four on every fifth.
| Layer | Counts |
|---|---|
| The five | 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 |
| The four | 1, 6, 11, 16 |
| Together | 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17 |
Look at the pairs: 5 and 6 are close together, so are 16 and 17, while the middle of the cycle is evenly spread. That near-flam at both ends is what makes 5:4 sound “slippery”.
Method 1: quintuplets with a moving accent
Instead of counting to 20, keep the four as your beat and split every beat into five equal notes (quintuplets). Now play an accent on every fourth note:
- Beat 1: accent the 1st and the 5th note
- Beat 2: accent the 4th note
- Beat 3: accent the 3rd note
- Beat 4: accent the 2nd note
The accent moves one place earlier on each beat. The accented notes are the five; the beats are the four. Start by playing all the quintuplets quietly with the accents loud, then gradually leave the quiet notes out until only the accents remain.
Method 2: the slow grid
Set a metronome to play the 20-count grid slowly and tap the five on one knee and the four on the other, using the table above. It is slow, but it builds an exact picture of where every note sits. Combine it with method 1: the grid for accuracy, the quintuplets for flow.
How it looks in written music
In a bar of 4/4, five against four is written as quarter-note quintuplets: five quarter notes under a “5” bracket, filling the whole bar. The opposite, 4 against 5, is four evenly spaced notes across five beats, for example across a bar of 5/4.
Practice it with a metronome
Let a metronome play both layers with different sounds at a slow tempo, then mute one and keep it going. Watching the layers helps a lot with 5:4, because the two notes that nearly collide are hard to separate by ear at first. The polyrhythm trainer on this site draws both layers on a circle while it plays. In the MetronomeLab app, set the Ratio on the Polynomes tab to 4:5 (the app lists the beats first). 5 against 4 is part of the free version; Pro goes on to ratios up to 11:11.
New to polyrhythms? Start with 3 against 2 and 3 against 4.
Try it: 5:4
BPM is the speed of the 4-beat layer, the pulse you would tap your foot to.
Frequently asked questions
Is 5 against 4 included in the free version of MetronomeLab?
Yes. The free version covers polyrhythms up to 5:5, which includes 5:4 and 4:5. Pro extends the range to 11:11.
How do I write 5 against 4 in notation?
In a bar of 4/4, the five notes are quarter-note quintuplets: a bracket with a 5 over five quarter notes that together last the whole bar.
Should I learn 5:4 by counting to 20?
Use the 20-count grid to understand where the notes fall, then switch to the quintuplet method to play it. Counting to 20 in real time is too slow to keep up with music.
