Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with ³
₄, ³
₈ and ⁹
₈ being the most common examples. The upper figure being divisible by three does not of itself indicate triple metre; for example, a time signature of ⁶
₈ usually indicates compound duple metre, and similarly ¹²
₈ usually indicates compound quadruple metre.

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Shown below are a simple and a compound triple drum pattern.

In popular music, the metre is most often quadruple,^[1] but this does not mean that triple metre does not appear. It features in a good amount of music by artists such as The Chipmunks, Louis Armstrong or Bob Dylan.^[2]

In jazz, this and other more adventurous metres have become more common since Dave Brubeck's album Time Out.^[3][4][5] One noteworthy example of a jazz classic that employs triple metre is John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things".^[6]

Triple time is common in formal dance styles, for example the sarabande, the minuet, the mazurka, the waltz and others.

Triple metre is rare in national anthems – the national anthems of Austria, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Greece, and the United States being notable exceptions.