Really confused on difference between 3/4 and 6/8?

i think you are just mixing up the way the terminology is used...

when we say "triple meter" it refers to the number of beats in the measure, not the divisions within those beats.

to describe divisions of 2 and 3, we use the words "simple" and "compound".

so:

3/4 is "simple triple"

beats divide into 2 = "simple"

and there are 3 of them = "triple"

6/8 is "compound duple"

beats divide into 3 = "compound"

there are 2 of them = "duple"

where you are getting mixed up with the waltz is that you were subdividing the beats when you talked about 3/4, but not when you talked about the waltz.

your "La-la, La-la, La-la" represents "1 and 2 and 3 and" (8th notes)

but your waltzes "LA la la" represented "1 2 3" (quarter notes)

you just left the "and"s out when you talked about the waltz.

you are right that half a measure of 6/8 feels like a single measure of 3/4

it is because:

- 6/8 is like two measures of 3/8 stuck together into one big measure (that s why we use the word "compound")

AND

- 3/4 and 3/8 SOUND exactly the same, they just look different on the page

You're confusing how the beat is divided with how many beats are in a bar. 3/4 is generally duple because each quarter note is generally divided into 2 parts or a variation thereof. 6/8 is triple because each strong beat is divided into three parts. It might be easier to think of it as simple and compound meter, with simple being divisions into 2 or 4 and compound being divisions into 3.

In 3/4 the beat goes to the quarter note while you count. In 6/8 the beat goes to the eight note. So when you count 3/4 you say 1 2 3, 2 2 3, 3 2 3 ect.

But when you count in 6/8 you say 1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 1.

It doesn't really change the beat or anything but it's generally just for counting

Using your la la la version and with LA being a strong beat this is the difference between 6/8 and 3/4

6/8

LA la la La la la 2 strong beats with the second one not quite as strong as the first one because the beat is a dotted quarter note.

3/4 LA la la only the first of the 3 is really strong. So two bars of 3/4 would come out as LA la la LA la la as you can see there is a difference in the way the music will sound because of the difference in the stresses.

3/4 is quarter note based- so "one and two and three and"

6/8 is eighth note based- so "one and a two and a"

6/8 has a more swingy feel to it.