by Michele AicheleCategories Music Practice Theory
At the beginning of practically any score of music you have ever looked at there are numbers and symbols that clarify how to interpret the music notation in the score. As a music learner, you’ve become familiar with these symbols and you know that the numbers tell you how to interpret the music’s rhythms, how to count and keep track of the beat, and that if you’re playing with other performers—the numbers help you stay together!
Yet, there are so many numbers and so many ways for these numbers to be written:
These are just some of the time signatures you might encounter. Notice also in the above image that there are time signatures in the form of letters instead of numbers, which adds even more possibilities and potential complications into the mix; however, these letters really just stand in for numbers with added special meanings.
All of these time signatures raise the questions: do we really need all of these different time signatures? Do they really mean different things? Why do composers and musicians prefer some time signatures over others? These time signatures really do have slightly different meanings and purposes in music, but some can sound the same to the ear. Some are quite rare and others are more common.
This article will explain the basics of reading time signatures and meters, show how the various time signatures are related to each other and can sound similar and different, and why composers might choose certain time signatures over others.
Sound in Time
Fundamental to the definition of music itself is that music must move through time—it is not static. Hence, music is sound organized through time. This organization of music through time is managed in the Western music system through time signatures.
The time signatures give us a way to notate our music so that we can play the music from scores, hear its organizational patterns, and discuss it with a common terminology known to other musicians. The organizational patterns of beats, as indicated by the time signature, is how we hear and/or feel the meter of said piece. When discussing music, the terms "time signature" and "meter" are frequently used interchangeably; but time signature refers specifically to the number and types of notes in each measure of music, while meter refers to how those notes are grouped together in the music in a repeated pattern to create a cohesive sounding composition. The methods for classifying the various time signatures into meters is discussed in detail later in this article.
Meters vs. Rhythms
Meter is the comprehensive tool we used to discuss how music moves through time. That said, there is another way that musicians also discuss how music moves through time, and that is through rhythm. Rhythms are the lengths of the notes in the music itself - which notes are long and which notes are short. Musicians learn how to play these rhythms in the context of each piece by using the time signature.
The Notation
In musical scores, we organize the music into “bars” or measures. A “barline," or measure line, is where the five horizontal lines of a staff are intersected vertically with another line, indicating a separation:
Each measure has a specific number of notes allowed to be placed in it, and that number of notes is dependent upon the time signature.
Notes
The most common notes which are used to make the short and long rhythms in the various meters are included in the chart below, beginning with the longest held notes and going to the shortest. This chart also mentions the length relationship between the note values.
As the notes in the various metric breakdowns get bigger or smaller, the equivalent relationships continue. For example, a double-whole note would last as long as eight quarter notes!
Reading the Time Signatures
The number of notes allowed in each measure is determined by the time signature. As you saw in the time signature examples above, each time signature has two numbers: a top number and a bottom number: 2/4 time, 3/4 time, 4/4 time, 3/8 time, 9/8 time, 4/2 time, 3/1 time, and so on.
The bottom number of the time signature indicates a certain kind of note used to count the beat, and the top note reveals how many beats are in each measure. If you look at the American note names from the chart above, there is a fun little trick to it:
Take the 2/4 time signature for example - with the 2 on the top of the time signature you know there are 2 beats for one measure, and this leaves you with a fraction of 1/4—a quarter, the note-length the time signature is indicating to you then is a quarter note. Therefore, you know that there are two quarter notes worth of time in every measure:
Let’s try another one. In 9/8 time, you know that in every measure there are 9 notes in a 1/8 length.
How about in 4/2 time?
In 4/2 time, each measure has 4 notes of 1/2, so we have 4 1/2 notes:
Now try 3/1 time.
In 3/1 time, so we have 3 notes of a 1/1 length, so 3 whole notes!
Common Time and Cut Time
The above steps are how you figure out the notes and beats of most time signatures, but what about the two time signatures that are letters? As a matter of fact, the two letter time signatures are actually shorthand and variations for the most common numerical time signatures, 4/4 and 2/2.
The 4/4 time signature is so common that it actually has two names and two forms, the first being 4/4, and the second being the
, literally called “Common Time.” So whenever you see the in music, you know that it is actually 4/4 time (which has how many notes of what kind of length?).
Another prevalent time signature is the 
. It looks a lot like the “Common Time” signature, except it has a slash through it. Technically, these measures have four quarter notes in them as well, but this one is called “Cut Time,” hence the C being slashed or “cut.” This “Cut Time” change to “Common Time” means it goes twice as fast, so instead of the quarter note getting the beat, the half note gets the beat! The is like 2/2, just written different and used for faster tempos than 2/2.
Below is an example from the opening of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” This excerpt is in marked in Common Time with a big C, which means 4/4. If you count the notes in the measures, you will see that there are four quarter-notes worth of time per measure.
This example is particularly relevant to our discussion of Common and Cut time, because as this piece continues, it gradually increases in speed, moving from sounding like a 4/4 to 2/2. And this is actually what happens! By the end of the piece, the conductor directs the orchestra in Cut Time rather than Common Time. Listen to this performance to hear the beats get faster and see if you can hear when the orchestra switches into Cut Time!
Meter Classifications
We've talking about the basics of reading and deciphering time signatures - now we get to learn how those time signatures can be understood as meters.
There are two levels of classifying meters. The first level of classification focuses on how the beat indicated by the time signature is subdivided.
There are only two ways for the beat to be regularly subdivided in Western music, and that is into two or into three smaller notes. Refer to the note value charts above. All other subdivisions are either multiples of these two subdivisions, or some complex form of adding them together. For ease of notation and classifying the subdivisions as meters then, we have: Simple Time, Compound Time, and Irregular Time.
Simple Time
Simple time is any meter whose basic note division is in groups of two. Examples of these meters include: Common Time, Cut Time, 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 2/2, 2/1, and so on. These meters are simple time because the quarter note divides equally into two eighth notes, the half-note divides equally into two quarter notes, or the whole note divides equally into two half notes. You can see these divisions if you refer back to the above note length chart.
Compound Time
Slightly more complicated is compound time, which is any meter whose basic note division is into groups of three. You automatically know you are not in simple time if there is an 8 as the bottom number of your time signature. An 8 to mark simple time would be pointless, as will be demonstrated below in the beat hierarchies and accents section.
So, when you see an 8 as the bottom number of your time signature, you know that your eighth notes should be grouped together in groups of three instead of two! In 6/8, you have two groups of three eighth-notes, in 9/8 you have three groups of three eighth notes, and 12/8 has four groups of three eighth notes.
Technically, to get a compound time sound, composers could use a simple time signature and then mark all of the main beat subdivisions in triplets - making a duple division into a triple division - throughout an entire piece to get the same effect. However, using triplets throughout an entire piece to get a compound time sound would appear quite messy and cluttered on the page.
An example of the 12/8 against the 4/4 using triplets is in the table below. To the listener, these examples sound exactly the same, and in practice there is the added risk of confusing performers unused to switching between time signatures.
Even though it's more common to see a simple time signature with the duple divisions in Western music for music of the past five or six centuries, it was actually compound time which developed and was notated first! Because Western music notation developed alongside church music, much of the underlying theory surrounding music had a theological basis. For meter, the most common subdivision was in compound or triple divisions to relate musical time being three in one, similar to the Christian Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Irregular Time
The final option for beat subdivision is an irregular or unequal subdivision of the beat.
Even though these are “irregular” meters, they do have patterns that are discernable for the performer. The most common irregular meters actually mix simple time and compound time together within a single measure. Thus, in each measure, there are beats with three subdivisions and there are beats with two subdivisions. Examples include such time signatures as 5/8 and 7/8. Because there are 5 eighth notes per measure or 7 eighth notes per measure, you cannot have equal groupings of 2 or 3 eighth notes. Therefore, similarly to 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8, in which the groups of eighth-notes are beamed together to a larger count, in 5/8 and 7/8 they are also beamed together to make a larger count. However, because the number of eighth notes in 5/8 and 7/8 is odd (and prime), the count lengths in each measure are uneven—or irregular. The eighth note typically stays the same length, but because some counts have two and some counts have three eighth notes, they are irregular!
You can see the groupings of three eighth notes with two eighth notes in each measure of 5/8 above, and groups of two eighth notes against two groups of two eighth notes in each measure of 7/8. In 5/8 and 7/8 then, the first count of each measure is one eighth-note longer than the rest of the counts. Depending on where the placement of the longer beat, composers can create different accents and atmospheres.
Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840—1893) uses an irregular meter in the second movement of his Sixth Symphony. When you listen to the movement, it sounds like it should be a waltz with three beats per measure, but the “beats” of the meter are uneven, sometimes the first beat is longer, sometimes it is shorter because the subdivisions are irregular. To the listener, because it sounds like a waltz and like a dance, it feels at once familiar, but then also lopsided and distant. The irregular beat patterns are unexpected and un-danceable (at least without some serious practice and memorization!). The familiar becomes distorted, distant, potentially dangerous and frightening.
Duple, Triple, and Quadruple Classifications
The second level of classification for meters is how many beats there are in a measure. There are three which are the most common: duple (2/2, 2/4, 6/8), triple (3/4, 9/8, 3/2), and quadruple (4/4, 12/8, 4/2). A duple meter has two beats per measure, a triple meter has three beats per measure, and a quadruple meter has four beats per measure. It is rare to see any larger or smaller that are not an equivalent to one of these three.
Cut-Time is duple and simple meter because there are two beats per measure and those beats are divisible by two:
3/4 time is triple and simple meter because there are three beats per measure and each beat is divisible by two:
4/2 is quadruple and simple meter because there are four beats per measure and each beat is divisible by two:
6/8 time is duple and compound meter because there are two beats per measure and each beat is divided into three:
9/8 time is triple and compound meter because there are three beats per measure and each beat is divided into three:
5/8 time is duple and irregular meter because there are two beats per measure and each beat is divided irregularly:
Look through your scores at home: what are some of the meter classifications that you have been playing?
As you can see from the above explanations of the various time signatures and their meters, there are a lot of similarities and subtle nuances between all of these meters. For example, all of the duple and quadruple time meters are similar in that they have two and four beats per measure. This trait makes them sound very similar to the ear.
Depending on the tempo of the piece, triple and simple time pieces can sound compound and some compound pieces (i.e. 6/8) can sound like they have a simple beat subdivision but triple (i.e. the 6/8 sounding like 3/4)! What helps to distinguish a lot of these meters is the beat hierarchies and typical styles of music in which they are employed.
Beat Hierarchies
Music is sound organized through time, and the time signature tells us how to structure that music in time.
Another important piece of information within that time signature is which notes—which beats—are more important and should get accented. This accentuation of beats is known as a “beat hierarchy.” In almost all Western Classical music, the first beat of every measure is the strongest and most important beat, and should carry the most weight. In duple meters then, the second beat is weak and any subdivisions of the beat are weaker still. In quadruple meters, beat three of the measure is actually stronger than beat two, but not quite as strong as beat one, and beat four should lead into the next downbeat (beat one of the next measure). Triple time starts with a strong beat one, has a weak beat two, and then begins to build on beat three (leading to beat one again).
Understanding the beat hierarchies of the different time signatures can help you to interpret repertoire, especially those that use minimal articulation. For example, check out this 3/2 example from the Spirtuoso movement in Telemann’s Fantasia #6 for solo flute:
Because this piece is marked in 3/2 time, it should be in triple and simple time. However, there are no phrase markings and some musicians who have studied Baroque performance practices have argued for sections of this piece being in two instead of three. Switching the meter from a two to three feel is like giving the piece a 6/8 time signature and making the 6/8 eighth note equal to a 3/2 quarter note. With a 6/8 type meter, the Fantasia would be duple and compound, changing the beat hierarchy and accents from every second quarter note to every third quarter note.
Hemiola
The particular Telemann example above, when performed with a changing beat hierarchy, can be an example of a metric and rhythmic technique called hemiola. Hemiola is a two against three subdivision of beats being played against—and right next—to each other.
Syncopation
Another way to disrupt the beat hierarchy of meters in music is to use syncopation. Syncopation is the rhythmic shifting of the accented beat from the traditionally strong beats of one and three. In most cases this is done by a really short note on the downbeat which is immediately followed by an accented long note, or having a tie to an un-articulated downbeat, so that the downbeat gets completely lost. A textbook example of how syncopation can disrupt beat hierarchy can be seen in the ragtime piece “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin.
From the very first verse, the melody line bounces quickly off the sixteenth-note downbeat onto the accented eighth-note. Then, the next measure’s melody downbeat is tied over from the previous measure. Without the score or the repeated eighth-note chords in the left hand of the piano, you would not know where the downbeats were or be able to track the movement of the measures as easily!
So we have all of these meters and this is how they’re broken down, but… why?
We have all of these different meters and possibilities for subdividing meters to fit the wide variety of music we have! Essentially, different kinds of music require different Simple or Compound time signatures and duple or triple meters. When we connect the music to how it is or was supposed to be used, we find some of the answers to this.
Take a March for example: marches are meant to be, well, marched to, in strict time, and as humans we only have two legs! So out of necessity, marches have to be in a duple or quadruple time. That is why marches are (almost) always in Cut Time, 2/4, 4/4, or on occasion, 6/8. Sousa’s iconic “Stars and Stripes Forever” is in Cut Time. Even though “Stars and Stripes,” and other marches still being composed through today, are rarely still marched to, they are still written in a duple time.
Dance music is another example of music that has to be in a specific meter. Most dances throughout history have had a prescribed number of steps and the music that accompanies the dances must match. For example, waltzes have to be in triple time because they follow a pattern of three steps before repeating the cycle.
The choice of meter and note length provided in the time signature is also a possible indicator of tempo. Generally speaking, one would expect a piece notated in 4/1 to move at a slower tempo than 4/4.
Conclusion
So, that's how you read time signatures! We've investigated how they’re similar and different, how they’re used, and how they can change the music we hear. Many are interchangeable and can sound the same, but have slightly different origins or uses. Meters are how composers organize music through time and communicate that organization to the performers.
For fun, try seeing if you can “play” with any of the meters of your repertoire as if they were in a different meter and tell us about your experiments below!
Learn with LPM
If you are looking to review time signatures, check out our lesson on the Music Theory: How to Read Music course.
About the Author: Michele Aichele
Michele Aichele is a PhD candidate in Musicology from the University of Iowa, with a MA from the University of Oregon and a BAfrom Whitman College (Washington). Her interests are in therole ofwomen in composing, performing, teaching, and patronage in music. Her love of learning translates easily to her work with Liberty Park Music. Not only does she get to share her passion for great music and learn from the talented Liberty Park Music teachers, she also gets to help educate more people across the globe through Liberty Park Music’s services.
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FAQs
What is meter or time signature in music? ›
Time signatures, or meter signatures, indicate how many beats are in each measure of a piece of music, as well as which note value is counted as a beat. Time signatures are located at the beginning of the staff (a set of five lines used to dictate each note's pitch), after the clef and key signature.
Why is it important to learn about the meter and time signature of a musical piece? ›Not only to identify different meters from other pieces of music, which can help you to predict musical events, but also as a compositional tool that you can use to create surprise or introduce unexpectedness in your music, as we will see next.
How do you determine the time signature of a musical piece? ›The time signature is written at the beginning of the staff after the clef and key signature. Time signatures consist of two numbers written like a fraction. The top number of the time signature tells you how many beats to count. This could be any number.
What are the 4 types of time signatures? ›There are various types of time signatures, including: simple (such as 3/4 or 4/4), compound (e.g., 9/8 or 12/8), complex (e.g., 5/4 or 7/8), mixed (e.g., 5/8 & 3/8 or 6/8 & 3/4), additive (e.g., 3+2+3/8), fractional (e.g., 2½/4), and irrational meters (e.g., 3/10 or 5/24).
What are the four main types of meter in music? ›There are three which are the most common: duple (2/2, 2/4, 6/8), triple (3/4, 9/8, 3/2), and quadruple (4/4, 12/8, 4/2). A duple meter has two beats per measure, a triple meter has three beats per measure, and a quadruple meter has four beats per measure.
How do you identify meter in music? ›Classifying Meters
Meters can be classified by counting the number of beats from one strong beat to the next. For example, if the meter of the music feels like “strong-weak-strong-weak”, it is in duplemeter. “strong-weak-weak-strong-weak-weak” is triple meter, and “strong-weak-weak-weak” is quadruple.
Free time is a type of musical anti-meter free from musical time and time signature. It is used when a piece of music has no discernible beat. Instead, the rhythm is intuitive and free-flowing.
What is the most important element of time in music? ›Rhythm is the element of "TIME" in music. When you tap your foot to the music, you are "keeping the beat" or following the structural rhythmic pulse of the music.
What is the most important note in a piece of music? ›The tonic (also called the "keynote" or sometimes "doh") is the most important note in a piece of music. It's the note which we normally expect a song to finish on (although there are plenty of exceptions!)
What is the easiest way to identify a time signature? ›Time signatures consist of two elements: a top number and a bottom number. The top number tells us the number of beats in each measure. The bottom number in time signature tells you what note values those beats are. If the bottom number is a 4, it means the beats are quarter notes (four quarter notes in a measure).
How do you tell if a song is 3 4 or 4 4? ›
In 4/4 the strongest accent is on beat 1, and the second strongest accent is on beat 3, which puts only one beat between each accented beat. In 3/4, the accent is on beat one, which puts two beats between each accented beat. Because of this, 4/4 has a more "square" feel, while 3/4 has a more "round" feel.
What is the most commonly used time signature? ›There are a number of time signatures one can choose to use, but the majority of music (not just rock, pop, and electro) is in 4/4 time. 4/4 time is also known as “common time” because it is the most common time we use in Western music.
How do you count beats in a song? ›You'll spot the time signature in the beginning of the music – it's two numbers stacked vertically. The top number tells you how many beats there are in one measure. The bottom number tells you what kind of note is considered one beat.
What is the 3 4 rhythm pattern called? ›The 3/4 time signature means there are three quarter notes (or any combination of notes that equals three quarter notes) in every measure. As we learned in the prior lesson, because there is a 4 on the bottom, the quarter note gets the beat (or pusle). The 3/4 time signature is sometimes called waltz time.
How do you tell if a song is duple or triple meter? ›Meters with two beats in a bar are described as duple. If there are three beats in a bar, the meter is described as triple, and if there are four beats in a bar, the meter is described as quadruple.
What is the most common music meter? ›The most common form of meter in modern music is what's called “4/4” – it's so prevalent that it's also referred to as “common time”! In this pattern you have a strong first beat followed by three weaker beats.
What are the 3 kinds of meter? ›There are three primary types of meter based on how the measure is divided into beats. They are duple, triple, and quadruple. Duple divides the measure into two beats while triple divides the measure into three beats. Quadruple divides the measure into four beats.
How many beats are there in every meter? ›Simple or compound meters occur with two (duple), three (triple), or four (quadruple) beats per measure. In simple meter, the top number is always 2, 3, or 4, and the beat unit divides into two equal parts.
What does the number on the bottom of a time signature tell you? ›Albert's reply: In simple meter, the top number of a time signature tells us the number of beats in a measure, the bottom number tells us the note value, or the length of each beat.
What is the difference between 2 4 and 3 4 time signature? ›The difference - is the top number. The top number in this instance tells us that we're going to have 2 quarter beats in each measure instead of 3 like we did with the 3/4 time signature.
What are the 7 musical notes? ›
In the chromatic scale there are 12 tones including 7 natural musical notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) and 5 sharp/flat notes ( A#/Bb, C#/Db, D#/Eb, F#/Gb, and G#/Ab). They each represent a different frequency or pitch.
What are the 5 parts of a song? ›Basic song structure consists of an intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge (many times, this is all tied together in an outro, too).
What is the least used note in music? ›A-sharp minor is likely the least used minor key in music as it is not generally considered a practical key for composition. The enharmonic equivalent B-flat minor, which only contains five flats as opposed to A-sharp minor's seven sharps, is preferable to use.
What is the hardest note in music? ›The highest note on record is a G10 sung by Georgia Brown, a Brazilian dance/electric singer.
What determines what key a song is in? ›The easiest way to figure out the key of a song is by using its key signature. The number of sharps/flats in the key signature tell you the key of the song. A key signature with no sharps or flats is the key of C (or A minor). The table below summarizes the key signatures.
What meter is 3/4 time signature? ›3/4 time is classified as simple triple. “Triple” refers to the three beats per measure. “Triple” refers to the three beats per bar.
What meter is 2 4 time signature? ›So the time signature two-four indicates that the meter is 2 quarter beats per measure. This is a duple meter, which means that it's made of two recurring beats – the first beat is the strongest, the second being the weaker.
What meter is 4/4 time signature? ›Example 11 shows a rhythm in a 44 time signature, which is a simple quadruple meter. This time signature means that there are four beats per measure (the top 4) and that the quarter note gets the beat (the bottom 4). In each measure, each quarter note gets a count, expressed with Arabic numerals —”1, 2, 3, 4.”
What is the meter in a 7 4 time signature? ›7/4 time. Music using a 7/4 meter has 7 quarter notes per measure (7 crotchets per bar). These are grouped into three strong beats, two half notes and one dotted half note (two minims and one dotted minim).
How do you know if its a duple or triple meter? ›Meters with two beats in a bar are described as duple. If there are three beats in a bar, the meter is described as triple, and if there are four beats in a bar, the meter is described as quadruple.
What is a 5 4 time signature called? ›
5/4 is the most used “irregular”. 5/4 can be very attention-grabbing because it doesn't fit neatly into an easy to understand rhythm as it feels “off-kilter”. It's usually counted in a group of three quarter notes followed by a group of two, but sometimes you'll find it counted in the reverse: 2 then 3.
What is 6 8 time called? ›6/8 is what's known as a compound meter. In a compound meter, we feel the pulse of the music in larger groupings of three notes, even though we count each of those notes as a beat. This means that we feel the pulse of 6/8 in two, with three beats filling in (or subdividing) the space between the pulses.
What is 7 8 meter called? ›Seven-eight meter (7/8) is a quadruple (4/8) and a triple (3/8) meter combination. Every measure has a certain number of beats. Depending on the type of meter, some of these beats are naturally accented. If a measure in in duple meter, the first beat is strong and the second beat is weak.
How do you identify a simple meter signature? ›Any time signature in which the top number is 2, 3, or 4 represents a simple meter. Note: For simple meters, the general rule of thumb is that the top number of the time signature indicates the number of beats per measure (duple, triple, or quadruple) and the bottom number indicates the beat value.
What does 3 4 beat mean? ›The 3/4 time signature means there are three quarter notes (or any combination of notes that equals three quarter notes) in every measure. As we learned in the prior lesson, because there is a 4 on the bottom, the quarter note gets the beat (or pusle).
What are the 7 pitches in music? ›alphabet - namely A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The pitch named "A" is the lowest frequency, and the pitch named "G" is the highest.
What are the three kinds of meter in music? ›Meter can be categorized as simple, compound, or complex. These three categories can explain all rhythmic patterns in Western music. Each of the categories of meter is defined by the subdivision of beats. The number of beats per measure determine the term associated with that meter.
What does 6 8 mean in music? ›6/8 time signature has six eighth notes in each measure. It's in compound meter, with two large groups of three eighth-note beats each. Thus, it has a feel of two “big beats” with accents on beats 1 and 4, while 3/4 has a feel of three “big beats” with accents on 1, 2, and 3.
What does 5 8 time signature mean? ›5/8 and 5/4 time signatures - Full Track
For 5/8, a bar only lasts for two and a half beats (five eighth notes) often with one snare hit occurring either on the third eighth note (marking the second grouping of three in a 2+3 grouping) or the fourth eighth note (marking the second grouping of two in the grouping 3+2).
Meaning that each quarter note beat consisted of a group of three eighth notes (also called an eighth note triplet). With 4 beats and 3 sub-beats in each (4x3), you get a total of 12 sub-pulses. This is the basis of what we call 12/8.
How do you read a 12 8 time signature? ›
This comes before the music starts but after the clef and key signature. The '12' stands for 12 beats per measure and the '8' tells us that each beat is an eighth note. This means that the notes in each measure will add up to twelve eighth notes. The eighth notes are grouped into four sets of three.