Metre and Time Signatures

What does time signature indicate?

a pattern of beats

What does the top figure of time signature represent?

the top figure represents how many beats there are in a bar

what does the bottom figure of time signature represent?

the bottom figure tells you what type of beats or notes there are in a bar

what are simple time signatures based on?

crotchet and minim beats

what are each beat divided into on single time signatures?

each beat is divided into 2

what are each beat divided into on compound time signatures?

each beat is divided into 3

why is ¾ a simple time signature

if it’s a simple time signature, then each note in the time signature can be divided into 2 equal parts

• example: the notes of ¾ time signature are 3 crotchet beats right?

• each crotchet beat can be divided into 2 quavers, or 2 equal parts

• this means that ¾ is a simple time signature

*remember that the rules apply to the set notes of the time signature, not the music written to that particular time signature

why is 2/4 a simple time signature?

if it’s a simple time signature, then each note in the time signature can be divided into 2 equal parts

• 2/4 is essentially 2 crochet beats right?

• the 2 crochet beats can each be divided into 2 quavers

• so 2/4 is a simple time signature

why is 6/8 a compound time signature?

if it’s a compound time signature, then each note in the time signature can be divided into 3 equal parts

• example: the notes of 6/8 are 6 quaver beats right?

• the six quavers are grouped together in 3 to form 2 dotted crochets

how would you divide the notes in 3/8 time signature? Would it be simple or compound time signature as a result?

• 3/8 = 3 quaver beats

• 1 quaver is divided into 2 semiquavers

• so 3/8 would be divided into of 6 semiquavers

• so 3/8 would be a simple time signature because each quaver is divided into 2 equal parts

Why is 9/8 a compound time signature?

if it’s a compound time signature, then each note in the time signature can be divided into 3 equal parts

• example: the notes of 9/8 are 9 quaver beats right?

• the 9 quavers are grouped together in 3 to form 3 dotted crochet beats

why are they called simple time signatures?

because there’s only one way to describe them

what are compound time signatures based on

dotted notes

what are 5 simple time signatures?

• 2/4

• ¾

• 4/4

• 3/8

• 2/2

describe 2/4

2 crochet beats in a bar

describe 3/4

3 crotchet beats in a bar

describe 4/4

4 crotchet beats in a bar

describe 3/8

3 quaver beats in a bar

describe 2/2

2 minim beats in a bar

what are 6 compound time signatures?

• 6/8

• 5/8

• 7/8

• 8/8

• 9/4

• 12/16

describe 6/8

6 quavers in a bar so 2 dotted crotchet beats in a bar

what is an irregular time signature?

a time signature that doesn’t fit into duple, triple, quadruple. This means the beats in each measure are unevenly grouped

what are 3 examples of irregular time signatures?

• 5/8

• 7/8

• 8/8

how do you work out irregular time signatures?

the top number is never 2,3,4,6,9 or 12,

describe 5/8 and the different ways it can grouped

there are 5 quavers in a bar and can be grouped:

2 - 3

3 - 2

2 - 2 - 1 (2 represents 2 quavers joined by bars)

describe 7/8 and the different ways it can grouped

there are 7 quavers in a bar

2-2-3

3-2-2

2-3-2

describe 8/8 and the different ways it can grouped

there are 8 quavers in a bar

2-3-3

3-3-2

3-2-3

if the top number is the number of beats in a time signature then why does 6/8 have 2 beats in a bar?

• The top number (6) tells us there are six eighth notes in a measure.

• Because 6/8 is compound, the eighth notes are grouped into 2 sets of 3.

• The felt pulse is on the dotted quarter note, meaning we hear 2 beats per measure (not 6).

  the top number 6 is the written beat, but there are 2 felt beats in 6/8 which is the true amount of beats

what is a duple time signature?

a duple time signature is when there are 2 beats in a bar

what is a triple time signature?

a triple time signature is when there are 3 beats in a bar

what is a quadruple time signature

a quadruple time signature is when there are 4 beats in a bar

what is a single duple time signature?

it means that there are 2 beats (duple) in every bar and each beat can be divided into two (simple).

what are 3 examples of single duple time signatures?

• 2/2 (2 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 crotchets per minim)

• 2/4 (2 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 quavers per crotchet)

• 2/8 (2 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 semiquavers per quaver)

what is a simple triple time signature?

In simple triple time there are 3 beats (triple) in every bar and each beat can be divided into two (simple).

what are 3 examples for simple triple time signature?

• 3/2 ( 3 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 crotchets per minim)

• ¾ ( 3 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 quavers per crotchet)

• 3/8 (3 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 semiquavers per quaver)

what is simple quadruple time signature?

In simple quadruple time there are 4 beats (quadruple) in every bar and each beat can be divided into two (simple).

what are 3 examples for simple quadruple time signature?

• 4/2 ( 4 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 crotchets per minim)

• 4/4 ( 4 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 quavers per crotchet)

• 4/8 (4 beats in a bar, grouped in 2 for 2 semiquavers per quaver)

what is compound duple time signature?

Compound duple meter means that there are 2 beats in a bar (duple) and these can be divided into threes (compound).

how do you know that it’s a compound duple time signature?

always has a 6 as the top number

what are 2 examples for compound duple time signature?

• 6/4 (2 dotted minim beats in a bar, grouped in 3 as 3 crochets per dotted minim)

• 6/8 (2 dotted crotchet beats in a bar, grouped in 3 as 3 quavers per dotted crochet)

what is compound triple time signature?

Compound triple meter means that there are 3 beats in a bar (triple) and these can be divided into threes (compound).

how do you know that it’s a compound triple time signature?

Compound triple time always has the number 9 at the top of the time signature.

what is 1 example of compound triple time signature?

• 9/8 (has 3 beats in a bar, grouped in 3 as there’s 3 quavers per dotted crochet)

what is a compound quadruple time signature?

Compound quadruple meter means that there are 4 beats in a bar (triple) and these can be divided into threes (compound).

how do you know that it’s a compound quadruple time signature?

always has 12 as its top number

what is an example of compound quadruple time signature?

• 12/8 ( has 4 beats in a bar, grouped in 3 with 3 quavers per dotted crotchet)

bottom number 4 is?

crochet

bottom number 2 is?

minim

bottom number 8 is?

quaver

bottom number 16 is?

semiquaver