Musicality World

The time signature of a piece of music is one of the key clues that can help you understand the rhythm and structure of the piece.

It tells you how the music is to be counted, what beats are emphasized, and most importantly, what the “feel” of the music is likely to sound like.

In fact, with enough practice, it’s possible to tell the time signature of a piece simply by listening to it – no sheet music necessary!

In this introduction to time signatures, we’ll teach you exactly what those fraction-like numbers mean, what kinds of music use what time signatures, and the simple time signature that almost all of your favourite rock and pop jams use.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be acquainted with simple and compound time signatures, hear some famous tunes that illustrate each one, and learn to distinguish 2/2, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8!

Table of Contents

1. What is a time signature?
2. Simple Time Signatures
3. Compound Time Signatures
4. Complex Time Signatures
5. Hearing Time Signatures
6. Getting in Time

What is a Time Signature?

The time signature of a piece of music is that fraction-like pair of numbers found at the beginning of a piece of sheet music:

Numbers are usually there to measure things, so just what are these numbers measuring?

About Those Numbers

Most music throughout the world is organized in regular rhythmic patterns of strong and weak beats. Beats are grouped into bars, also called measures. Though there are exceptions, namely free rhythm, we will be discussing more structured music in this article.

The time signature is there to ensure that bar-to-bar, the overall beat of the music stays constant. It contains two numbers, which tell you how to count the music, and indicate how the bars will be organized:

• The top number indicates how many beats will be present in a bar
• The bottom number indicates what kind of note is considered one beat

While time signatures come in all sorts of different flavours, some weirder than others (13/16 time, anyone?) the vast majority of music will have a time signature with a top number between 2 and 12, and a bottom number that corresponds to a note value – that is, 2, 4, 8, or 16 (32 and 64 also exist but they’re extremely rare!)

In 4/4 time, therefore, that top number is telling us that each bar will have four beats, while the bottom number indicates that the quarter note gets one beat. Similarly, 2/4 time tells you that the quarter note again receives one beat, but each bar will only have two beats.

Time Signature and Meter

By setting the number of beats in a bar and the note value assigned to one beat, the time signature ensures that there is bar-to-bar consistency in the music where rhythm is concerned – it helps ensure that there is an underlying structure, called meter.

Meter is defined as the structure of beats – more specifically, the fact that some beats are naturally more strong, or “stressed”, than others. The meter engages the ear through consistency, and is what gives music its “feel”. In an overwhelming majority of simple time signatures, beat 1 is the strongest beat in the bar, meaning you can often hear when a new bar starts by listening for an emphasized note.

The easiest example of this is a clock – we hear it as tick-tock, not tick-tick. This is, in fact, an example of duple meter, which means there is a primary division of two beats to a bar. The first beat of every bar is stressed, resulting in the “tick” being stressed as well.

Depending on the time signature, different beats will be stronger and weaker than others. We will look at concrete examples in just a minute, but keep this concept in mind as we introduce you to new time signatures.

Simple Time Signatures

Some good news: the majority of pop, rock, country, and folk music uses simple time signatures. These are the most straightforward to figure out and to play.

In simple time, the top number will always be 2, 3, or 4 – this ensures that there is only one “group” of beats per bar, distinguishing it from compound time signatures (more on these later).

4/4 Time

We’ll start with the popular kid in school – 4/4 time, being so ubiquitous that it’s commonly referred to by its alternate name – common time. It can appear on sheet music in one of two ways:

With four beats to a bar and a quarter note taking on the value of one beat, 4/4 is a time signature that is agreeable to the ear and fits perfectly with the structure of most rock and pop songs.

So what makes a song “sound” like it’s in 4/4? It’s the pattern of emphasized beats, which is as follows:

As we said before, beat 1 is the strongest beat in the majority of simple time signatures, and 4/4 is no exception. Beats 2 and 4 are the weak beats in the bar, with beat 3 being a little bit more emphasized.

This lends itself well to the classic rock drum beat, or the kick-hihat-snare-hihat pattern. The kick falls on the strongest beat, the hihats occupy weak beats 2 and 4, and the snare takes beat 3. You can hear this here:

Try counting or clapping along with the song; chances are, it will sound like clap-clap-clap-clap clap-clap-clap-clap, or one-two-three-four one-two-three-four.

3/4 Time

The quarter note still gets one beat, but we now have three beats to a bar.

What does this mean, considering the first beat of every bar gets the strongest emphasis?

As you can hear, the resulting accent pattern in each bar is one-two-three. This lends a lulling, waltz-like quality to the beat. It then makes sense that waltzes themselves use this time signature, with the beat pattern corresponding to the dancers’ foot movements.

Try clapping along with the following:

2/2 Time

In 2/2 time, the half note gets one beat, and there are two beats to a bar. The first beat gets the emphasis, and the second beat is the weaker one:

The resulting accent pattern of one-two is reminiscent of a ticking clock, or a march. This time signature is also referred to as cut time.

Sure enough, the accent pattern means that marches are often written in this time signature. Try clapping along to the following:

Compound Time Signatures

Though they may appear complicated to the ear and on paper, compound time signatures are just multiple simple time signatures squished into one. Examples are 6/8, 12/8, and 9/8.

The rules remain the same – the top number tells you how many beats exist in a bar, and the bottom number indicates the note value that represents one beat.

If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that a complication arises.

We know that in 3/4, for example, the beat pattern is strong-weak-weak. However, if we have a compound time signature of 6/8, how do we assign emphasis to the beats in a way that each bar still has structure and discernible rhythm?

6/8 Time

The answer is to think of 6/8 time as two groups of 3/8:

You may notice that your clapping or counting pattern follows a pattern of one-two-three-four-five-six, with beat 1 being the strongest, and beat 4 also getting some emphasis to signal the beginning of the second half of the bar.

When it starts moving along, it’s easier – and more common – to count 6/8 in two – one–two-three-two-two-three.

Try clapping along with Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”:

You can really hear the two-beat split within each bar – it’s emphasized by the guitar strum pattern, with a chord change signaling the end of each 6/8 bar.

9/8 Time

With 9 beats and the eighth note receiving “one beat”, we could count this time signature as one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine, but that would quickly get unwieldy and confusing.

Similarly to 6/8 time, the solution is to break down this compound time signature into three groups of three eighth notes. This allows you to employ the easy one-two-three-one-two-three-one-two-three counting method, with the option to count one-two-three-two-two-three-three-two-three in order to keep track of the bars:

Try counting or clapping along with this track:

12/8 Time

This consists of twelve beats, separated into four groups of three eighth notes each. You can therefore count it as one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve.

Although we doubt you’d want to, considering the count of one-two-three-two-two-three-three-two-three-four-two-three works just as well, and is a bit easier to wrangle!

You can think of this as 4/4 time with a triplet feel, owing to the four “strong” beats, each of which are followed by two weak beats, with a subdivision of one-two-three, just like in 3/4 time.

This time signature is common in Southern gospel-influenced music, such as Aretha Franklin’s “Surely God Is Able”:

Complex Time Signatures

So what do all of the above time signatures, whether simple or compound, have in common?

They are comprised of one or more identical groups of a certain note value. 4/4 has one group of four quarter notes. 9/8 has three groups of three eighth notes. 12/8 has four groups of three quarter notes.

So, what happens when you have a time signature with uneven beat groupings, such as 5/4 or 7/4? These are called complex time signatures, and require a little bit more thought when being counted.

You may, when songwriting, even accidentally write a riff that is in a complex time signature and not realize it’s odd meter until you count it through! Eve Alpert of Philadelphia indie rock band Palm shares a fresh take on songwriting and conveying emotions in odd meter.

We won’t go very deep into these complex time signatures as we will be focussing on simple and compound time in the exercises below, but just to give you an idea…

7/4 Time

Try clapping along with Pink Floyd’s “Money”, using the melody of the bassline to count beats:

You’ll notice that you clap seven times over the course of one iteration of the bassline – the song is in 7/4 time!

This makes counting this time signature in groups quite tricky, as the stress pattern isn’t so simple. Depending on the song, it may make sense to count 7/4 as 4/4 + 3/4, or as 2/4 + 2/4 + 3/4.

5/4 Time

Now, try counting along with Radiohead’s “15 Step”, beginning on the kick-drum like beat:

This time, you’re counting to five between the heavily-accented beat. In this instance, there’s only one beat every bar that’s heavily accented, and it’s that first one.

Therefore, this song can be counted as one-two-three-four-five.

Hearing Time Signatures

Now that you’re familiar with the most common instances of simple and compound time signatures, let’s try determining the time signatures of some popular songs. If you want more description of the character of each time signature, check out Music Radar’s guide.

Here’s are some tips to help you along:

1. The first beat in every bar is usually accented
2. The first beat in every bar division is usually accented

Remember: clapping along and counting are your best friends! Live Ukulele’s guide includes great tips on knowing where to start and how to count. Pay attention to where the emphasis falls, count the beats, and you’ll be fine.

The answers are below each song, but listen carefully to the song and make your best guess before checking them!

Beat one of every bar is heavily stressed in this song, with beat four also getting some emphasis, though not nearly as much. Count one-two-three-four-five-six, with one falling on the heavily emphasized first note of every bar, and note how this gives the song a different feel than the waltz-like 3/4 time signature.

Getting in Time

Sometimes, you may come across a piece of music in a truly indiscernible time signature, though it does happen:

If you’re curious, the Terminator theme is in 13/16 time. The beat comes in stronger around [2:13], for those of you who care to count along (good luck!).

This kind of intensely complex time signature, however, is far from a common occurrence. To reiterate the good news: most popular songs you come across and want to play on your instrument will be in simple time signatures.

More good news: learning to discern time signatures is fun! You get to listen to and engage with your favourite music, finding patterns and improving your sense of rhythm all at once. 

Understanding time signatures has benefits that stretch beyond theory and into your performance – training your ear to recognize time signatures will help you to play by ear, achieve a certain “feel” with your songwriting, perform expressively, and more.

The post Introduction to Time Signatures appeared first on Musical U.

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This week at Musical U, we tackle three distinct topics of musicality: songwriting, performance, and planning your musical learning journey.

We discuss a songwriting device that you’ll instantly recognize – and why it’s crossed the line between tried-and-true and clichéd. We interview a guitar guru on everything from improv and songwriting to musical mindset and overcoming learning roadblocks. We examine the difference between practice and performance, and a surprising truth about playing in front of others. And lastly, we look at self-directed learning, its pitfalls, and the secret to avoiding them.

A Musical Platitude

Sometimes, songs don’t just write themselves – a creative plateau is hit, and you’re unsure where the song is supposed to go next.

For many songwriters, the answer is to change keys. We’ve all heard it – there’s one minute left of a song, and suddenly, the song modulates into a new key, “raising the stakes” and capturing your ear’s attention.

However, this trick has been used so much that it’s no longer exciting or creative – rather, it sounds cheesy, almost Disney-like.

We explore this phenomenon in The Truck Driver’s Gear Shift, where we look at some famous tunes that have used this tactic to great (and not-so-great) effect, and share the secret of avoiding this songwriting trap.

The truck driver’s gear shift is often used when a songwriter feels that they need to change up the song to add interest. Any songwriter knows that they will have an occasional bout of writing block, but how can you overcome this? Jennifer Foxx at Music Educator Resources shares how to use pictures and story telling to aid music composition.

Much like the sudden surprise of a key change, there is a particular kind of chord that can have a big impact on your song. Jake from Signals Music Studio shows us the various ways that you can use the “God Chord” for a truly epic change in your song.

At Musical U, many of our members and followers want to become better at writing songs. Despite how easy some of our musical heros make it look, songwriting is a skill that must be worked at. Revolution Harmony has a songwriting mini-course to get those creative juices flowing.

While this article offers one perspective on the truck driver’s gear shift’s overuse, using key changes is a great way to shift the song you are writing in a completely different direction. And like all things, this is something that you can learn to do well! Kevin from Songwriting Planet explains more about composing with key changes.

Advice from the Guru

The Musicality Podcast’s interview episodes are so that you can hear words of musical wisdom directly from the experts.

This week, we interviewed Dave Isaacs, a man known as the “Guitar Guru of Nashville” – and make no mistake, his experience and accomplishments make that title very well-earned. His exploratory approach to songwriting, teaching, and music in general beautifully reflects the wisdom he’s gained from over thirty years of teaching, playing, and thinking in-depth about music.

Tune your ears into Follow Your Ear, with Dave Isaacs for the wisdom you’ve been seeking on topics such as diving into improvisation, improving your songwriting, and how to recover from the dreaded learning “plateau”.

Dave shared a story of how he struggled with making it to the next step in his musical growth. So many musicians have experienced similar plateaus in their musical progression! Nicola from Singers Secret has some great advice for taking your playing to the next level.

It was fascinating to hear that Dave was able to apply so much of what he learned as a classical guitar player to his career in Nashville. Learning to play classically can make a big difference in your ability to play in other styles of music. Classical Guitar takes a look at how you can play musically on the classical guitar.

After years of preparation, are you ready to follow in Dave’s footsteps and land on Music Row in Nashville? Before packing up the gig bag, take a moment to read these tips from Twin Monarch to make the most of the trek.

Practice or Performance?

Performing, and we mean really performing, is hard. The self-assurance that you’ve so carefully cultivated during your practice sessions seems to fly out the window, you begin overthinking every move, and your mistakes (whether you’ve even made them yet or not!) come into full focus. And so, many performers tragically fall into the trap of practicing on stage, or scrutinizing themselves when they should be just… playing.

There’s a villain at play, and here’s a hint: it’s not your audience members.

In Are you practicing on stage – instead of playing?, we look at how to wrestle with this villain – and win.

Of all the great experiences in music, there is nothing quite like the energy and excitement of playing live. Stormer Music explains how performing live can help you grow musically.

You’ve done it! The venue is booked, the set list carefully written out. All you have to do now is go play that concert. As we’ve discovered in this article, there is much more to performing live than just showing up and playing. Mella Music has 7 tips to help you make the biggest splash at your next big gig.

No matter how much you prepare, not everyone who shows up to your concert will enjoy your performance. It’s just inevitable. But criticism isn’t always a bad thing… it may inspire you to work just a bit harder the next time! Ari Koinuma shares these tips for receiving criticism and using it as a learning opportunity.

Learning with Roadmaps

There are countless perks to self-directed learning. With no rigid music curriculum looming over you, you are free to focus on learning what interests you, at a speed that suits you, and in a manner that matches your learning style.

However, with the seemingly infinite supply of music education resources found on the web and beyond, how do you ensure that your learning is focussed, goal-oriented, and produces actual results?

The Holy Grail for the self-taught musician is the almighty Roadmap. In About Having a Roadmap, we explain this flexible training system, how we at Musical U use it to great effect, and why it produces the results that “one size fits all” courses and scattershot learning never will.

The roadmap is such a useful tool when learning music. Having everything laid out right in front of you can help you concentrate on one task at a time – but make sure that you are keeping track of your progress and tasks with a practice calendar and journal. Piano Cub explains more about how to use this is simple yet powerful tool.

Even with a rock solid roadmap that is booked in your calendar, approaching practice with the right mindset and method can make a really big difference. As Liberty Park Music explains, revisiting the fundamentals of practicing is a great way to continue to improve, even for the experienced musician.

Like constructive criticism, a little tough love can be really good for your musical progression. In this episode of the The Modern Musician Podcast, Ben and Dan discuss why it’s not enough to be motivated to learn music. It requires hard work and a roadmap on how you are going to achieve your musical goals!

Making Your Time Count

Regardless of whether you’re trying to write an impactful song, learn to play a challenging piece, or gain the confidence you need to perform freely and expressively, you want the time that you’re devoting to your craft to be well-spent.

This means taking a long, honest look at your practice habits. Or your songwriting approach. Or your long-term goals. And figuring out how to use your time in a smarter way – so that every minute spent practicing is a minute that you are engaged, learning, and working towards a goal.

How do you use roadmaps (or a similar tool) to keep your learning structured, relevant, and motivated?

The post A Musical Platitude, Advice from the Guru, Practice or Performance?, and Learning with Roadmaps appeared first on Musical U.

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