Reading music · Rhythm
Time signatures
The two numbers at the start of a piece. The top one is how many beats are in each bar; the bottom one is which note gets one beat. Press play on any of them to hear it counted, in time.
3 beats in a bar
4 = each beat is a quarter note
(2 = half note, 8 = eighth note)
Simple time
Each beat splits in two: count "1 & 2 &".
4/4 time · Common time
𝄴Four quarter-note beats in a bar. The most common time signature by far: most pop, rock, hymns and marches. Also written 𝄴, "common time". Hear it in Ode to Joy, Jingle Bells, When the Saints.
3/4 time · Waltz time
Three quarter-note beats: strong, weak, weak. The waltz, the minuet and many hymns. Hear it in Happy Birthday, Amazing Grace, Minuet in G.
2/4 time · March time
Two quarter-note beats: left, right. Marches, polkas and ragtime. Hear it in Turkish March, Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer.
2/2 time · Cut time
𝄵Two half-note beats in a bar: the same notes as 4/4, felt in two. Written 𝄵, "cut time" or alla breve. Fast marches and show tunes.
Compound time
Each beat splits in three, so the top number is 6, 9 or 12 and you feel the eighth notes in groups of three.
6/8 time · Compound duple
Six eighth notes in two groups of three: ONE two three FOUR five six. It's felt as two big, lilting beats. Hear it in Silent Night, Greensleeves, Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
3/8 time · Three eighths
Three eighth notes in a bar, often felt as one beat. Quick and light. Hear it in Für Elise.
9/8 time · Compound triple
Nine eighth notes in three groups of three: a waltz where every beat rocks in three. Hear it in Clair de Lune.
12/8 time · Compound quadruple
Twelve eighth notes in four groups of three: four big beats, each split in three. The rolling feel of slow blues and '50s ballads.
Odd time
Five or seven beats, felt in uneven groups.
5/4 time · Five
Five beats, usually grouped 3 + 2. Restless and unusual: "Mars" from Holst's The Planets is in 5/4.
7/8 time · Seven
Seven eighth notes, often grouped 2 + 2 + 3: a limping, dancing pulse common in Balkan folk music.
How to count any time signature
- Find the beat. The bottom number tells you which note is one beat. With a 4 at the bottom, count quarter notes.
- Count the bar. The top number tells you how many. In 3/4, count "1, 2, 3" and lean on the 1.
- If the top number is 6, 9 or 12, group the eighth notes in threes and feel each group as one big beat.
- Count out loud while you play, slowly, with the metronome. It feels silly, and it works.
The notes themselves (whole, half, quarter, eighth) are on note values, with a rhythm game.
Counting, but it still feels off? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a beat that drags. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What does 4/4 mean?
Four beats in each bar (the top number), and each beat is a quarter note (the bottom 4). It's also called common time.
What is 6/8 time?
Six eighth notes in each bar, grouped in two sets of three. You count 1-2-3-4-5-6, with the weight on 1 and 4, so it feels like two lilting beats.
What's the difference between 3/4 and 6/8?
Both have six eighth notes in a bar, but 3/4 groups them in three pairs (three beats: 1 & 2 & 3 &) and 6/8 in two threes (two beats: 1 2 3 4 5 6).
What is cut time?
2/2, written as a C with a line through it: two half-note beats in a bar. It has the same notes as 4/4, counted in two, so it feels faster.
What does the bottom number of a time signature mean?
Which note gets one beat: 4 is a quarter note, 2 a half note, 8 an eighth note.
What is the most common time signature?
4/4, by a long way: most pop, rock and hymns are in it. 3/4 and 6/8 come next.