Rhythm & Meter
Time Signatures Explained: Simple, Compound and Beyond
A time signature gives beats per bar and the note value that counts as one beat. Simple meters split each beat in two, compound meters split it in three.
Simple meter
A meter in which each beat divides into two equal parts, as in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.
Also called: simple time, simple time signature
In simple meter each beat divides into two equal parts. The bottom number of the time signature names the note that receives one beat, and that note splits into halves. In 4/4 a bar holds four quarter-note beats, and each quarter divides into two eighths, so a bar holds eight eighth notes. In 3/4 a bar holds three quarter beats, and in 2/4 it holds two. The test is the subdivision. A quarter note in simple meter becomes two eighths. In 6/8, by contrast, the beat is a dotted quarter that becomes three eighths. That arrangement is compound meter, and it gives the same number of eighth notes a different feel.
Related terms
- MeterThe repeating pattern of strong and weak beats that groups the pulse into bars, shown by a time signature such as 3/4.
- Compound meterA meter in which each beat divides into three equal parts, as in 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8.
- SubdivisionDividing a beat into smaller equal parts, such as two eighth notes or four sixteenths, so the rhythm can be counted exactly.
- BeatOne unit of the steady pulse that runs under a piece, the level at which listeners tap a foot or count.