Kaii Lee had combined several piano/keyboard method books and her life long music learning books to create this sequential music theory study for this website. This page is about the understanding of music notations and the Time Signatures. By clicking on the other colored links at the bottom of this page, the other music theory topics can be found easily.
For more information, please contact Kaii directly: info@kafm.net
Basics | Frequently used Music Notations | Simple Meters | Compound Meters | Unusual Meters | Other Music Theory Topics
Before any books could be written, there would be paragraphs, sentences, words, syllables, etc. Music works the same way with the understanding of the basic music notations first. The following chart has a collection of many different types of notes (sounds) and rests (silence).
The following chart shows the most frequently used music notation.
The Time Signature, or Meter, of any musical composition can be found at the beginning of the song, next to the "Key Signature", before the very first note, or rest, of the song. It can be changed to other Time Signatures in the middle of the song to fit the music. Usually, there are two numbers in a Time Signature: the top number indicates how many beats are there in a measure, while the bottom number shows what type of note receives a beat, such as
4 = quarter note, 2 = half note, 8 = eighth note, and 16 = sixteenth note.
The first example here shows "4" beats in each measure and each quarter note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "four quarter notes per measure." The 4 4 Time Signature is the most commonly used Time Signature; therefore, it is represented by a simple letter "C" to show four quarter notes per measure as well in many songs in the world.
Take another look at the 4 4 Time Signature here. The little gray notes show the beats of each quarter note and quarter rest.
This example shows "2" beats in each measure and each quarter note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is
"two quarter notes per measure." The little gray notes show the basic beats of the quarter notes.
Two eighth notes can each have its own "Flag" or be linked together with a "Beam." Together,
they equal to the value of one quarter note. Check the following examples. Click here to see all note/rest values.
The following example shows quarter notes, eighth note, eighth rests, and the "Repeat Sign."
This example shows "3" beats in each measure and each quarter note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is
"three quarter notes per measure." The little gray notes show the basic beats of the quarter notes quarter rests.
The following example shows the musical "Tie." A curved line under or above two notes with the same pitch is called a "Tie." It combines the value of the two same-pitched notes into a longer valued note. Here the sample shows 2 + 1 = 3 (beats) as the result of the Tie.
A dot on the right side of a note or rest is to make that note or rest 50% of its value longer. For example, when a half note is equal to two beats, with a dot on the right side of that half note, it becomes a "Dotted Half Note" and its value becomes 3 beats, because 50% of the value of a half note is one beat.
Look at another example of Dotted Half Note here.
Based on the idea that a dot on the right side of a note or rest is to make that note or rest 50% of its value longer, when a Quarter Note is equal to one beat, with a dot on the right side of that quarter note, it becomes a "Dotted Quarter Note" and its value becomes one and one-half beats, because 50% of the value of a quarter note is one-half of beat. See the sample below for both dotted quarter note and dotted quarter rest.
The little gray notes show the basic beats of the quarter notes.
More simple meters...An example here shows "2" beats in each measure and each half note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "two half notes per measure." The 2 2 Time Signature is simply cutting every notation value in half, such as half note/rest receive only one beat; therefore, it is called "Cut Time." It is represented by a vertical line through the letter "C" to show two half notes per measure. Usually, the "Cut Time" Time Signature is used for faster music. The little gray notes show the basic beats of the half notes.
Another example here shows "3" beats in each measure and each half note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "three half notes per measure." The little gray notes show the basic beats of the half notes.
One more example here shows "4" beats in each measure and each half note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "four half notes per measure." The little gray notes show the basic beats of the half notes.
The variations of Time Signatures can be found in many songs. Instead of simply divide a quarter note into two eighth notes, an eighth note can be considered as one beat; therefore, a dotted quarter note can be divided into three eighth notes to create a more interesting rhythm, called Compound Rhythm.
The following example shows "3" beats in each measure and each eighth note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is "three eighth notes per measure." It can be counted as "1-2-3", or "1-and-a" for easier counting purpose. It is also called a "Compound Single Meter." A quarter note receives two counts and a dotted quarter note receives three counts here. The little gray notes show the basic beats of the eighth notes.
The Sixteenth Notes are the sub-divisions of the eighth notes. Each individual sixteenth note has two "Flags." They came be grouped together by two or more notes with two beams.
This example shows "6" beats in each measure and each eighth note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is "six eighth notes per measure." It can be counted as "1-2-3, 4-5-6", or "1-and-a, 2-and-a" for easier counting purpose. It is also called a "Compound Duple Meter." Two sixteenth notes together receive one beat in this example. The little gray notes show the basic beats of the eighth notes.
This example shows "9" beats in each measure and each eighth note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is "nine eighth notes per measure." It can be counted as "1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9", or "1-and-a, 2-and-a, 3-and-a" for easier counting purpose. It is also called a "Compound Triple Meter." The dotted quarter note/rest receives three beats in this example. The little gray notes show the basic beats of the eighth notes.
This example shows "12" beats in each measure and each eighth note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature is "twelve eighth notes per measure." It can be counted as "1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, 10-11-12", or "1-and-a, 2-and-a, 3-and-a, 4-and-a" for easier counting purpose. It is also called a "Compound Quadruple Meter." The dotted half note receives six beats here. The little gray notes show the basic beats of the eighth notes.
There are some "new" Time Signatures used more since late 19th century. The bottom number still refers to what type of note receives one beat. However, the top number had moved from one to more numbers to show the stress of each measure. See the following samples.
Here is another sample of the same 5 4 Time Signature with syncopations.
The following example shows "7" beats in each measure and each quarter note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "seven quarter notes per measure." The most frequently used of 7 4 Time Signature would be divided into "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3" or "1-2-3, 1-2-3-4" for the stress in the sub-groups. There are songs written in "1-2-3, 1, 1-2-3" for the sake of different stresses.
The little gray notes show the basic beats of the quarter notes.
This type of Time Signature can be found in Bela Bartok's "Mikrokosmos", Bulgarian Dances. It shows "7" beats in each measure and each eighth note receives one beat. The simplified version to describe this Time Signature would be "seven eighth notes per measure." The stresses are placed on beats 1, 3, and 5. It made the music sounded like 6 8 Time Signature with an extra beat at the end of each measure.
There are many other usual and unusual Time Signature being used in different types of music throughout the history of music. This Time Signature page is a good way to explore different ways how each composer writes their unique music for the world.
The next topic in this Music Theory site is all about "Key Signature." Thank you for reading!
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For more information, please contact Ms. Lee at: info@kafm.net
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