Time signatures explained

A time signature tells you how many beats are in each bar and which note gets the beat. Here is how to read one, and how to practise a new one until you stop counting.

Reading the two numbers

  • Top number: how many beats are in each bar
  • Bottom number: which note value counts as one beat

A 4 on the bottom means a quarter note, 8 means an eighth note and 2 means a half note. So 4/4 is four quarter-note beats per bar, 3/8 is three eighth notes per bar, and 2/2 (cut time) is two half-note beats per bar.

Simple and compound time

In simple time each beat splits into two, so you count "1 and 2 and". In compound time each beat splits into three, so you count "1 la li 2 la li". A bar of 6/8 has six eighth notes, but at any normal tempo you feel two beats, each split into three.

Simple time

Each beat splits into two equal halves.

  • 4/4: four beats
  • 3/4: three beats (waltz)
  • 2/4: two beats (march)

Compound time

Each beat splits into three equal parts.

  • 6/8: two beats (jig)
  • 9/8: three beats
  • 12/8: four beats (slow blues)

Common time signatures

  • 4/4, common time. Four quarter-note beats per bar, with the backbeat on 2 and 4 in most popular styles. Written as a C on some scores. Examples: most pop, rock, hip-hop and dance music.
  • 3/4, waltz time. Three quarter-note beats with the weight on beat one. Count "ONE two three" and keep beats two and three light. Examples: 'The Blue Danube', 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel.
  • 6/8, compound duple. Two beats, each split into three eighth notes. Count "ONE two three FOUR five six" and tap your foot on 1 and 4. Examples: Irish jigs, 'House of the Rising Sun' by The Animals, 'We Are the Champions' by Queen.
  • 12/8, compound quadruple. Four beats, each split into three. This is the shuffle feel of slow blues: four foot taps with three notes inside each one. Examples: slow blues, gospel, 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by Tears for Fears.

Odd time signatures

An odd meter has a beat count that won't split into equal groups, so you build each bar from twos and threes. Learn the grouping first. Once you know that 7/8 is 2+2+3, you can count it as three beats with a long last one instead of seven separate clicks.

  • 5/4. Groupings: 3+2 or 2+3. 'Take Five' by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Mission: Impossible theme.
  • 7/8. Groupings: 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2. Balkan dances such as the Bulgarian ruchenitsa (2+2+3).
  • 7/4. Groupings: 4+3 or 3+4, felt in quarter notes. 'Money' by Pink Floyd, 'Solsbury Hill' by Peter Gabriel.
  • 9/8. Groupings: 2+2+2+3 (3+3+3 is ordinary compound triple). Turkish and Greek aksak dances, 'Blue Rondo à la Turk' by Dave Brubeck.

From counting to feeling

Counting gets you through the first few days with a new meter. After that, the count gets in the way. Work through both stages with a metronome, and move to the second stage once you can count for two minutes without losing your place.

Stage 1: count

  • Count every beat out loud at a slow tempo, around 70 BPM.
  • Say the grouping, for example "1 2 1 2 1 2 3" for 7/8.
  • Say the first number of each group louder than the rest.

Stage 2: feel

  • Say only "1" at the start of each bar and keep the rest silent.
  • Tap your foot on the start of each group while you play.
  • Set the click to sound on beat one only, then try a few bars with no click at all.