Time Signatures

They may look like fractions but I promise you, they are not! There is some math involved though.... #sorrynotsorry ;)

Things we'll cover:

1. Defining the time signature

2. Where you'll find the time signature on the staff

3. Note values

4. Note "ID #"

5. Measures & Bar Lines

1) Defining the time signature

A time signature is composed of two new numbers, one at the top and one at the bottom, which lets you know how many beats you will find in each measure and what note value gets the beat.

As you may have noticed, the time signature is composed of two numbers stacked on top of one another, they almost look like a fraction (4/4). Alas, they are not a fraction as there is no actual line that separates the top number from the bottom.

Both the top and bottom numbers have a meaning to them.

• Top number: indicates the number of beats per measure

• Bottom number: what note value gets a beat

In the example above what we are reading is that there are going to be four beats per measure and that the quarter notes gets a beat (more on this to follow).

2) Where you'll find the time signature on the staff

The time signature will always be found after the key signature.

[this section was easy...]

3) Note Values

For the purpose of this particular lesson I will only talk about the three most basic notes in music which are the quarter, half and whole note.

This note to our left is our quarter note and it has a value of 1 beat. In order to get a sense of what I am talking about I will ask you to play the YouTube Video at the bottom of this section that says "60 BPM".

Do you hear the beats? Yes? Great! What I am going to ask you to do now is to count up to four and repeat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4... now you are going to clap once for every beat as you are count. So, you are going to count 1 and clap at the same time. Count 2 and clap at the same time. Count 3 and clap at the same time. Count 4 and clap at the same time. You get the picture. What you have just done is performed in 4/4 (I know, I said there's no actual line in the middle, there's only a line when I can't actually stack them up on top of each other as I type). You have played a quarter note per beat.

This next note you see on your left is what we call the half note and it has a value of two beat. In order to get that feeling of what a half note sounds like we are going to do the same exercise we did for the quarter note, using the "60 BPM" video, with a few exceptions. We are going to continue to count up to every four beats: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. This time you'll clap on 1, hold for 2. Clap on 3, hold for 4.

Last, but not least, to our left we have our whole note. This note has a value of four beats and you guessed it, we are going to try it out using the video again. This time, if you clap, make sure you clap on the first beat and hold the clap for an extra three beats (1+3=4)*. We are going to continue our counting pattern of fours and this time you are going to clap on 1, hold for 2, 3, 4. Clap on 1, hold for 2, 3, 4. This mean that after your initial clap on 1, you are not going to clap for the remainder of 2, 3, and 4. You clap again once you get back to the 1 and hold for 2, 3, 4.

And there you have it... you are on your way to becoming clapping masters!

4) Note "ID #"

Much like we are assigned an ID # at both the school and state/government level to identify who we are amongst the thousands of millions of people in one particular school or country, note values also have an ID # which just so happens to be the bottom number of a time signature. Below you will see some examples...

* This example shows a 6/8 time signature which we will not go into further discussion in this lesson but will for another. All this means is that there are six beats and an eight note gets a beat.

So what are the ID #'s for our note values we just learned in section 3?

: Also known as a quarter note, is worth 1 beat and is represented by the number 4.

: Also known as a half note, is worth 2 beats and is represented by the number 2.

: Also known as a whole note, is worth 4 beats and is represented by the number 1.

It's important to remember that the 4, 2, and 1, represent which note value gets the beat. In the example above, the bottom number 4 means that the quarter note gets the beat and as stated in the the (*) the 8 means that the eight note, which I haven't covered yet, gets the beat.

5) Measures & Bar Lines

*pic courtesy of igdb.co.uk

First thing, first, what is a measure?

A measure is a segment of time in which there are specific number of beats per segment. In other words, think of it as a box that can only hold a certain number of marbles each.

So what is a bar line?

A bar line is what helps separate the measures, as demonstrated in the picture above.

*FUN FACT: A measure can also be called a bar which makes sense why the lines are called bar lines, because they separate one bar from the other. For the sake of this lesson, the segments of time will be called measures.

How does this relate to our time signature?

Well, if we are given a time signature of 4/4, as in the picture above, our top number is indicating that there are four beats per measure and the bottom number 4 lets us know that for each one of those beats we are going to use a quarter note.

What if the time signature says 3/4?

With a 3/4 time signature what it is telling us is that since the top number is a 3, the measure is going to allow only three beats per measure. Since our bottom number is 4, it means that we are going to use a quarter per beat.

If we were to have a measure that said 2/2, it would mean that we have two beats per measure and since the bottom number is a 2 we would use a half note for each beat.

If we had lets say a 3/1, it means that for each measure we have three beats and since the bottom number is a 1, it would mean that we use a whole note for each beat.

There you have it, now you can start reading time signatures like a pro.

Exercises: Try to notate what the time signatures of 3/1, 3/2, 4/2 would look like on a staff and put your answers in the comment section below.

Happy practicing! :)

And there you have it, now you can read time signatures! :D