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(wording change, added note about note-values.)
Tag: Visual edit
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A time-signature describes the relationship between measures (the period of musical time between two adjacent bar lines) and the note & rest values that will fit in that period of time. Beginning students are often taught that "the top number shows how many beats per measure, and the bottom number shows what note-value gets one beat". This definition is sufficient and even useful for beginners, but it is not entirely accurate.
 
A time-signature describes the relationship between measures (the period of musical time between two adjacent bar lines) and the note & rest values that will fit in that period of time. Beginning students are often taught that "the top number shows how many beats per measure, and the bottom number shows what note-value gets one beat". This definition is sufficient and even useful for beginners, but it is not entirely accurate.
   
A time-signature is more precisely defined as describing the relationship between one measure and a whole note. The bottom number shows the fraction by which a whole note is sliced (as a "pie" --or cake, if you prefer), and the top number is how many of those slices are contained in a measure. For example, in 3/4, the whole note is divided into 4 equal slices (bottom number), and each measure contains 3 of those slices.
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A time-signature is more precisely defined as describing the relationship between one measure and a whole note. The bottom number shows the fraction by which a whole note is sliced (as a "pie" --or cake, if you prefer), and the top number is how many of those slices are contained in a measure. For example, in 3/4, the whole note is divided into 4 equal slices (bottom number), and each measure contains 3 of those slices (top number).
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Note: (no pun intended) the whole note has no intrinsic value, but is ''commonly'' assigned four beats. Other note values are named by fractions of the whole.
   
 
If the fraction formed by the time-signature equals one, (e.g. 1/1, 2/2, 4/4, 8/8) then one whole measure contains one whole note. If the fraction is smaller than one, a whole note won't fit into a measure, and if it is greater than one, than more than a whole note will fit into the measure. In practice, some time-signatures don't end up using actual whole notes in the notation.
 
If the fraction formed by the time-signature equals one, (e.g. 1/1, 2/2, 4/4, 8/8) then one whole measure contains one whole note. If the fraction is smaller than one, a whole note won't fit into a measure, and if it is greater than one, than more than a whole note will fit into the measure. In practice, some time-signatures don't end up using actual whole notes in the notation.

Revision as of 21:44, 29 May 2020

A time-signature provides a reference to readers of music notation indicating what to expect in terms of note-values until another time-signature appears or the piece/section ends. Interpreting a time-signature is a combination of rules and customs.

The time-signature is related to several structural elements: beats, divisions of beats, groups of beats, note & rest values, and measures. However, the time-signature often does not provide a complete picture of the rhythmic system.

A time-signature describes the relationship between measures (the period of musical time between two adjacent bar lines) and the note & rest values that will fit in that period of time. Beginning students are often taught that "the top number shows how many beats per measure, and the bottom number shows what note-value gets one beat". This definition is sufficient and even useful for beginners, but it is not entirely accurate.

A time-signature is more precisely defined as describing the relationship between one measure and a whole note. The bottom number shows the fraction by which a whole note is sliced (as a "pie" --or cake, if you prefer), and the top number is how many of those slices are contained in a measure. For example, in 3/4, the whole note is divided into 4 equal slices (bottom number), and each measure contains 3 of those slices (top number).

Note: (no pun intended) the whole note has no intrinsic value, but is commonly assigned four beats. Other note values are named by fractions of the whole.

If the fraction formed by the time-signature equals one, (e.g. 1/1, 2/2, 4/4, 8/8) then one whole measure contains one whole note. If the fraction is smaller than one, a whole note won't fit into a measure, and if it is greater than one, than more than a whole note will fit into the measure. In practice, some time-signatures don't end up using actual whole notes in the notation.

Though beginners are often taught that the bottom number (the size of the pie slice) shows the note value that equals one beat; often this is not the case. The most common examples are 3/8, 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8, where it is most commonly the dotted-quarter (and not the 8th note) that is defined as a beat. A dotted-quarter is 3/8 of a whole note, and time-signatures typically don't put fractions in the denominator position.

In practice, a time-signature does not define what note-value gets one beat at all, requiring the reader to make an assumption. Sometimes, the guesswork is eliminated through additional text, e.g., "In 2" or, sometimes "Quarter note = 105 BPM". When you transition from one time-signature to another, it might not be clear which note value might be carried over from the previous to the next. Additional notes are often used in notation to clear up the ambiguity (e.g., dotted-quarter-note=quarter-note). Otherwise, it is sometimes left to the performer or conductor to interpret what was intended by the composer.

In practice, a time-signature invokes a customarily accepted system that allows the reader to interpret notation based on norms. Given a tempo, a time-signature, and a confirmation of what note-value gets a beat, the reader is ready to interpret the music.