Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [time-signatures]

Numeric ratio indicating the subdivision of measures according to groups of beats.

A time signature can be found on a staff after the clef and key signature. The numerator of a time signature is the number of beats in a measure while the denominator is the note that gets the beat.

For example in 4/4 time signature, there are four quarter notes in every measure and the quarter note gets the beat.

462 questions
109
votes
6 answers

Is there any real-world difference between time signatures such as 4/4 and 8/8?

These days I pretty much play everything by ear, but was originally trained in strathspey and reel violin so realise I should know the answer to this, but I can't remember what, if any, the practical differences were. Is there any difference between…
Doktor Mayhem
  • 36,672
  • 9
  • 65
  • 153
61
votes
4 answers

(1/√π)/√⅔ as a time signature?

I recently found this article on wikipedia about lists of musical works in unusual time signatures and the first unusual time signature is (1/√π)/√⅔. I looked up the piece that was listed as having that time signature which was Conlon Nancarrow's…
Dom
  • 47,095
  • 22
  • 150
  • 281
53
votes
11 answers

Does 3/4 time signature differ from 6/8?

I've always wondered how time signatures were thought of- I got the question because I noticed that well in terms of 'fractions', 3/4 is just half of 6/8. Does that apply to music when counting beats as well?
Nick
  • 1,095
  • 4
  • 10
  • 17
43
votes
11 answers

Is there any practical difference between 3/4 and 3/8 time?

Is there any practical difference between 4/4 and 8/8? regards a common and unusual time signature; both 3/4 and 3/8 time are pretty common. What difference in performance is implied in the the difference between 3/4 and 3/8 time signatures? What…
Dave
  • 17,721
  • 8
  • 59
  • 96
42
votes
8 answers

Is there a difference between 2/4 and 4/4

I cannot figure out the actual difference between these two beats. Isn't it sufficient to have only 2/4 (or 4/4 )?
DinushanM
  • 921
  • 1
  • 10
  • 16
35
votes
8 answers

How to tell the time signature of a song by listening?

Every song has some kind of time signature; even if different parts of the song have different time signatures, there is always a time signature. When learning a song by ear and no score, knowing the time signature and where beat 1 is significantly…
Dom
  • 47,095
  • 22
  • 150
  • 281
23
votes
7 answers

Is it true that cut time means "play twice as fast as written"?

I was just reading an e-book and saw this sentence which really confused me: "Played twice as fast as written" - This isn't what cut time actually means right, or are there situations where cut time means exactly that? I thought cut time is…
Andy
  • 2,891
  • 7
  • 36
23
votes
4 answers

How is it that 12 eighth notes fit in a measure labeled as common time?

I am looking at Franz Liszt's Consolation S.172 No.3. I have checked out two different music scores of the same composition and they both have the same time signature (standard), however the base line includes 12 eighth notes (making it a 3/2 time…
KJ Price
  • 415
  • 3
  • 8
23
votes
8 answers

Relationship between 3/4 and 4/4

I understand the meaning of music notations such as 3/4, 4/4 and so on. The first number is the number of beats per measure, while the second number is the note-duration (quarter, half, one-eighth) for each beat in the measure. Does this mean that,…
a c
  • 333
  • 1
  • 2
  • 4
22
votes
8 answers

What made 4/4 time the most common time signature?

Most music is written in 4/4 time, and in today’s world it seems to be the accepted norm. Now, that doesn’t mean mainstream music doesn’t use alternate meters, but it’s just less common than I imagined. What made 4/4 time stand out and become the…
Hazel へいぜる
  • 461
  • 2
  • 4
  • 11
22
votes
4 answers

What is the connection between time-signature, beat, and tempo?

What is the connection between time-signature, beat, and tempo? Mainly time-signature and tempo. Tempo is beats-per-minute I know, but does the time-signature affect it? For example, in a 120bpm tempo, are note durations of 4/4 time-signature…
user488792
  • 443
  • 2
  • 4
  • 7
22
votes
8 answers

The practical difference between 2/2 and 2/4 time

In practice, what is the difference between 2/2 and 2/4? Doesn't the emphasis fall in the same place either way?
Adrian
  • 221
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
22
votes
9 answers

What is the "theory" behind "odd time signatures"?

There are a number of bands, Genesis, The Police, Crack the Sky, Gentle Giant, that have all incorporated unusual time signatures as their core sound - some entire "pop"songs, "Ordinary World - Duran Duran; Money- Pink Floyd; Texas Flood (intro)=-…
JustnBeaver
22
votes
2 answers

C in Treble or Bass Clef

I see a 'C' like sign in the beginning of the staff. What does it mean?
rajath
  • 323
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
22
votes
8 answers

I don't understand the bottom number in a time signature

I've learned that 4/4 means 4 beats with the kind of beat being a crotchet. However, I've seen pieces with that time signature that don't just use crotchets, but minims, quavers, etc. I am still a beginner in music theory, so there's a lot I don't…
Jessica Cunningham
  • 231
  • 2
  • 5
1
2 3
…
30 31