Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
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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.

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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
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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
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Is 41/16 a proper time signature?

I know nothing about music theory so please forgive my terminology. I made a pattern that I've counted off as having 41 16th notes. I'm counting 1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a...etc and the pattern ends on ...10-e-and-a-11. I only understand time signatures…
cheaterpushups
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How to write time signatures in emails and texts

Time Signatures I was always taught that a time signature should be written as a fraction without a line However, this is a bind, or even impossible, in emails, Word and texts, etc. So, I am wondering what the acceptable form is now, when using…
Richard
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What exactly is the point of time signatures and measures?

Everywhere I look, every resource I read, says that time signatures determine the "feel" and meter of the music. And then the person giving the explanation will show a piece of music as an example of a type of some meter (usually a piece of music…
Sergei Nikolayvich
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Is Queen's Killer Queen in 4/4, 12/8, or both?

I'm writing about Queen songs and have encountered some interesting differences of opinion in respect of the time signature of Killer Queen. I have always heard the song in 4/4, as defined by the five clicks at the start of the song and - to my ears…
welshbloom
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8 beats per measure

I found this typesetting of a Late Renaissance cornetto piece, and I was instantly perplexed when I tried to hear it in my head when I noticed that there were 8 beats per measure. Is this something that was common back then, or is it an error of the…
PixelArtDragon
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Do time signatures make sense?

Most people have probably thought at one time or another, why isn't 4/4 time the same as say 8/8 time or 2/2 time? (Anyone who knows about reducing fractions can attest to that). I think time signatures really are anachronistic. Really you just want…
zooby
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How many beats are in 6/8 time?

In 6/8 time, each measure contains six eighth notes. We are often told that therefore there are six beats in 6/8 time. But when my band plays a piece in 6/8, the conductor counts in two. Also, the tempo is often denoted with a dotted quarter note…
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What does this Time Signature mean?

In Debussy's preludes for piano, there is the number 5 entitled "les collines d'anacapri". It comprises the following Time Signature. One that I have never seen before, and was wondering what it meant?
Neil Meyer
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How can a 59/48 time signature be counted?

There is a song called Evol by Damian leGassick. Its time signature is 59/48. It is weird and I don't know which way to interpret it. There are two ways this can be interpreted: Number one It can be interpreted as fifty-nine 48th notes, so exactly…
KKZiomek
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Confusion about time signature

Newb here. Learning time signature for the first time. Learning from online sources. I've learned that the top number in the time signature is the the number of beats in the measure and the bottom number is the length of note that equals a…
FastBallooningHead
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Can any score-writer do 'irrational' time signatures?

I know I can write them as metrical modulations but I prefer to write them like this: ...which Sibelius can't do. I have to switch to a graphics program and it's time-consuming. The main advantage of writing them this way is that…
Old Brixtonian
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9/8 hybrid vs compound time

I'm just reading about hybrid meters: which combine simple time and compound time. It seems to me that the time signature 9/8 can have two possible (yet distinct) meanings. One possibility is that it could represent compound time, with three beats…
user45413
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Sheet music with no fractional time signature - how to read?

I can't read music yet, and want to know the time signatures of certain pieces of music. When the time signature isn't explicitly shown on the sheet music, how do I find out what it is?
Brandon
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