Time signatures (midterm review)

A time signature tells you how the music is to be counted. The time signature is written at the beginning of the staff after the clef and key signature.

Time signatures consist of two numbers written one above the other, but NEVER with a line between the two. It is NOT a fraction.

The top number of the time signature tells you how many beats are in each measure. This could be any number. Most often the number of beats will fall between 2 and 12.

The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets the beat. That is, whether to count the beats as quarter notes, eighth notes, or sixteenth notes. The bottom number will correspond to note values:

1 = whole note (you’ll never see this)
2 = half note
4 = quarter note
8 = eighth note
16 = sixteenth note

For example, a time signature of 4/4 means that there are 4 (top number) quarter notes (bottom number) in each measure. The beat is counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.

All the notes in each measure must add up to 4 quarter notes. Any combination of rhythms can be used as long as they add up to 4 quarter notes. For instance, a measure could contain 1 half note, 1 quarter note rest and 2 eighth notes. Together, they add to 4 quarter notes total. You can never have more than or less than the sum total of the number of beats in the time signature.