Time Signatures
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Now that you have an idea of basic rhythmic values and notation used in music, you need to learn
a little about time signatures.
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 like a fraction.
The top number of the time signature tells you how many beats to count per 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. So the only numbers you will see as the bottom
number (the denominator) will correspond to note values:

1 = whole note (you’ll hardly ever see this)

2 = half note

4 = quarter note

8 = eighth note

16 = sixteenth note
You could continue on with 32, 64, but you will hardly ever encounter them! The most common
bottom numbers are 4, 8 and 16.
4/4 Time Signature Example:
A time signature of 4/4 means count 4 (top number) quarter notes
(bottom number) to each measure. So the pulse, or beat, is counted 1,
2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.
That means all the notes in each bar 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. (See
diagram.) Summed 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.
3/4 Time Signature Example:
A time signature of 3/4 means count 3 quarter notes to each measure.
This is an often-used time signature giving you a waltz feel. 1, 2, 3, 1,
2, 3, 1, 2, 3…
Again, the rhythms in each measure can be anything as long as they
add to 3 quarter notes. This is where time signatures start to seem illogical and people often get
confused. How can 3 quarter notes add up to a whole measure? You have to remember that all of
our rhythmic terminology is based on 4/4 time since it is the most common. You’ll just have to
accept the fact that music has some weird conventions just as any language. Think of all the
illogical ways similarly spelled English words are pronounced.
6/8 Time Signature Example:
A time signature of 6/8 means count 6 eighth notes to each measure.
This is also a very often-used time signature. You would count the
beat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on…
Now you will wonder why can’t you just reduce 6/8 to 3/4? After all,
they add up to the same amount. One reason you might pick one time signature versus the other
is how the music is organized. 6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth
notes. 3/4 time would be grouped into 3 groups of 2 eighth notes.
Depending on the structure of the song, it may make sense to group it
one way instead of the other. So 6/8 feels more like two, while 3/4
feels more like three.
Time Signature Abbreviations

A few other time signatures you may see use special
abbreviations instead of numbers. 4/4 is called common
time since it is so common. 4/4 time is often marked with a C
instead of 4/4. It means the same thing.

Another common abbreviation is for CUT TIME meaning 2/2 time. Cut time is usually written
as a C with a slash through it.
Time Signature Summary
The main thing to remember is a time signature is the number of beats per measure and the type
of note getting the beat. That’s it!
4
four beats per measure
4
quarter note gets the beat