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Time signature player
Hear a bar of each common time signature at the same note speed, with a cursor moving through the beats. The notes never change — only where the strong beats fall.
Time signature player
Try it
Hear the grouping
Choose a time signature and press play. Switch while it plays to hear the accents move.
3 groups of 2 · ONE and TWO and THREE and
What the two numbers mean
The bottom number names a note value: 4 is a quarter note, 8 an eighth. The top number says how many of them fill a bar. But that count is not always the beat you feel. In 3/4 and 6/8 a bar holds the same six eighth notes; 3/4 groups them in three pairs, so you feel three beats, and 6/8 groups them in two threes, so you feel two. Play one, then switch to the other while it is playing.
| Time signature | Counted | Beats felt | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | ONE and TWO and | 2 | Simple duple: two quarter-note beats, each splitting in two. |
| 3/4 | ONE and TWO and THREE and | 3 | Simple triple: three quarter-note beats, each splitting in two. |
| 4/4 | ONE and TWO and THREE and FOUR and | 4 | Simple quadruple: four quarter-note beats, each splitting in two. |
| 6/8 | ONE two three FOUR five six | 2 | Compound duple: two dotted-quarter beats, each splitting in three. |
| 9/8 | ONE two three FOUR five six SEVEN eight nine | 3 | Compound triple: three dotted-quarter beats, each splitting in three. |
Simple and compound time
When each beat splits into two, the metre is simple: 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. When each beat splits into three, it is compound: 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8. Compound time is why a jig or a slow ballad in 6/8 lilts, and why a triplet in 4/4 needs a bracket while the same three notes in 6/8 need nothing.
The time signatures lesson goes further, and beat and rhythm starts from the pulse itself.
Learn the idea behind it
All free tools
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- Time signature player (this page)