When it comes to the art of reading music, there are a handful of things that the learner may stumble over. What note belongs to which clef? What is a crotchet vs. a minim? What do they both look like and what do they both mean?
But none seem to be as confusing as the old time signature marking that comes at the very beginning of the music (just after the clef and - if marked - key).
A typical time signature marking looks like this:
And upon asking pupils what it means, they will correctly identify that it is, indeed, 4 beats in a bar…
However…
When asked to be a bit more specific, things get a bit muddled. Not only that, when I do explain in my admittedly extravagant and lavish way, it can often leave them feeling a little bit more befuddled than they felt before.
So, let’s dissect a time signature so that we can have even more understanding of this branch of music theory and better improve your piano skills!
What Are the Numbers?
The example above is of a 4/4 time signature, also called common time signature (because 4 beats in a bar is extremely commonly used!).
So if there are 4 beats in a bar, why on earth does it double up on the number 4?
Surely it just needs to tell me once how many beats are in a bar, yes?
Not quite…
The number of beats in a bar is defined by our top number.
The bottom number tells us something else: it tells us what kind of beats we’re looking at!
4 at the bottom tells us they are crotchets, so there are 4 (as per the top number) crotchets (as per the bottom number) in a bar!
But why? Why? Why? How can I remember this?
Well, here’s two useful techniques:
Accept It!
Not meaning to sound brutal, but if you haven’t already clocked on to the fact that music has lots of things that ‘just are’, welcome to music theory!
And if you learn that 4/4 = 4 crotchets specifically, then decoding time signatures moving forward will just naturally be a whole host easier!
The Fraction Method
If you are really looking for an outlet to help you remember, however, this is an instance whereby the American names of our notes comes in super useful!
1/2 Beat: Quaver = Eighth Note
1 Beat: Crotchet = Quarter Note
2 Beats: Minim = Half Note
4 Beats: Semibreve = Whole Note
How would you read 4/4 as a fraction?
Four quarters, ergo 4 quarter notes i.e. 4 crotchets!
Using Technique to Decode Further Time Signatures
There’s really no rules as to what you can do with time signatures, providing that the bottom number is, in fact, a recognised value of note (so start with 1 and keep doubling it: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, even 64 technically! - any of these etc.).
The top number just tells you how many there are!
But there are certainly standards that we adhere to:
2/4 = 2 crotchets in a bar. Marches are frequently in 2/4.
3/4 = 3 crotchets in a bar. Waltzes are in 3/4 time.
But wait…let’s have a look at a couple of common examples whereby the lower number is not a four.
6/8 = 6 ‘beats’ in a bar.
12/8 = 12 ‘beats’ in a bar.
But what beats are they?…
You can use either method here to work it out.
If you’d just accepted that 4/4 = 4 crotchets, then you know that 4 = a crotchet as far as time signatures are concerned. When we double the number at the bottom, we half the existing value of the note. Our number has doubled to 8, so we half the value of a crotchet. This makes a quaver. Thus, 6 quavers in a bar for 6/8, 12 quavers in a bar for 12/8.
Alternatively, just use the American phraseology! 6/8 = 6 eighth notes. 6 quavers. Done!
BUT WHY????????
Be careful about reading too deeply into this if you are brand new to key signatures because I know what you’re thinking…why?! And I will explain some of the logic, however if you’ve only been dealing with 4/4 (and maybe other /4 time signatures, this might not fully click yet and that’s OK!)
Why do we need to establish what the beats are? Surely we can just write the number 4 at the beginning and say that’s how many beats are in the bar?
Answer Number One: Tempo
This one on its own would not provide a concise enough explanation and would, in fact, be quite debatable alone. Because ultimately, you could just write number 4 at the beginning of your bar and write different tempo markings on it depending on how fast or slow you wanted those beats played.
However, if you wish to play a piece of music quicker then it makes sense to use quavers rather than crotchets. Quicker still? Make them semiquavers!
The reason this point alone is quite debatable is because strictly speaking, neither of the following are wrong and would yield practically identical results in terms of rhythm and tempo:
But the second one would be more desirable as not only would it would allow for better phrasing (see the following point - division) and also would provide a more suitable, steady beat. If you set the metronome to the first time, your ears would get tired and frustrated at the relentlessness of that beat!
Answer Number Two: Division
Here is where we start to solidify our need to have what type of notes explicitly stated. We’ve briefly touched on tempo. Now let’s look at division.
In the two example of ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ above, by establishing that the second arrangement is in 4/4 time, we can account for the fact anything less than a crotchet (as established by the bottom number) should be given secondary importance if not falling on the main beat.
In other words, the crotchet counts of 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 should be well punctuated, but notes such as the quavers that fall between these beats on the second bar (B and A respectively) shouldn’t be.
In the first example, we haven’t marked a time signature anyway, but even if we put a perfectly respectable 4/4 time signature at the front, it wouldn’t work quite the same way. Each crotchet in the second bar would be given that same punctuated beat as it demands a slightly different interpretation.
Answer Number Three: Simple vs. Compound
This follows on from division, really, but is basically a way to immediately mark out how the pulse of a piece should sound.
Simple Time: These are our top numbers being 2, 3 and 4.
Compound Time: These are our top numbers being 6, 8 and 12.
So to use a straightforward and relatively common example, we can differentiate between a simple time such as 3/4 and a compound time such as 6/8 (which appear to be the same thing, mathematically speaking!) using the following breakdown:
Simple Time: The top number is literally how many ‘main’ beats there are!
Compound Time: Our ‘main’ beats are dotted 😱
Panic not, however, as I know that you all know what a dot does to a note (or beat); it increased it by half!
So if we take 6/8 as our compound time and see what we could squeeze into it as dotted beats, we could fit in 1 x a dotted minim (worth six quavers, but a terrible idea because it doesn’t really help to divide the bar and distinguish between 3/4 and 6/8!) OR 2 x dotted crotchets (now we’re talking!).
So 6/8 is divided into 2 ‘main’ beats.
So the difference in 3/4 and 6/8 in terms of how the flow of the pulse sounds if this:
3/4: 1 and 2 and 3 and
6/8: 1 and a 2 and a
In 3/4, your 6 quavers would be marked in three groups of two to ensure that the first of each group (well…pair) corresponds with the crotchet beat.
In 6/8, your 6 quavers are 2 groups of 3! :
Answer Number Four: Time Change
When you start advancing in your music, you will start to realise that it isn’t common - especially with more modern music - to stick to one time signature!
The problem with not establishing your type of notes at the bottom of a time signature would be you wouldn’t know what kind of beats you were counting, meaning you might involuntarily speed up or slow down!
Because I’ve been thinking about it a lot at the moment, the musical / opera ‘Morella’ (for which yours truly has composed the music - watch this space!) is literally littered with time signature changes.
And for your eyes only, here’s a sneak peek of a tiny section of the piano and vocal score!:
The first bar (109) is a continuation of it being in 4/4, although I’m sure you could work that out from the types of notes and rhythm in the bar. Then we have a bar of 2/4, then 4/4, then three bars of 6/8, then back to 4/4!
Needless to say, whatever speed you count time signatures with the same lower number remains the same. So for the 4/4 to 2/4 to 4/4 transition, you would count a steady “1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4”, but by going into 6/8 we know now we need to count the beats twice as fast as they are no longer crotchets - they are quavers! To get used to it, you could count the quavers throughout the whole thing at the same tempo: “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and…”, but the point is it keeps it exactly locked into the composer’s desired pulse and tempo.
In Conclusion: Understanding Time Signature and Learning Music Theory to Improve Your Piano Playing
I hope this post has been of some help to you! Remember that time signature is there to help. As I always say, all the information you need to know about a piece (or at least, to start a piece!) is right there at the beginning in clef, key and time, so make sure you’re very familiar with how it works and get yourself into the habit of checking it before you commit to playing!
Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Congleton, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.
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