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Rhythmic

Notation

Charts

Standard

Time

Signatures

What is a Meter?

In the broadest sense, a meter is simply a description of the rhythmic feel of the music. More precisely, a meter indicates the specific cycle of beats inherent in the music.

In other words, if your music has a natural emphasis on the first beat of every group of four beats, your meter will indicate there are four beats in every measure. For another example, in German "Oom pah pah" music, the music cycles in three beat measures which naturally reflect the three syllables, "Oom pah pah".

The Time Signature

We indicate all of this by using a time signature at the beginning of the musical score:

The time signature's upper number represents the number of beats per measure. The lower number represents the duration of each beat:

The most common time signatures include groups of two, three or four beats, but more intricate time signatures can consist of five beats, seven beats or more. The time signature can remain the same throughout an entire musical piece or it can change any time the composer chooses to vary the pulsation of the music.