BazzLow
ENIT
Module 2 · Lesson 3

Bars and time signatures

Read a time signature and group beats into bars.

Before this lesson: 2.2 Note values and rests

Beats are not just counted forever: they are grouped. The group is called a bar, and the time signature says how big it is.

Bars

Beats are grouped into bars, also called measures. Bars are separated by vertical lines called barlines. A double barline marks the end of a section; a thick final barline marks the end of the piece.

The time signature

The time signature is two stacked numbers at the start of the music:

  • the top number tells you how many beats are in each bar;
  • the bottom number tells you which note value counts as one beat: 4 means a quarter note, 2 a half note, 8 an eighth note.

Rhythm diagrams on this site use a single line instead of a staff: the notes sit on the line and the beat numbers are written under them.

Rhythm lineTwo bars of 4/4: four quarter notes, then a half note and two quarter notes. Beat numbers 1 2 3 4 are written under each bar.4412341234
Two bars of 4/4: four quarter notes, then a half note and two quarter notes. Beat numbers 1 2 3 4 are written under each bar.
Rhythm lineTwo bars of 3/4: three quarter notes, then a half note and a quarter note. Beat numbers 1 2 3 are written under each bar.34123123
Two bars of 3/4: three quarter notes, then a half note and a quarter note. Beat numbers 1 2 3 are written under each bar.

Common time signatures

  • 4/4: four quarter-note beats per bar. By far the most common in pop, rock, funk and jazz. It is also written C, and called common time.
  • 3/4: three quarter-note beats per bar, the waltz.
  • 2/4: two quarter-note beats per bar, marches and polkas.
  • 2/2: two half-note beats per bar. It is written with the symbol ¢ and called cut time. It looks like 4/4 on paper but is felt in two.

These are simple meters: each beat divides naturally into two. Meters such as 6/8 and 12/8, where each beat divides into three, come in Module 11.

Filling the bar

A bar does not have to contain one note per beat. The note values in each bar just have to add up to the time signature, as the second bar above shows.

Try it

Count “1 2 3 4” with a metronome and play the open E only on beat 1 of each bar. Then switch to “1 2 3”, still playing only on beat 1. Feel how the bar changes.

New terms