Rhythm & Meter
- Identify note and rest values and their proportional relationships
- Distinguish simple from compound meter using the time signature
- Determine how many beats a measure holds and how each beat divides
Note values and how they add up
Rhythm is organized by proportional durations. A whole note equals two half notes, a half note equals two quarter notes, a quarter equals two eighth notes, and an eighth equals two sixteenth notes — each value splits the one above it in half. Every note value has a matching rest of equal length (silence). A dot after a note adds half of that note’s value, so a dotted half note lasts three quarter-note beats (2 + 1). A tie joins two notes into one sustained sound, letting durations cross beat or bar lines.
Meter and the time signature
A meter groups beats into repeating patterns marked off by bar lines into measures. The time signature at the start of a piece shows this grouping. In simple meter the top number counts the beats (2 = duple, 3 = triple, 4 = quadruple) and the bottom number names the note that gets one beat (4 = quarter note). So 3/4 is three quarter-note beats per measure. The downbeat (beat 1) is the strongest, giving the meter its characteristic pulse.
Simple vs. compound: how the beat divides
The deciding difference between meters is how the beat divides. In simple meter each beat divides into two equal parts (a quarter beat splits into two eighths). In compound meter each beat divides into three equal parts, and the beat itself is a dotted note. Compound time signatures show a top number of 6, 9, or 12 — divide it by 3 to get the number of beats. So 6/8 is compound duple: two dotted-quarter beats, each dividing into three eighth notes.
A measure is in 6/8. How many beats does it contain, what note value gets one beat, and how does each beat divide?
- 1.The top number 6 is divisible by 3 and greater than 3, so this is compound meter, not simple.
- 2.Divide the top number by 3: 6 ÷ 3 = 2 beats per measure — compound duple.
- 3.In compound meter the beat is a dotted note. Because the bottom number is 8 (eighth note), three eighths group into one beat: a dotted quarter note.
- 4.Each dotted-quarter beat therefore divides into three eighth notes.
In 4/4 time, how many beats does a dotted half note last?
Do not judge simple vs. compound by the top number alone. Ask how the beat divides: into two (simple) or into three (compound). A top number of 6, 9, or 12 signals compound because those beats are dotted notes that split into three.
Which time signature represents a compound meter?
Watch the classic trap: 3/4 and 6/8 both contain six eighth notes, but 3/4 groups them as three beats of two (simple triple) and 6/8 as two beats of three (compound duple). The grouping — not the raw count of eighths — determines the meter and the felt pulse.
Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.
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