Time signatures for sight-readers
What the numbers mean, simple vs compound time, 6/8 vs 3/4, and how to count each before your first note.
Key points
- Top number: beats per bar (simple time). Bottom: the beat note.
- 6/8 is two beats of three quavers; 3/4 is three beats of two.
- Count one empty bar aloud before you start.
The time signature tells you how to count. Getting it wrong is one of the most common sight-reading slips, especially with 6/8, 3/4 and cut time.
What the numbers mean
In simple time the top number is the number of beats in a bar and the bottom number says which note gets the beat: 4 = crotchet (quarter note), 2 = minim (half note), 8 = quaver (eighth note).
| Signature | Count | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| 4/4 (or C) | 1 2 3 4 | Most common; strong 1, medium 3 |
| 3/4 | 1 2 3 | Waltz, minuet |
| 2/4 | 1 2 | Marches, polkas |
| 2/2 (cut time, ¢) | 1 2, minim beats | Same notes as 4/4 but felt in two |
Compound time
In compound time (top number 6, 9 or 12), each beat is a dotted note that splits into three.
| Signature | Beats per bar | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 6/8 | 2 dotted-crotchet beats | 1 & a 2 & a |
| 9/8 | 3 | 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a |
| 12/8 | 4 | 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a |
6/8 vs 3/4
Both have six quavers in a bar. In 3/4 they group in pairs (three beats: 1-and 2-and 3-and); in 6/8 they group in threes (two beats: 1-and-a 2-and-a). The beaming on the page shows you which.
Before you play
- Read the signature and say the count out loud for one bar.
- Look at the beaming in the first line: pairs or threes?
- Set the tempo by the hardest bar, then count one empty bar before you start.
Practise rhythm separately: see rhythm reading.
