  
5
Meter
signatures
Most of the music we listen to has an underlying
beat (or
pulse), which continues throughout the composition.
The beat measures equal amounts of time; it is the beat that
encourages us to tap our feet or clap our hands. In addition,
the beat is often organized into patterns of accented and unaccented
beats. This is what we call meter.
Following are the simple metrical patterns:
Duple:
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ONE two; ONE two;
ONE two; etc.
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Triple:
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ONE two three; ONE
two three; etc.
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Quadruple:
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ONE two three four; ONE
two three four; etc.
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Try the following exercise in order to hear and feel these patterns:
- Tap your foot to create a steady beat.
- Next, count aloud a duple pattern with your beat ("ONE
two; ONE two; ONE two; etc.").
- Now clap your hands every time you say "ONE"
to create an accented beat.
Do this exercise with each of the other patterns as well, always
clapping on beat ONE. Do you hear and feel a difference
among the various patterns?
The recurring patterns
are grouped into measures or
bars on the staff
and separated from each other by vertical lines called bar
lines. Single lines separate individual measures,
and double bar lines denote
the end of a major section of a composition.
measures
and bar lines |

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At the beginning of a composition, the meter is identified by a
meter
signature (or
time signature),
which consists of two numbers, one above the other. The top
number designates the number of beats in the pattern; the bottom
number generally indicates the note value of the beat.
DUPLE
meter:
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2=two beats per measure
4=quarter note gets one beat
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TRIPLE
meter:
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3=three beats per measure
8=eighth note gets one beat |
QUADRUPLE
meter:
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4=four beats per measure
2=half note gets one beat |
Sometimes the following symbols are used for meters instead of
numbers:
Keep in mind there might be considerable rhythmic diversity within
a single measure. Each measure, though, will have the equivalent
of the number of beats dictated by the meter signature as shown
in the following example:
You can see in this example
that each measure has the equivalent of three quarter notes using
a variety of note and rest values.

Accidentals
and bar lines
An accidental is effective for
an entire measure and, therefore, not repeated within the same measure.
After a bar line, though, the accidental is negated. Study
the following example to understand how this works:

  
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