Episode 3 shows how music falls into simple and compound meter. Time signatures with 2, 3, and 4 on the top will be simple meters
Episode 3 shows how music falls into simple and compound meter. Time signatures with 2, 3, and 4 on the top will be simple meters (1:00) and with 6, 9, and 12 on the top will be compound meter. (1:45) Practice finding the meter aurally with tips and work through an example (3:00).
Question of the day: Which conducting patterns could you use with a song with 6/8 time signature (5:08)
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Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: Music Theory Edition. Today’s episode will recap Simple & Compound Beat Division
Lets Zoom out:
Unit #1 - Music Fundamentals
Topic 1.6 & 1.7
Big idea - Music falls into either simple or compound meter.
Rhythms happen within a beat, which is unchanging in any given piece of music- unless there are specific tempo changes. How those rhythms are counted or stressed determine the meter. Classifying meter is a way of describing a time signature. That is where simple and compound meters come to play. Simple beat division is organized by twos, and compound beat division organized by threes.
Lets Zoom in:
Simple meters would include 2/4, ¾, and 4/4. Wait a second rewind- “Didn’t she just tell me that compound is organized by 3?” Here’s the breakdown: The bottom number of those time signatures tells us that the quarter note is one beat. Since a quarter note can be split into two eight notes, we can determine it is a simple meter. 2/4 would be called simple duple, ¾ would be called simple triple, and 4/4 would be called simple quadruple. Simple meter can also include 2/8 and ⅜, because the eighth note as the main beat will be split into two sixteenth notes. When the top number is 2, 3, or 4 it will always be simple meter.
Now let’s look at what happens when the time signature is 6/8.
We would group the eight notes into two groups of three. Although you can group the eight notes into three groups of two, when you do this it essentially turns it into a ¾ time signature. So we classify 6/8 time signature as compound duple. In slower music, you would count to six with the eighth note as the main beat. In faster music, you would rely on that classification of compound duple, use a two beat conducting pattern, and count a dotted quarter note as one beat instead. Since 6 is always going to be divisible by 2 and 3, we can safely assume that it will always lead us to a compound duple meter, since grouping it by 2 leads us back to a time signature of a simple meter. This same rule applies to time signatures with a 12 on top, and each of those would be compound quadruple.
9/8 time signature, and any others with a 9 on top is less ambiguous and can only be grouped into three.
You’ve probably gathered by now that when you are looking at notation, you should look at the time signature. The top number tells you if the meter is compound or simple. The bottom number tells you how many beats per measure, but does not always directly correlate to how you would count or conduct. That decision is made based on the tempo in conjunction with the time signature.
This is all well and good, until you have to discover the meter without looking at the notation. When you are listening to music, start by keeping the beat. This is a pulse that should stay constant. If you find yourself following the words or rhythm, pause, listen and jump back in. When you are keeping the beat, perhaps by tapping your fingers on your knee, it is possible you will be drawn to find the macro beat, the largest division, or the micro beat, a smaller division. For example, a measure with four quarter notes could make you tap four times, or in faster music 2 times. Try finding as many variants of the beat as possible. This will help you with hearing the beat division. Next try counting or conducting the beats in groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9. Listen for strong and weak beats, and what sounds like the first beat of the measure. Remember that some music may start with an anacrusis, also known as a pick up note.
Here is an example for you to try: (Greensleeves) You may have kept the beat like this (6 beats). Or like this (2 beats). This is an example compound duple meter, 6/8 time signature and an anacrusis. Listen again for how you can hear the anacrusis in this song. Because I started clapping the downbeat after singing my first note, I showed there is an anacrusis.
To recap……
Simple beat division is in two groups, and compound beat division is in three groups. Time signatures with 2, 3, and 4 on the top will be simple meters and with 6, 9, and 12 on the top will be compound meter. When looking at notation, practice looking at various time signatures with music and divide the rhythm into groups of two or three. When listening to music, keep the beat with movement and count various divisions to see which one fits best.
Coming up next on the Apsolute RecAP Music theory Edition: Rhythmic Dictation & Sight Reading
Today’s Question of the day is about Simple and compound beat division
Question:
Which conducting patterns could you use with a song with 6/8 time signature