Simple Time Signatures

At Grade 1 you met three simple time signatures: 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. At Grade 2 you keep all of these and add new ones that use a different kind of beat. In a time signature the top number tells you how many beats are in each bar, and the bottom number tells you what kind of note gets one beat.

Reading the bottom number

The bottom number is a code for a note value. The main ones you need are:

• 2 means the minim gets the beat.
• 4 means the crotchet gets the beat.
• 8 means the quaver gets the beat.

So 3/2 means three minim beats in a bar, 3/4 means three crotchet beats, and 3/8 means three quaver beats. The top number is the same in all three, but the beat is a different length each time.

The new Grade 2 time signatures

• Minim beats: 2/2, 3/2, 4/2. Here two, three or four minims fill a bar. 2/2 is sometimes called alla breve or cut time.
• Quaver beats: 2/8, 3/8, 4/8. Here two, three or four quavers fill a bar.

All of these are still simple time, which means each beat divides naturally into two equal halves. A crotchet beat splits into two quavers; a minim beat splits into two crotchets; a quaver beat splits into two semiquavers.

Working out a missing time signature

To find the time signature of a bar, add up the note and rest values in one complete bar. Decide which note is acting as the beat, then count how many beats there are. For example, a full bar of two minims is 2/2; a full bar of three quavers is 3/8.

Remember that a time signature is not a fraction, so we never draw a line between the two numbers. We simply write one number above the other on the stave, just after the clef and key signature.