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4/4 Time and 3/4 Time Signatures Explained

A time signature is a standard used in modern music to measure the time value of a note. Most time signatures are written in a similar way to a fraction e.g. 4/4, 3/4 etc.

  • The upper note of the fraction indicates the number of beats in each bar (a bar is simply a measure of musical time. The duration of each bar is set by the tempo of the song).
  • The lower number indicates the note value of each beat. So for example 3/4 time means there are 3 quarter notes (crotchets) in each bar, 5/4 time indicates 5 quarter notes (crochets) in each bar.

The most used time signatures in western music are 4/4 time (sometimes represented by the letter C, called common time and 3/4 time, sometimes called perfect time.

October 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm | Learn Guitar Tab | No comment

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