M1 – Time Signatures

Translatable Verbal Script:

Time Signature
Time Signature, also known as Meter Signature, notates the number of beats per measure and which note duration receives the beat.
Time Signatures are placed at the beginning of the music piece, but can change throughout the music.

Let’s take a close look at time signature.
At the beginning of music, you’ll find two numbers on the bass and treble clefs.
The bars that make up the staff are called measures, and they help to organize all the notes and symbols.
The top number indicates how many beats per measure, and the bottom number tells you which note duration receives a beat.
Here are other popular note durations for a beat.
These are half notes, eighth note and of course the quarter note.
Here are some popular time signatures found in various styles of music including Pop, Western, Polka, Blues, Marches, Jigs, Rhythm and Blues, Minuets, Orchestral and more.
4/4 is considered common time, which also can be represented with this symbol.
Cut time, which is 2/2 time, can be represented with this symbol.
Here we have a half note as one beat, 3/3 and 4/2.
Quarter note is one beat, we have 2/4, 3/4 and 5/4.
And we have an eighth note as one beat, we have 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8, and 12/8
Again, these are just the popular signatures found in popular music.

Let’s take a look at notes that have stems.
Notes with Stems can point up or down.
Notes below the middle line usually point up, and those above the middle line usually point down.
Notes with flags, eighth or shorter notes, can be combined with a beam.

Here’s an eighth note. We have a note head, the stem and the flag.
We will combine 3 eighth notes with a beam.
There are many possible variations of connected notes.
Here we have a dotted note, and we’ll explain what that means later.
And this line represents the second flag of a sixteenth note.

Notes can be combined with a beam stems up or stems down.
And in many different durations.
Here we have 2 eighth notes combined, 4 sixteenth notes combine, and one eighth note combined with 2 sixteenth notes.

Notes and Rest Durations.
Following is an illustration of how each note duration symbol compares with its corresponding rest duration symbol.
– Although notes can be combined with a beam, rests remain separated.
– In 4/4 timing, we have a whole note and a whole rest, 2 half notes and 2 half rests, 4 quarter notes and 4 quarter rests, 8 eighth notes and 8 eighth rests, and 16 sixteenth notes and 16 sixteenth rests.

Here’s a combination of different note durations and their corresponding rest durations in 4/4 timing.
Half note, quarter note, 2 sixteenth notes.
Quarter note, 2 eighth notes, 2 sixteenth notes combined with an eighth note, and a quarter note.
A dotted half note, a quarter note.
A dotted quarter note, a quarter note, an eighth note, a dotted eighth note, and sixteenth note.

Closing:
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