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Understanding Beat and Meter Types

The document discusses the division of musical beats into simple and compound types, explaining how these relate to meter types. It provides examples of songs to illustrate different beat and meter combinations, as well as a brief overview of simple time signatures. Additionally, it includes a self-test section for identifying beat and meter types in various songs.

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70 views2 pages

Understanding Beat and Meter Types

The document discusses the division of musical beats into simple and compound types, explaining how these relate to meter types. It provides examples of songs to illustrate different beat and meter combinations, as well as a brief overview of simple time signatures. Additionally, it includes a self-test section for identifying beat and meter types in various songs.

Uploaded by

yuti.harshavardhana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Division of the Beat 27

Division of the Beat


In most musical passages, we hear durations that are shorter than the beat. We call these
shorter durations divisions of the beat. Beats generally divide either into two equal parts,
called simple beat, or into three equal parts, called compound beat. Be careful not to
confuse beat type, which refers to how the beat divides (simple or compound), with meter
type, which refers to how the measure divides (duple, triple, or quadruple). The common
beat and meter types can be combined with each other in six possible ways.

METER
B E AT Duple Triple Quadruple
Simple Simple Simple Simple
duple triple quadruple
Compound Compound Compound Compound
duple triple quadruple

For example, sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” quickly in duple meter, as you did in
the discussion of meter (p. 25). You can hear that the beats divide into thirds, so this is an
example of compound duple. Do the same with “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (from
Jesus Christ Superstar) or “Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” and you will
find that both are simple duple (or simple quadruple).

CHECKPOINT
1. How many 16th notes are in a half note?
2. Two dots following a quarter note add what durations to it?
3. What is the term that refers to the number of beats in a measure?
4. What term refers to the ways in which the beats divide?

Self-Test 2-2
(Answers appear in Appendix D.) (p. 567)

Sing aloud each of the following songs. Then identify the beat and meter types of each,
using terms such as simple duple and so on.
1. “Auld Lang Syne”
2. “Pop Goes the Weasel”
3. “Silent Night”
4. “Jingle Bells”
5. “Seventy-Six Trombones”
28 Chapter Two Elements of Rhythm

Simple Time Signatures


A time signature is a symbol that tells the performer how many beats will occur in each
measure, what note value will represent the beat, and whether the beat is simple or com-
pound. A time signature for a simple beat has 2, 3, or 4 as the top number. The top number
indicates the number of beats in the measure; the bottom number indicates the beat note
(2 = !, 4 = ", 8 = #, and so on). Some typical simple time signatures are listed in the fol-
lowing table. Notice that time signatures are not written as fractions—there should be no
line between the numbers.

Beats per Beat Division of


Time signature measure note the beat

Example 2-1 illustrates how some of the songs we have been considering might be notated.
The beat values were chosen arbitrarily. “Jingle Bells,” for example, could also be notated
correctly in 22 or 82 or any other simple duple time signature.

Example 2-1

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