The most common time signature is 4/4. It’s even called “common time” in music theory terminology. With an understanding of 4/4, you’ll possess the foundation to move forward and work towards other odd time signatures such as 5/4 and 7/4. The signature of 3/4 is also included in this lesson as a ...

In an odd meter like 5/4, we have the option of counting every single beat: “1 2 3 4 5,” or counting the subdivision of each measure with an emphasis displacement “1 2 1 2 3” or “1 2 3 1 2.” I recommend subdividing the measures into smaller groups of two or three beats, but whichever method you c...

Although 4/4 is by far the most common time signature, another popular choice for music through the ages and including the modern day is 6/8. There are two ways to count a bar in 6/8 time. This can seem unnecessarily confusing when you first encounter 6/8, but as we’ll see the difference is not a...

7/4 is very much like 5/4 in that it requires a bit of subdivision to get the hang of. One of the simplest ways to make the listener feel at home in an irregular time signature is to really emphasize the downbeat. One way you can do this is by keeping sustained notes at the front of the bar, whil...

9/8 is a very fun and challenging time signature. The 9/8 indicates 9 eighth notes per measure. A quarter note is still equal to 2 eighth notes, and there are no tuplets, so 3 eighths are indeed three eighths. What I’ve found is that any time signature with an 8 at the bottom almost always means ...