Understanding Time Signatures

Ever wonder what those little fraction-looking things that appear at the beginning of sheet music or a tab are?

They’re called time signatures, and they are an important part of your musical vocabulary. And don’t worry, they don’t mean you’ll also need to perform complex mathematical gymnastics in addition to learning how to navigate the six strings of your guitar. Time signatures are actually pretty easy to figure out.

A time signature tells you two key pieces of information: how many beats are in a measure and what kind of note gets the beat.

The top number of the time signature corresponds to the number of beats to count, and while it could be any number, you’ll most often find them falling between 2 and 12. The bottom number corresponds to the type of note to count, or in other words, whether you need to count the beat as quarter notes, eighth notes or sixteenth notes.

Bottom numbers may include:

• 2, signifying a half note

• 4 = quarter note

• 8 = eighth note

• 16 = sixteenth note

For example, if there is a number 4 on the bottom of the fraction, that means a quarter note gets the beat because a whole note divided by four equals four quarter notes. If there is an 8 on the bottom, as with a 6/8 time signature, that means the type of note is an eighth note because a whole note divided by eight equals eight eighth notes.

4/4 Time: The Most Common Time Signature

The most common time signature in all of music is 4/4. You can hear it in classic songs like “One Love” by Bob Marley and “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, where the repeatable pattern has four beats. You can feel the pulse by counting 1, 2, 3, 4 / 1, 2, 3, 4 over and over.

In the 4/4 example, any combination of notes can be used as long as they add up to 4 quarter notes. It could simply be four quarter notes in a measure. Or, it could be a single half note, a quarter note and two eighth notes. Or it could be a combination of four eighth notes and two quarter notes. All of these add up to a sum of four quarter notes.

To practice, try this 4/4 time exercise.

3/4 Time: That Waltz Feeling

The 3/4 time signature has a pulse of 1, 2, 3 / 1, 2, 3, which gives it the vibe of a ballroom waltz. To achieve this lulling rhythm, you need a combination of notes that equals three quarter notes. So, you could have the aforementioned three quarter notes, or a grouping of a single half note and 1 quarter note.

To practice this, try this 3/4 time exercise.

6/8 Time: Compounding Things

While it might be considered a “compound” time signature, 6/8 is actually frequently used, as well. You can count it out as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, with two groups of three eighth notes.

Check out Queen's "We Are the Champions" or "Lights" by Journey for examples of songs that use 6/8 time.

You can practice the 6/8 time signature with this exercise.

There are several other time signatures that you might encounter throughout your musical journey. You could see 5/4, 5/8 or 7/8, which represent more complex time signatures. But they are used, like the 5/4 time signature in the Mission Impossible theme song.

Time signatures might be intimidating, but they don't have to be as long as you know what the position of the numbers mean. If you remember the mantra, “How many, and which ones?” you'll be comfortable with time signatures in no time.

To learn more about time signatures, as well as a slew of songs that use them, check out Fender Play. And if you're not a member of Fender Play yet, click here for a free trial.