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2.2 Simple time signatures with beat notes and their multiples

In simple meters, the top number can be a 2 (duple), 3 (triple), or 4 (quadruple); this

number describes the number of pulses (basic beats) per measure. The lower number of a time

signature in simple meter is a numeric symbol for the type of note that gets the pulse (the beat

note.) If the lower number is a 4, the beat note is a quarter note. If the lower number is a 2 the

beat note is a half note. Finally, if the lower number is an 8, the beat note is an eighth note.

Here are some sample time signatures in simple meter:

Example 2.2a

4 3 4 2 3 4 3
4 8 2 4 2 8 4

Duple meter has two pulses per measure and is akin to the left-right-left-right feel of

walking. To students: Try standing up and walking in place at a moderate speed. Allow

yourself to count “1 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 2,” giving slight emphasis on each beat “1.” This is the feel

of duple meter. Now, to understand how rhythmic notation works, walk in place and think of the

song “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Relating the words to walking in place, each of the first

syllables use one step, and the word “lamb” uses two steps. .

In a time signature of 2/4 there are two beats allowed per measure; because the time

signature has a number 4 as the lower number, quarter notes get the numbered beat. The word

“lamb” used two steps (beats) and thus is worth a half note, as a half note is equal to the duration

of two quarter notes. Working with the first line of the song, notation in 2/4 would look like this: