CHAPTER 3

SIMPLE METERS

DIVIDING
MUSICAL TIME
Tap your foot in time. That is

the primary pulse, or the Beat

Do you hear the secondary

pulse going twice as fast?

That is the Beat Subdivision

Meters are defined by:

1) the way beats are divided

2) the way beats are grouped
into larger recurring units

SIMPLE AND COMPOUND METERS

Simple Meters have beats that divide into twos

Compound Meters have beats that divide into threes
Now Listen to the 2 clips and decide which is which:
Star and Stripes Forever
John Phillip Sousa

Greensleeves
Alred Reed

I D E N T I F Y T H E B E AT A N D D I V I S I O N
ARE THEY SIMPLE OR COMPOUND?

Joplin, Solace
Gilmore, When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Mozart, Variations on Ah, vous dirai-je Maman
Schumann, Wilder Reiter

SIMPLE AND COMPOUND METER

Duple is a beat group that is in a unit of 2

Triple is a beat group that is in a unit of 3
Quadruple is a beat group that is in a unit of 4
We describe music as either Simple or Compound

then their beat group Duple, Triple, Quadruple.

Bar Lines separate the notes into measures, or bars.

Measures or Bars are a unit of music grouped by beats

C O N D U C T I N G PAT T E R N S
Downbeat-the Downward movement towards beat 1
Upbeat-the Upward movement towards the last beat

Duple Meter

Triple Meter

Quadruple Meter

TEMPO MARKINGS
Slower Tempi: grave, largo, larghetto, adagio
Medium Tempi: andantino, andante, moderato,

allegretto

Faster Tempi: allegro, vivace, presto, prestissimo

Increasing in tempo: accelerando
Decreasing in tempo: ritardando

TRY IT AGAIN
DUPLE OR QUADRUPLE OR TRIPLE?

Bach, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden

Mozart, Minuet in F Major, K. 2
Mozart, Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545, First Mvt
Bach, Passacaglia in C Minor for organ

RHYTHM & METER

Rhythm & Meter are 2 different, but related, aspects of

music

Rhythm is the duration of notes & rest

Meter provides the framework

RHYTHM

T I M E S I G N AT U R E
Time Signature or Meter Signature is at the beginning
of a score establishes the beat unit.

M E T E R S I G N AT U R E S

SLURS AND TIES

Slurs are small arcs written about notes

Legato is to be played smoothly rather than detached
Ties are small arcs that connect the same note

extending the duration of a note

 Syncopation is created when an expected accent is

displaced or moved to another beat or part of a beat.

Hemiola is when a duple meter is implied despite the

triple meter

Anacrusis Notations-The last measure of the piece

must be left incomplete to balance the piece

B E AT U N I T S O T H E R T H A N T H E
QUARTER NOTE

Whole note doesnt always equal 4 beats

The most common is cut-time or 2/2
Others include 3/2, 4/2, 3/8, etc
Take a look at some examples

T E R M S Y O U S H O U L D K N O W
alla breve

hemiola

anacrusis

measure

bar line

meter

beam
beat
common time

-simple
-compound
-simple duple
-simple quadruple
-simple triple

rhythm value

-eighth note
-half note
-quarter note
-sixteenth note
-whole note

slur
stem
syncopation

cut time

meter signature

dot

note head

downbeat

rest

time signature

flag

rhythm

upbeat

tempo
tie