Time signatures, explained
A time signature is two numbers: how many beats are in a bar, and what kind of note gets one beat. Everything else — the feel of a waltz, the lurch of 7/8 — is grouping.
The common ones
| Signature | Beats per bar | How it groups | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | 2 quarter notes | 1 + 1 — a march, a polka | Marches, polkas, much folk dance music |
| 3/4 | 3 quarter notes | One strong, two light — the waltz lilt | Waltzes, minuets, many ballads |
| 4/4 | 4 quarter notes | Strong–weak–medium–weak | The default of pop, rock and most Western music |
| 5/4 | 5 quarter notes | 3+2 or 2+3 — an extra step in the stride | "Take Five" (3+2), the Mission: Impossible theme |
| 6/8 | 6 eighth notes | Two groups of three — two big beats | Jigs, ballads, slow blues, much folk music |
| 7/8 | 7 eighth notes | 2+2+3 (most often) — a limp you can set your watch by | Balkan dance music, progressive rock |
| 9/8 | 9 eighth notes | Three groups of three | Slip jigs, compound-meter classical pieces |
| 12/8 | 12 eighth notes | Four groups of three — 4/4 with a triplet soul | Doo-wop, slow blues, gospel ballads |
Simple, compound, odd
Simple meters (2/4, 3/4, 4/4) divide each beat in two. Compound meters (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) divide each main beat in three — which is why 6/8 feels like two big swaying beats rather than six equal ticks: the six eighth notes are really two dotted-quarter beats wearing a trench coat. Odd meters (5/4, 7/8) mix twos and threes, and the order matters: 7/8 counted 2+2+3 has a long stride at the end; counted 3+2+2 it has one at the start, and the music feels completely different.
How MetronomeHQ clicks them
On the metronome, the top number is the number of main clicks per bar, and each gets a flashing dot. In 6/8 that means six eighth-note clicks per bar — set the subdivision aside and count the dots in two groups of three to feel the two big beats, or set the metronome's tempo so the click is the pulse you actually want to follow. Accent beat 1 gives the bar's downbeat a higher click; in odd meters, practise once counting the groups aloud (ONE-two, ONE-two, ONE-two-three for 2+2+3) until the limp becomes a groove. For metres that are not on the preset list, the custom setting takes any count from 1 to 16 beats per bar.
A counting exercise that fixes odd meters
Set the metronome to 7/8 at 90 BPM with the accent on. Clap only on beat 1 for four bars. Then clap the group starts — 1, 3 and 5 in a 2+2+3 grouping. Then clap all seven. Five minutes of this, three days in a row, and 7/8 stops being arithmetic and becomes a limp you can dance to. The same ladder works for 5/4, and for the compound meters if you clap group starts (1 and 4 in 6/8) instead of every click.
Choosing a tempo to match the signature? Waltzes sit near 90–100 counted in dotted beats; jigs fly at 120+. The genre BPM guide covers modern styles, and tap tempo will measure any recording you are trying to match.