Learning to Read Music: Part 4

Learning about Time Signatures, Measures, Bar Lines, and Dotted Notes

Ever wondered what those two numbers are at the beginning of a song? Those stacked numbers are called the time signature (or meter). It can be found in between the clef sign and the first note. The time signature tells the musician how to count the music.  

Music is organized into measures separated by bar lines. Each measure contains a specific amount of beats. The top number of the time signature tells the musician how many beats will be in each measure of music. The bottom number refers to the type of note that equals one beat. For example, a four on the bottom represents a quarter note, a two represents a half note, and an eight stands for an eighth note. In the example above, each measure of music will have four beats equal to four quarter notes. Measures could contain one whole note, two half notes, four quarter notes, a half note and two quarter notes, etc, as long as the note values in each measure add up to four quarter notes.  

Instead of numbers, some music will have a large C (short for "common time") or a large C with a vertical line running through it. A large C in the time signature stands for Common Time which is four beats per measure with the quarter note getting the beat. It means the same thing as the first time signature example above. 

A C with a vertical line through it means Cut Time—common time cut in half—two over two or two half notes per measure.  

The example above includes eighth notes which are half the length of a quarter note or half of one beat. Two eighth notes = one quarter note. Eighth notes have a beam connecting their note stems and are often in groups of two or four notes. Musicians count them by saying "one and two and three and four and."

The example above also includes a dotted half note—a half note with a dot next to it. A dot next to a note is equal to half the value of the note. Since a half note is worth two beats, the dot is then equal to one beat, so a dotted half note equals three beats. The value of the note and the dot are added together (2+1=3). If a whole note equals four beats, how many beats would a dotted whole note equal? Six beats (4+2=6)!

Click here to learn more about time signatures at Musical U.

Practice adding up the note values and inserting bar lines on this worksheet and this worksheet from Colourful Keys.

This helpful YouTube video from SoundFly demonstrates how to read rhythms and this one let's you practice counting and clapping rhythms. 

Finally, this fun "rhythm builder" YouTube video from Visual Musical Minds demonstrates rhythms on five different percussion instruments: hand drum, cow bell, maracas, claves, and the guiro.

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