When looking at a time signature, what do the top and bottom numbers represent?

Question

A time signature is found at the beginning of a piece, right after the clef and key signature.

Answer 1

Like many things in music notation, there's the answer we often first give - the top number is the number of beats in a measure, and the bottom one tells you the note value that represents one beat - and there's the more complete answer that's a lot more refined and correct.

There are two main kinds of time signatures, simple and compound. (There are more types than these two, but let's leave that for another question.) :-)

Simple meter (meter is another word for "time signature") is easy: the top number represent the number of beats in a measure, while the bottom one represents the note value (whole, half, quarter, eighth, etc.) that represents one beat. Simple meter is also easy to recognize because the top number is one, two, three, or four.

Compound meter is not so easy: The top number represent the number of divisions of the beat (in the case of compound meter, the beat divided into three equal parts), while the bottom number represents the note value equal to one division of the beat. Compound meter may be confusing in this respect, but it's easy to recognize since the top number is six, nine, or twelve.

There is much more that could be said about simple and compound meter, but to make this a relatively short but refined answer, I'll leave it at that. I'd be happy to go into more detail about this fascinating aspect of music notation. ;-)

Answer 2

The top number tells you how many beats are in a measure. The bottom number tells you what kind of note gets a beat. For example "3/4" tells you that there are three beats per measure and that quarter notes get one beat each. In other words, three quarter notes equal one measure. "6/8" tells us that a measure gets six beats and that each eighth note gets one beat.

But things are not necessarily so simple. A measure of "6/8" could be counted "1,2,3,4,5,6" but we almost never count it or feel the rhythm that way. Instead we tend to count and feel it in two beats - "ONE two three FOUR five six" or "1 and un 2 and uh." We call this a compound meter. There are two big pulse, each with three smaller pulses.

The time signature tells us important basic information, though knowledge of the style and sound of the music will help to refine that basic information. Listening to recordings and working with an experienced teacher will help you refine your rhythmic sense.

Answer 3

An easy way to think of it is the top number represents "How Many" and the bottom "Of What" per measure.

Answer 4

The number on the top of the time signature means how many beats are in 1 measure. In contrast, the number on the bottom of a time signature means which note value gets 1 beat. For example, in 2/4 time signature, the top number 2 tells you that there are 2 beats in a measure with the bottom number 4 tells you that the quarter note gets the beat. Another example is in 6/8 time signature, the top number 6 tells you that there are 6 beats in a measure with the bottom note 8 tells you that the eighth note gets 1 beat.

There are 2 main types of time signatures: simple and compound. Simple time signatures are when a beat is divided into 2 equal parts like 2 eighth notes making up 1 beat. Simple time signatures can include 4/4 or common time, 2/4 or cut time, 3/4, and 4/2 where there are 4 beats per measure with the half note getting a single beat. Compound time signatures are when a beat is divided into 3 equal parts like 3 triplets making up 1 beat. Compound time signatures can include 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8.

Answer 5

When looking at a time signature, the top number tells you how many beats are in one measure, while the bottom number tells you which note value is equivalent to one beat.