A time signature is the pair of numbers at the start of a piece of music. The top number tells you how many beats are in each bar, and the bottom number tells you which note value gets one beat. In 3/4 there are three beats in every bar, and each beat is a quarter note.
By Dan Vrancic, music theory teacher · Reviewed October 2026
How to read a time signature
A time signature sits at the start of the music, right after the clef, and stays in force until a new one appears. Read it as two separate instructions, not as a fraction.
Top number
Beats in each bar
Count this many beats, then a bar line closes the bar and the count starts again at 1.
Bottom number
The note that gets the beat
This number stands for a note value: the note you would tap your foot to.
Bottom number
Gets one beat
2
Half note
4
Quarter note
8
Eighth note
16
Sixteenth note
3/4: three quarter-note beats in every bar. The rhythm changes, but each bar always adds up to three.
4/4, 3/4 and 2/4
These are the most common time signatures. All three have 4 on the bottom, so the quarter note gets the beat; only the number of beats in a bar changes.
Four beats
4/4 — common time
Count 1 2 3 4. Most pop, rock and hymn tunes are in 4/4.
Three beats
3/4
Count 1 2 3. The time signature of the waltz.
Two beats
2/4
Count 1 2. Marches and polkas are often in 2/4.
Common time and cut time
Two time signatures are often written as a symbol instead of numbers.
Same as 4/4
Common time: C
Same as 2/2
Cut time: ¢
Cut time has two half-note beats in a bar. The music can look like 4/4, but it is felt in two, which suits quick marches and show tunes.
Simple and compound time
Simple time signatures have 2, 3 or 4 on top, and every beat divides into two equal parts. They are named by how many beats are in a bar:
Type
Beats in a bar
Examples
Simple duple
2
2/2, 2/4, 2/8
Simple triple
3
3/2, 3/4, 3/8
Simple quadruple
4
4/2, 4/4, 4/8
In simple time each beat splits into two eighth notes, counted 1 + 2 +.
Compound time signatures such as 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 divide every beat into three. The top number counts eighth notes, not beats: 6/8 has six eighth notes in two groups of three, so it is felt as two dotted-quarter beats. That makes 6/8 compound duple, with a lilting feel quite different from 3/4.
Compound
Eighth notes in a bar
Beats you feel
6/8
6
2 dotted-quarter beats
9/8
9
3 dotted-quarter beats
12/8
12
4 dotted-quarter beats
Adding bar lines
Once you know the time signature, you can work out where every bar line goes.
Read the top number
That is how many beats to count in each bar.
Add up the notes
Measure each note in beats of the bottom number: in 3/8, a quarter note is two beats.
Draw the line
Put the bar line straight after the note that completes the bar, then start again at 1.
3/8: three eighth-note beats per bar. A quarter note is worth two of them, and a dotted quarter fills the bar.
A one-beat pick-up, counted 4, leads into the first full bar of 4/4.
Try it: read the time signature
Time signature 1 of 6
What does 3/4 tell you?
See it step by step
The interactive explainer from Lesson 3, with sound. Step through it at your own pace.
See it take shape · Interactive story
The time signature organizes the beats
One line of steady beats stays on screen. Watch the time signature group those beats into bars, choose the note value that gets the beat, and move the bar lines when it changes.
Step 1 of 12
The time signature sits right after the clef. Count along: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4…
Time signature
A time signature organizes the music
At the start of the staff, after the clef, sits the time signature. It shows two things: how many beats are in each bar, and which note value gets the beat.
Two numbers: beats per bar, and the beat value.
Use the arrow keys while a story control is focused.
Read the story as text
A time signature organizes the music
At the start of the staff, after the clef, sits the time signature. It shows two things: how many beats are in each bar, and which note value gets the beat.
Bar lines divide the music into bars
Bars, also called measures, divide music into equal parts. A bar line marks where one bar ends and the next begins, and the counting starts again at 1.
In simple time, each beat divides into two
Time signatures fall into two groups, simple and compound. This lesson is about simple time, where every beat splits into two equal halves, counted 1 + 2 +.
The top number counts the beats in a bar
The top number tells you how many beats are in each bar. In 4/4 a bar line comes after every four beats, until another time signature appears.
The bottom number names the beat
The bottom number tells you which note value gets the beat: 2 is a half note, 4 a quarter, 8 an eighth and 16 a sixteenth. Switch between them; the beats stay put and only the written note changes.
3/4: three quarter-note beats per bar
Change the top number to 3 and the bar lines move: now one comes after every three beats. The 4 on the bottom still means the quarter note gets the beat.
2/4: two quarter-note beats per bar
With 2 on top, a bar line follows every second beat, so the same twelve beats make six bars. Always check the time signature before you count.
Count the beats to place the bar lines
To add bar lines, count the beats from the start, adding each note’s length. In 3/4, a bar line goes straight after the note that completes beat 3, then the count starts again.
Simple duple, triple and quadruple
Simple time comes in three types, named by the top number: 2 is duple, 3 is triple and 4 is quadruple. The bottom number can be 2, 4, 8 or 16; 4/4 is also written C (common time) and 2/2 as ¢ (cut time).
A pick-up bar borrows from the last bar
Not all music begins on beat 1. A piece can start with a pick-up bar, whose notes are called an anacrusis; its time is taken from the last bar, so the first bar plus the last bar equals one complete bar.
Group notes so the beats stay visible
Finish each beat in turn. In triple time, notes of the same value can be joined across beats 1 and 2, or 1, 2 and 3; when the values are mixed, don’t join the beats.
Read the time signature yourself
Complete each missing top number by counting a bar in the bottom number’s beats. Then switch to adding bar lines from a given time signature.
Practice on paper
Free printable worksheets on this topic, each with an answer key.
Four beats in every bar, with the quarter note getting one beat. It is so common that it is called common time and can be written as C.
What does 3/4 time mean?
Three quarter-note beats in every bar, counted 1 2 3. Waltzes and many folk songs are in 3/4.
What does the bottom number of a time signature mean?
It names the note value that gets one beat: 2 is a half note, 4 a quarter note, 8 an eighth note and 16 a sixteenth note.
What is cut time?
Cut time is 2/2: two half-note beats in every bar. It is written as ¢, a C with a line through it, and feels like fast 4/4 counted in two.
What is the difference between simple and compound time?
In simple time (2/4, 3/4, 4/4) each beat divides into two equal parts. In compound time (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) each beat divides into three, so the beat is a dotted note.
What does 6/8 time mean?
Six eighth notes in every bar, grouped in two sets of three. It is felt as two dotted-quarter beats, which makes it compound duple time, not a kind of 3/4.
What is a pick-up bar?
An incomplete first bar, also called an anacrusis, that leads into the first strong beat. The beats it is missing are usually taken from the last bar, so the two together make one complete bar.
Learn it properly
The course teaches time signatures in a full video lesson with practice questions, graded quizzes and printable sheets.
