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Tempo, metre and rhythm - EdexcelTime signatures

Tempo, metre and rhythm are vital in all forms of music. Tempo is the underlying beat of the music. Metre is the organisation of rhythms into certain regular patterns. Rhythm is the organisation of particular sounds by their length. Without tempo, metre and rhythm, music would be disorganised and chaotic.

Part of MusicMusic theory

Time signatures

Time signatures contain two numbers:

  • the top number indicates the number of beats in each bar
  • the bottom number is a symbol to indicate the type of beat

Symbols for the bottom number are:

  • 4 = crotchet beats
  • 8 = quaver beats
  • 2 = minim beats
Time 44
This means there are four crotchet beats in each bar
Time 68
This means there are six quaver beats in each bar
Time 22
This means there are two minim beats in each bar

Simple time and time signatures are explained with the help of some musical mice

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Rhythm notation

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