Time Signatures Explained

Kalani explains what a time signature or meter is in music theory. Learn how to read a time signature and how different time signatures affect the feel of the rhythm.
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Kalani is a Professional Percussionist, Orff-Schulwerk Certified Music Educator and Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC). He presents classes and workshops all over the world for people of all ages.
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All About Hand Percussion: amzn.to/2EASxzI
West African Drum & Dance: amzn.to/2GQ5Y0w
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[@wichoso]

I still don't get it! But I appreciate the video

[@benschweitzer757]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZSke4ifbZ6gbLM This guy explains it pretty good. Hopefully this helps.

[@andrewwilliams9419]

So UFO's are real?

[@Mister_Phafanapolis]

This still doesn't *mean* anything to me. Must be part of why I was so terrible at piano. Feel bad that my parents wasted so much time and money trying to teach me.

[@TimothyW8]

Try to wrap your head around 4/4 and 3/4 first, then go from there. Understand the most common time signature (4/4) and how to count it, then you can listen to a lot of songs that have a triplet swing to get a feel for 3/4 (lots of slow dance/love songs from the 50s have it) If you listen to songs with a slower tempo it makes it much easier to understand, and of course to count.

[@TimothyW8]

Phafanapolis learning music is never a waste of time, it only deepens your appreciation for it. Teachers have a way of making things more complicated than they need to be sometimes. The language and the fancy words and concepts can feel like a brick wall.

[@vidyas.4531]

I've played piano for 8 years, and well, here I am.

[@johnfitzgeraldkennedy4465]

Lmao

[@JasminRdgz]

Violin for 20. My teachers failed me 🤣.

[@willflood7761]

Same, i have played piano for 5 years and its still is bloody hard

[@bettazamboni1072]

😂😂😂

[@joellea3035]

felt that😅 playing violin for 6 years and only on my third week of cello and here i am

[@ZSGerman]

"If you have a 7/8 and 5/8 then, well, you're in a different category" I came here looking to get a better understanding of Schism by Tool...

[@daas3465]

ZSGerman yeah the explanation was great until he got there. Different category bc its odd and not common? I guess it means seven 8th notes in a measure/cycle or five 8th notes in a cycle. It actually makes sense. You just pat and count it out, the loop starts over when you get to the top number. Pretty cool! Thanks for the video!

[@honkmaster]

Oh my god same

[@LyK0sa]

I clicked on this to better understand time signatures too. As far as I can tell it's pretty simple, you can basically just count out 7 beats to one bar (or where the riff starts to loop). A good example is them bones by Alice in chains (7/8),it times out perfectly counting to 7. I know schism, but I'm not super familiar with it, I looked it up and it seems to change a bunch of times. Basically you count out the first number, so 5/4 at the start, then 4/4, then it switches to 5/8 and then 7/8. Again, count out 5 and then 7 beats, but the 8 suffix shows that you should be counting at twice the speed you were counting at. I'm not a musician, but that's my understanding of it. I hope that makes sense, try it out with some more consistent tracks and it shiuld make sense. Reclamation by lamb of god is 3/4 all the way through, so just count 3s (just follow the cymbal from the start and the beat remains constant from there). Them bones by AIC is 7/8 in the verses and 4/4 on the chorus, so count 7 beats, and then on the chorus count 4 beats at half the speed. Those are the tracks I used to make sense of it anyway, hopefully they can help you get your head around the concept too :)

[@NicolasUnger]

or Dance of Eternity by Dream Theater

[@hennybrowns]

I'm literally here because of Tool LMAOOOO

[@Matthewsavant]

This helped me a bit. Tbh I’ve never understood time signatures. I can play fluidly literally anything I hear but I’ve never understood what it meant in compositional terms. I’m hoping that brushing up on this kind of stuff will bring my rhythms to another level. I’ve been drumming since age 7 and have always done it by feel, now at 37 I’ve decided to finally add some theory to my natural affinity.

[@Amatteus]

Do not worry,. You are not lone. It happens to me aswell. I have composed 300 songs and still do not understand that. Not even after loking at this video.

[@xname662]

Really ? You can play pneuma by tool ??

[@markjames8603]

I couldn't agree more, I've never had any lessons, lots of advice from fellow drummers on technique and watched like a hawk all of my contemporaries, listened to recordings of bands I wanted to sound like, as time went on I gravitated towards a studio sound which as it happens is RCA's studio B in Nashville, Chet Atkins ran the studio and filled it with the cream of Americas finest country musicians, from 1958 they were the architects of rock and roll and then subsequently the architects of the Nashville sound in the 60's, this sound is my style of playing and after more research I found that it wasn't a studio sound but the playing of Buddy Harmon, his style is clean, urgent and deceptively simple and that is where I lay my groove, also you gotta make folks shake what their mama gave them, nuff said!!

[@skylinedivetribe2638]

@@Amatteus Thank god I'm not alone.

[@skylinedivetribe2638]

@@xname662 It's not hard for someone who's used to Middle Eastern rhythms.

[@docamitverma]

Your beat boxing explains the time signature a lot more than hundred of videos out together.

[@NemSumeragi]

For anyone who still doesn't really get how to contextualize the numbers into rhythm, it helps for me to think of them as words rather than numbers, like this: [Amount of beats in each bar/How you count each beat in the bars] So 4/4 would be Four Quarter Notes. Or 5/8 would be Five Eighth Notes. So then when I do a rhythm like 5/8, I start hitting some Eighths, count 5 of them, and then restart at 1, because there are 5 Eighths in one bar. And there's your base rhythm. From there it's down to either following your sheet or freestyling varying lengths in each beat while sticking to that base rhythm.

[@poriccrompton]

I think this helped me a lot. Thanks so much. Just shows how differently people think about everything

[@eknight101]

Thank God for this post! because I was even more confused after watching the video.

[@xentarch]

Ah, this both makes sense and comes directly from the notation. Well done!

[@DaggerSkullery]

I kind of understand, but the bottom number being 4 or 8 doesn't really matter? Like, two songs can have different bpm but use the same time signature.. So what makes a 4/4 a 4/4 instead of a 4/8 when you compare it to an song that does 4/4 at half the bpms? I don't have an example, but thats how my brain doesn't understand.

[@padrejohnruffle]

60+ years ago I has my first lesson in time signatures. I've never understood them at all (and I simply play by ear). Watching your video here is the first time I've been able to get my head around time signatures - thank you!

[@Ballsacksibnme]

Damn your old

[@padrejohnruffle]

@@Ballsacksibnme You got me buddy! ..but I was in primary / elementary school at the time! 🙂

[@thedoggowisdom]

60 years ago?

[@trollcom1]

I am here against my will.

[@orionseraphine3294]

Me to

[@happylittlemonk]

Well explained. I taught myself to read seven instruments just for fun. I like to add few things here: - 2/2 is also written as C with a vertical bar. It is played twice as fast as 4/4 - You did not mention that they reason notes are grouped in 4/4 or 6/8 etc is the "emphasis". Without that they would sound the same. So when notes are grouped in triples in 6/8 you must put an emphasis on the first note of the group, which you did by singing it but did not mention it. - The meter also describes the length of the phrases needed to tell a story. for example 2/2 is used in marches or dances as you said where there is not story to tell but just rhythm. - 12/8 is used a lot in flamenco where the phrase lasts for 12 notes. - I was playing a simple piece by Handel which was all in tones and semitones but the speed was marked as Vivace which means fast and lively. However, if the speed was Andante and it was using crotchets and semi crotchets which is the most common notes it would been the same but simpler to read? No because as you said the feel of the music is very fast even though all the notes used are very slow, Let me explain it this way. Imagine you are in a panic state with a friend and want to do something quickly but do not want to disturb others, so you whisper slowly. In that case the situation is very tense and your mind is racing fast but you are talking very slowly. Or you could be very relaxed and tired but trying to tell a story very fast. That is the opposite. - There was an attempt for a composer to remove the time signature and just use the length of the note to eliminate all the confusion. He used that in all his works. Cant remember his name

[@HazyJ28]

J Dilla's "Don't Cry" is a great 6/8 to 4/4 example

[@SMALLNEDDYTV]

Ah man I spilled my noodles trying to “yah tah tah tah yah tah tah yah tah tah” in a 6/8 time signature

[@christophertsiliacos8958]

3:14 “Cut time” is also denoted as the following: ₵ and is positioned where the time signature is located on the sheet music. 😉 ♫

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

YES - I couldn't find that symbol in the font, so left it out. Too lazy!

[@christophertsiliacos8958]

@@WORLDDRUMCLUB Hi Kalani - I found the symbol for “cut time” on Microsoft Word. I opened a word document, and clicked onto ‘Insert’ and then clicked onto ‘Symbol’ and then onto ‘More symbols,’ and in the character code box type 20B5. The ‘cut time’ symbol will be highlighted in shaded blue. 😊 ♫

[@Fehnickss]

Nice

[@LISA.WANG.]

Is this what everyone complains about 😂

[@megatonhammer4723]

guitar player here who’s been wanting to understand basic principles of time signatures for a very long time. Great simple explanation that’s not too technical for a layman like me, THANK YOU!

[@paulbear3376]

That is the best I have ever heard that explained. Thank you.

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

Thank you!

[@gerrardcoakley8183]

Thanks

[@janicerouton8963]

The best explanation of time signatures I've seen with a rhythm hands-on approach. Most dont explain the feel! Thanks

[@andreasmaier5361]

Great explained! I am a 64 year old beginner. Piano. Write from Germany. Many thanks for this video. Helped me a lot to understand time signature.

[@3RossBears]

Thank you, this made more sense than anything else I’ve ever read or watched or had explained to me

[@marktaz1]

This is stuff I'd forgotten, so thanks for reminding me about what I really should know!

[@pedrobrayner4773]

Amazing video!! I've been studying this for two months, and now I got to grips with it. It's about feel and groupings. You have a very clear explanation that summerized the 20 videos i have watched hahahaha

[@annemariecrosier6978]

Love the auditory examples. This would be outstanding with some visual aids. I play West African drums.

[@enricomontovanelli2535]

That was the most awesome video i found of time signature. I cant express how grateful i am for it, thank you so much, you helped me to learn something i am 7 years trying to understand.

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

Thank you!

[@ThousandShakes]

I don't think about this when I play music at the piano anymore. But getting into LMMS, a free, open-source DSW (for anyone who wants to make up their own digital music) -I had to brush up. Well explained, thanks!

[@peterv2306]

Time signature is like the Limit Theory in Calculus, you need to put yourself in the students shoes to really make people understand it.

[@MukulVermamukulverma]

And still 90% of students won't get it.

[@abigailwalker2349]

I'm a musician but i was asked about time sig the other day and I just fell apart. Thank you!!!! So helpful

[@CJVeniot]

Something I've been wanting to understand for years, but always got frustrated trying to figure it out. I thoroughly enjoyed this video. That was some wickedly good stuff.

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

Thanks

[@whaledog7036]

Been playing over 3 years but I realized I was never really told to much about how it works

[@jacost6489]

Watched a lot of videos on this site explaining this topic, yours is by far the best. Many thanks!

[@yolo1850]

I have this for homework 💀

[@isaki8973]

How did it go

[@loriscetina3912]

Finally understand how time signature works after 5 videos god bless you

[@axelandru9346]

You have no idea how much value this video has. Thanks a lot for your work !!!

[@RashmiSingh-bf2lp]

Seriously?

[@chrislovato3362]

I came here because the piano lesson channel I usually watch doesn't have a lesson on time signatures. This video was extremely helpful in figuring out rhythm for piano pieces.

[@matthiaspacker565]

This has helped me so much I always just understood the numerator but found the denominator rather confusing, I'm excited to start apply new time signatures to my pieces and see what new things I can come up eith

[@brianmcguire5175]

I studied music and for years have obsessed over odd time meters in particular but not to be weird or complex but to discover musical opportunity after assimilation of 4 4(although never fully assimilated of course, always a student). I clicked on this video out of curiosity to see how the meter measuring concept can be explained by instructors of music and percussion, I'm not an instructor but just a private performer of the theory as applied to music creation, and my reaction: great video! Great instructor! The concept explained clearly and confidently with all relevant Lexi used and explained, and introduced, logically and sequentially! This doesn't pander to beginners neither thus making it a great reference for other instructors hoping to explain the metric systems in music but also isn't overly complex in analysis of the function of such systems for writing and understanding music creation. For those who didn't grasp all explained in this video on first viewing I recommend pausing after a certain term is used and that you check up the meaning before continuing. For those with a basic grasp of music note values you will grasp it quicker. There are enormous advantages to understanding the contents of this video as once you can understand 4 4 as a measurement you can easily grasp 7 16 as another as he explains the numbering and it's relation to a pulse(tempo). Rewatch Marco minneman explaining how he wrote a 15 16 beat, armed with the knowledge from this video you'll find you aren't so lost in others complex iterations of this metric concept

[@1isOneshot]

I think I can simplify: the top half is how many notes it takes to fill a beat and the bottom half is what note that's measured in (which also messes with the speed)

[@gustavomelles1]

I'm actually a guitarist trying to understand tempo, time signatures and rhythm lol.

[@rajchopra3868]

Did you find anything useful?

[@peaceink]

Same. Guitarist diving into composition.

[@urosmojsilovic2743]

Same bro

[@andyesp5037]

same here

[@notamuggle1835]

Raj Chopra kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqa0gGiVj8Smg5o try this

[@natalie1536]

Wow okay this explained it better than I've heard it explained before. It actually made sense. Thank you so much!

[@yat282]

This is the first explanation of this that got me to understand it, thank you

[@SundayBlunts8748]

when he said are you confused yet I felt that

[@tubular167]

Can't walk down the local street these days without everyone asking about time signatures...7/8 this...3/4that...13/8. The other.everone is talking about it...lol... great video as usual😁😁

[@dellydzima]

U genius.....not even music schools will break this in few minutes

[@MrSpeakaheaD]

DUDE I GOT IT AT 3 MINS been making beats since 12 self taught and opening up my logic today at 32 years old I see the option to change the time signatures, by the way I never knew the correct term, now that I youtube it you taught me a lot in the first three minutes. Thanks for that.

[@jmarvo]

This gave me more of an idea than other videos I’ve watched. Thank you 🙏😊

[@leopoldo3139]

I play bass, and even though this is for drummers, it really gave me a better understanding. Thank you!

[@matthewreese7710]

Leo Pold I’m watching this but I only play guitar and piano lol

[@bluesolace9052]

Matthew Reese same, because my rhythm sucks

[@quinn.0]

@@matthewreese7710 same

[@shen4385]

Omg.. when he described 12/8, one song came to my mind - but I wasn't sure if it was the correct signature, just the feeling of the song. I couldn't think of the title so I Iooked up a list of 12/8 songs on spotify and somehow FOUND IT! Turns out it was "Everybody wants to rule the world" by Tears for Fears! Worth a listen

[@colindias4820]

yeah this made it simpler to understand time signatures ... with the additional beat boxing ..to explain it musically ... this guy is good .. loved it ! ... hope theres another one with songs as well .. but this gave a reall good foundation of undrstanding time signatures ...

[@itzeros6739]

Thanks for this lesson I had to search this quickly so I can study for my tommorow Music Test :)!

[@sanfordkaraoke6191]

Fantastically explained! With great demonstration!

[@subratkumar4233]

I liked the video. I have not learned any theory in music so always wonder when someone says its 4/4 or its 3/4. with your video its pretty clear. Thanks again

[@animaison]

Fantastically helpful video - the mists are beginning to clear. Thank you.

[@ejaliwalas3565]

Thank you from the Philippines! This was really helpfu and easy to understand.l sorta forgot my music lessons as a kid! Soo cool

[@wspencerwatkins]

Thanks for the explanation, I read it on Wikipedia and didn’t understand at all but now I think I get it

[@adeeliyanage9617]

Was confused for a long time, you explained it perfectly.Thank U!

[@wii3willRule]

I think I finally understand, explaining the bottom number as a fraction helps

[@bannin]

"Butterfly Kiss" from the Persona 5 Soundtrack has an (imo) nicely distinguishable 4/4 to 6/8 time signature.

[@IAimForGreatness_]

retrosic thanks SO much for the recommendation! The transition is amazing!

[@bannin]

@@IAimForGreatness_ glad you liked it

[@Horrismayte]

Perfect example thanks!

[@simplyputviewstv5655]

Great explanation! finally one that meets practical and theory!!!!

[@ronniecienega6110]

you just made my day bother, thank you for that refreshing lesson Mr.D

[@francoissteyn181]

Thank you for that very good explanation.

[@MrCaseBox]

Great explanation. Really great takeaways!

[@KingsleyMusicLessons]

Thank this video is so helpful.

[@zoiloblanco3413]

When I mess my arrangements ,having 1/8 beat notes in 4/4 signiture haha.. thanks for this video.

[@mingoli52]

Finally clear. Cheers.

[@Brian3779]

Finally, explanations that I can understand!

[@quickD11]

I think now I more confused than before.

[@jebjeb7770]

Excellent clarification! Thankyou for helping this make sense!

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

Mt pleasure

[@CutieSparkling]

How wonderfully explained

[@user-qh3hh5sn4f]

Thank you, Howie.

[@shermandsouza]

I finally understand time signatures! man you made it so clear!!! thank you!!!

[@shantil7764]

this helped me a lot, thank you !

[@Stewart_John]

Thanks great content' Its crystal clear.

[@gundamwing7781]

Thanks for keeping it simple and not supper long

[@JamesMyddelton]

Thanks, really clear explanation

[@seyeruoynepotsuj]

I still do not understand, but thanks for the effort, I guess? When you said 'Well it's just 4 4" I realised I wasn't going to come away with a better understanding.

[@Theaphextwin972]

Thank you this really helped me understand time signatures

[@YottaBite]

Dude, thank you so much, this makes everything make sense ha!

[@2002jorgeparr]

Fantastic! Thank you

[@andreibuenafe7077]

im here since i have no idea wtf too do in my orchestra class and forgot everything since last year

[@johnnyprencipe696]

jesus christ i've been a piper for ten years and have never understood what time sigs meant. you are a godsend

[@Ashley-I.]

Thanks this helped a lot

[@ArtsJeepCruising]

Thank you for simplifying this 👍🙏

[@BoundInChains]

Severals years and a multitude of tutorials later I am still 😶😶😶😶

[@elferd8283]

Once upon a dream, from sleeping beauty is in 3/4. I figured that out by watching this video, thanks!

[@Lethavefun123]

The best video A good explanation

[@FiFi-ds4wr]

Thank you so much. This was very useful

[@MrNicofrog]

Nice! Ive been playing by "ear" since '67 and I used to just snort when people were whining about numbers ( I play well, can play most basic Latin rhythms,conga ,Bongo (martillo) ) I have also played djimbe with congalese dance classes,dun dun bell parts ,SAMBA, surdo and bell. Studied with Olatunji and Malonga Casquelourd . but now I am in a BAND where folks are playing live off charts .! YIKES !!! I am needing suddenly to talk metrics like crazy,and make sense explain the differences between 5 claves,and who it matters . PHEW !!It's FUN and damn hard! . THANKS AGAIN look up midnight sun reggae soka ska calypso soul funk and groove !

[@ryanpowers7907]

Great help. Thank you!

[@chrisconnors2918]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@worldroots1027]

Thank you for sharing .very helpful

[@2002jorgeparr]

Awesome! I " almost " get it!! I need to do some homework🔑🔑🔑🎇🎇

[@danranone]

J Dilla is a great example of going from 6/8 to 4/4. Thanks for the video.

[@tariq_playzz6330]

Great video rlly like it

[@TheVoltaireaN]

Wow this was so helpful! Thanks!

[@johnjacobjinglehimerschmid3555]

Great explanation .... more of the scat to help us hear it. Maybe a whole video on beats ... My toughest thing when I was taking dance lessons was in being able to discern the beat to determine the correct dance step. Great stuff.

[@blairmacewancrosbie8646]

GREETINGS ANDThanks kalani...excellent video and very well explained. Love your WDC. Your presenting style is informal and enjoyable. CHEERS. BLAIR ( CORNWALL,UK)

[@WORLDDRUMCLUB]

Thank you, Blair

[@The_Empire_Chronicles]

Excellent explanation.

[@zerked.]

Thank you this helped me so much. I have music homework where i have to conduct a song

[@reptilesgamers00]

I have a general Idea how time Signature worked, this really help tie everything together.

[@rddawton2220]

Great explanation

[@everythingineedisonthegrou5003]

Helped a lot for music cycle test thank you 😁

[@cataddict_]

yo this is so good i was always curious to how they worked i get it now thanks haha

[@baymax001]

I watch this video time to time so that my time signature knowledge is up to time 😁