Skip to main content

Rhythm & Meter

Simple Meter

Definition

A simple meter is one whose beats divide naturally into two equal parts, such as 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. The beat is a plain, undotted note, most often a quarter note.

In a simple meter, each beat divides naturally into two equal parts. If the beat is a quarter note, it splits into two eighth notes, and those split again into four sixteenths. You count the halves of the beat with "&": "1 & 2 & 3 &". The everyday meters 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 are all simple.

Two treble-clef examples. In 2/4: quarter notes C5 G4 counted 1 2, four eighth notes C5 D5 E5 C5 beamed in pairs and counted 1 & 2 &, then a half note G4. In 3/4: quarter notes C5 E5 G5 counted 1 2 3, six eighth notes F5 E5 D5 E5 F5 D5 beamed in pairs and counted 1 & 2 & 3 &, then a dotted half note C5.
In both meters the beat is a quarter note. In bar 2 each beat splits into two eighth notes, beamed in pairs and counted with &.

Recognizing a simple time signature

A time signature is simple when its top number is 2, 3 or 4. The top number is then the number of beats, and the bottom number is the beat note:

  • 2/4: simple duple, two quarter-note beats
  • 3/4: simple triple, three quarter-note beats
  • 4/4: simple quadruple, four quarter-note beats
  • 2/2 (cut time): simple duple, two half-note beats
  • 3/8: simple triple, three eighth-note beats (though fast pieces in 3/8 are often felt as one beat per bar)

In a simple meter the beat is a plain, undotted note. That is the quickest way to tell it apart from a compound meter, where the beat is a dotted note that splits into three.

Counting simple meter

  • Beats: "1, 2, 3, 4".
  • Halves of the beat (eighth notes in 4/4): "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &".
  • Quarters of the beat (sixteenth notes in 4/4): "1 e & a 2 e & a".

Short notes in a simple meter are usually beamed in pairs or fours, so that each beat starts a new group. The Beaming & Grouping worksheet practices exactly that, and Write the Counts gives you the counting.

When three notes appear in a beat

A simple meter can still have a beat split into three. Composers write it as a triplet, marked with a 3. A triplet borrows the three-part division that is normal in compound meter, and it stands out because the music around it divides in two.

Read more about the two-number system in Time Signatures I: Simple Time.

Common questions

How can you tell if a time signature is simple or compound?

Look at the top number. 2, 3 or 4 means simple: that many beats, each splitting into two. 6, 9 or 12 usually means compound: divide by three to get the number of beats, each splitting into three.

Is 3/8 simple or compound?

On paper 3/8 is a simple triple meter, with three eighth-note beats. At a fast tempo, though, it is often felt as one beat per bar that divides into three, much like half a bar of 6/8.

Practice it: free worksheets