Most Frequent Time Signatures
| Simple time signatures | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4 4 (quadruple) |
Common time: widely used in most forms of Western popular music. Most common time signature in rock, blues, country, funk, and pop | |
| 2 2 (duple) |
Alla breve, cut time: used for marches and fast orchestral music. Frequently occurs in musical theater. Sometimes called "in 2", but may be notated in 4. | |
| 4 2 (quadruple) |
Never found in early music (which did not use numeric time signatures), and rare since 1600, although Brahms and other composers used it occasionally. | |
| 2 4 (duple) |
Used for polkas or marches | |
| 3 4 (triple) |
Used for waltzes, minuets, scherzi, country & western ballads, R&B, sometimes used in pop. | |
| 3 8 (triple) |
Also used for the above, but usually suggests higher tempo or shorter hypermeter. | |
| Compound time signatures | ||
| 6 8 (duple) |
Double jigs, polkas, sega, salegy, tarantella, marches, barcarolles, Irish jigs, loures, and some rock music. | |
| 9 8 (triple) |
Compound triple time, used in triple ("slip") jigs, otherwise occurring rarely (The Ride of the Valkyries, Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, and the final movement of the Bach Violin Concerto in A minor (BWV 1041) are familiar examples. Debussy's Clair de lune and Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (opening bars) are in 9 8) |
|
| 12 8 (quadruple) |
Also common in slower blues (where it is known as shuffle) and doo-wop; also used more recently in rock music. Can also be heard in some jigs like "The Irish Washerwoman". This is also the time signature of the Movement II "By the Brook" of Beethoven's Symphony No 6 (the Pastoral) | |
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