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4/4 does NOT mean 4 beats in a bar even thought that's what it
ends up being.
It means 4 crochets in a bar. (Take a look at the bottom number of the
fraction for a crochet. = one
quarter.)
So, 4/4 means 4 quarter beats in a bar. & is also sometimes read as
 or
common time.
2/4 means two quarter beats in a bar (otherwise known as march time).
3/4 is Waltz time & lilts with three quarter notes to a bar.
The Irish Jig is set to 6/8. Imagine the 'didley didley' of typical
Irish folk tunes & you have 'did ul ley did ul ley' or 6 syllables. The
music is quite fast in tempo so quavers would be appropriate. So
there six of them & they are quavers. 6/8.
This is a basic explanation of time signatures to allow students to read
& understand them quickly.
A much more detailed analysis is
available here. |
