Meter groups beats into bars of two, three or four, notated by a time signature

Meter is the regular grouping of beats into bars. Music is most often organised into groups of two, three or four beats per bar — duple (marches), triple (waltzes) and quadruple meter — though any grouping (five, seven, etc.) is possible. Quadruple meter, four beats per bar, is so common in Western classical and electronic dance music that it is called common time. Meter is written with a time signature: the top number gives beats per bar, the bottom number the beat’s note value (as in a fraction), so 4/4 means four quarter-note beats per bar. Bars carry a pattern of strong and weak beats — in 4/4 the accents fall on beats one and three — and this recurring stress pattern is what gives a metre its characteristic feel.

Examples

A waltz counts 1-2-3 | 1-2-3 (triple meter). Four-on-the-floor house is 4/4 (quadruple, common time), accented on 1 and 3. A 3/8 signature means three eighth-note beats per bar.

Assessment

Given a time signature, state the number of beats per bar and the beat value. Given an audible groove, identify whether it is duple, triple or quadruple meter and where the strong beats fall.