Editing Time signature (section)

=== Beat and subdivision ===
{{Main|Beat (music)}}
Musical passages commonly feature a recurring pulse, or '''beat''', usually in the range of 60–140 beats per minute. Depending on the tempo of the music, this beat may correspond to the note value specified by the time signature, or to a grouping of such note values. Most commonly, in simple time signatures, the beat is the same as the note value of the signature, but in compound signatures, the beat is usually a [[dotted note]] value corresponding to three of the signature's note values. Either way, the next lower note value shorter than the beat is called the '''subdivision'''.

On occasion a bar may seem like one singular beat. For example, a fast waltz, notated in {{music|time|3|4}} time, may be described as being ''one in a bar''. Conversely, at slow tempos, the beat might even be a smaller note value than the one enumerated by the time signature. {{example needed|date=April 2024}}

Mathematically the time signatures of, e.g., {{music|time|3|4}} and {{music|time|3|8}} are interchangeable. In a sense ''all'' simple triple time signatures, such as {{music|time|3|8}}, {{music|time|3|4}}, {{music|time|3|2}}, etc.—and all compound duple times, such as {{music|time|6|8}}, {{music|time|6|16}} and so on, are equivalent. A piece in {{music|time|3|4}} can be easily rewritten in {{music|time|3|8}}, simply by halving the length of the notes.

:<score>
    \new Staff <<
       \new voice \relative c' {
           \clef percussion
           \time 3/4
           \tempo 4 = 100       
           \stemDown \repeat volta 2 { g4 d' d }
           \time 3/8
           \tempo 8 = 100       
           \stemDown \repeat volta 2 { g,8 d' d }
       }
       \new voice \relative c'' {
           \override NoteHead.style = #'cross
           \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { a8[ a] a[ a] a[ a] }
           \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { a16 a a a a a }
       }
   >>
</score>
[[File:3-4 equals 3-8 drum pattern.mid]]

Other time signature rewritings are possible: most commonly a simple time-signature with triplets translates into a compound meter.

:<score>
    \new Staff <<
       \new voice \relative c' {
           \clef percussion
           \time 12/8
           \tempo 4. = 66       
           \stemDown \repeat volta 2 { g4. d' g, d' }
           \numericTimeSignature
           \time 4/4
           \tempo 4 = 66       
           \stemDown \repeat volta 2 { g,4 d' g, d' }
       }
       \new voice \relative c'' {
           \override NoteHead.style = #'cross
           \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { a8 a a a a a  a a a a a a }
           \stemUp \repeat volta 2 { \tuplet 3/2 { a8 a a } \tuplet 3/2 { a8 a a } \tuplet 3/2 { a8 a a } \tuplet 3/2 { a8 a a } }
       }
   >>
</score>

[[File:12-8 equals 4-4 drum pattern.mid]]
{{Clear}}
The choice of time signature in these cases is largely a matter of tradition. Particular time signatures are traditionally associated with different music styles—it would seem strange to notate a conventional [[Rock music|rock]] song in {{music|time|4|8}} or {{music|time|4|2}}, rather than {{music|time|4|4}}.