Time signatures explained
A time signature tells you how many beats are in a bar and which note gets one beat. Knowing this is all you need to set a metronome for any song.
The two numbers
- Top number – how many beats are in one bar.
- Bottom number – which note gets one beat: 2 is a half note, 4 a quarter note, 8 an eighth note, and 16 a sixteenth note.
So 3/4 means three quarter-note beats in a bar. In Setlist Metronome, BPM always counts the bottom note, and the number of beat circles is the top number.
Common time signatures
| Signature | How it is felt | Default accents in the app |
|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | 2 beats; marches, polkas | ● ○ |
| 3/4 | 3 beats; waltzes | ● ○ ○ |
| 4/4 | 4 beats; most pop and rock | ● ○ ○ ○ |
| 2/2 | 2 half-note beats (cut time) | ● ○ |
| 5/4 | 5 beats, often felt as 3+2 or 2+3 | ● ○ ○ ○ ○ |
| 6/8 | 2 beats of 3 eighths each | ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ |
| 7/8 | 7 eighths, often 2+2+3 | ● ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ |
| 9/8 | 3 beats of 3 eighths each | ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ |
| 12/8 | 4 beats of 3 eighths each; slow blues, ballads | ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ ○ |
● is an accent (a black circle in the app) and ○ a normal beat. Tap a circle in the app to change it.
6/8 and other compound meters
In 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8, the eighth notes are grouped in threes, and each group is felt as one beat. A 6/8 song is felt “in two”, not in six. That is why the app accents the first eighth note of every group.
Sheet music for these meters often gives the tempo for the dotted quarter (♩.), which is one group. Because the app counts the bottom note, multiply by 3:
| ♩. = (dotted quarter) | BPM to set in 6/8 (♪) |
|---|---|
| 40 | 120 |
| 50 | 150 |
| 60 | 180 |
| 70 | 210 |
| 80 | 240 |
| 90 | 270 |
| 100 | 300 |
Above 100, the eighth-note tempo would pass 300, the app's maximum.
Another way: set 2/4 (or 3/4 for 9/8, 4/4 for 12/8) at the dotted-quarter tempo, and choose Triplets. You hear the same notes, with fewer clicks to follow at slow tempos.
Cut time (2/2)
2/2 has two half-note beats in a bar. It looks like 4/4 on paper but is felt in two. ♩ = 120 in 4/4 is the same speed as 𝅗𝅥 = 60 in 2/2. Set 2/2 and halve the quarter-note tempo, or keep 4/4 at the quarter-note tempo if you prefer to hear every quarter note.
5/4, 7/8, and other odd meters
Odd meters are usually felt as groups of twos and threes. The app's default accents only the first beat, so tap the circles to accent the start of each group. For example:
- 5/4 3+2:
● ○ ○ ● ○ - 5/4 2+3:
● ○ ● ○ ○ - 7/8 2+2+3:
● ○ ● ○ ● ○ ○ - 7/8 3+2+2:
● ○ ○ ● ○ ● ○
Check the grouping against a recording; the same time signature can be grouped differently in different songs.