Music has a heartbeat: the beat or pulse. When you tap your foot to a song, you’re tapping that beat. Beats are grouped into small packages called bars (or measures). The first beat in each bar is a bit stronger – that’s usually where the chord changes.
What the two numbers mean
At the start of a song you’ll often see a fraction like 4/4 or 3/4. The top number tells you how many beats are in each bar. The bottom number tells you which note value counts as one beat – for now, the top number is all you need.
- 4/4 – count “1 2 3 4”. The most common time signature, for example in Mary Had a Little Lamb or the German children’s song Hänschen klein.
- 3/4 – count “1 2 3”. Waltz time, swinging like a swing. Listen to My Bonnie or the birthday song Zum Geburtstag viel Glück.
- 2/4 – count “1 2”. Feels like marching: Summ, summ, summ.
- 6/8 – count “1 2 3 4 5 6” and lean on 1 and 4. It rocks gently like a boat on the waves: Stille Nacht (Silent Night).
Feel the beat in your body
- Listen to a song and clap on every beat.
- Clap 1 loudly and the other beats softly. Now you can hear how long a bar is.
- Then play a single chord and strum down once on every beat.
In the app’s rhythm tool you can choose the time signature. The metronome then accents beat 1, so you instantly hear where each new bar begins. Find out how to practise with it in Practising with a metronome.
Practise rhythm