ABSTRACT
Meters are defined by two elements: the number of beats in a measure (two beats, duple meter; three beats, triple meter; and four beats, quadruple meter) and the number of divisions in each beat (simple or compound). For example, a meter with four beats, each divided into two parts, is defined as a simple quadruple meter. The meter is indicated with a time signature, a numeric symbol found at the beginning of a work. The top number of a time signature indicates the number of beats in a measure and, in simple meter, the bottom number indicates what kind of note gets a beat. The chart above shows examples of simple duple and quadruple meters. Notice that in each example, there is a two-to-one relationship between the beat note and its division.
