Examples 4b - Compound Meters

Using the following examples, determine:

• the defining characteristic of all compound meters
• what the top and bottom numbers mean in a compound time signature
• what duple, triple, and quadruple mean when describing a compound meter
• “theoretically ideal” beaming in compound meters
• a list of common meters in compound duple, compound triple, and compound quadruple
• the common beat-counting system that we’ll be using in this course (written in the “Compound Quadruple” example)
• how to decide whether 3/4 (or 3/8, 3/16, etc.) is a simple or compound meter

The problem with 3

Use the MIDI player to listen to the following two examples. Even though they are identical excerpts, one thing has been altered in the second example. What was altered, and does it change your perception of whether the tune is simple or compound? Provide your final classifications for both examples.