Reading Music : Simple and Compound Meters
The types of measures we have studied so far use what is called simple meter. In a simple meter, each beat is divided into equal halves. In the case of a 4/4 meter, each beat is divided into two eighth notes, as we saw earlier.
In compound meters, the beats are divided into three equal parts. We can recognize a compound meter because it uses 6, 9, or 12 for the top number of the bar. Let's look at some examples of the compound meter 6 over 8 (6/8). This meter has two beats; the note value with the value of one beat is the dotted quarter note (crotchet), which can be divided into three eighth notes (quavers).
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Translated by Dan Román, revised by Sue Talley.
