In the previous blog post, we covered three basic time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4. Now we take a deeper look and understand what the bottom ‘4’ represents in each of those time signatures. When you play 4/4 or 4 beats in a bar, the 4-beat note is referred to as a semibreve. When you play 2/4, that 2-beat note is called a minim note, with two minim notes played in the bar. Finally, there’s a crotchet or a 1-beat note, with four crotchets played in a bar.

Basically, crotchet, minim and semibreve represent 1-beat, 2-beat and 4-beat notes respectively. When you play -1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-, you’re basically counting 1 beat for each crotchet. So, the bottom ‘4’ in the three time signatures you have learnt so far represents a crotchet.

We can also count using minims, such as 4/2, but this is a bit advanced and is not advisable for beginners. One thing to avoid in terms of nomenclature is to say 4 divided by 4 when you see 4/4. You should instead say “4 4” or “4 crotchets in a bar”.

Next, let’s look at the 6/8 time signature or -1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-. The ‘8’ here represents a quaver. When we divide 4 beats in the middle, we get 2 beats. Similarly, when we divide 2 beats in the middle, we get 1 beat. And when we divide 1 beat, we get 1/2 and 1/2. The 8 or your quaver is basically that 1/2 beat. The representation for each of these is illustrated below.

Important thing to remember: Two quavers are equivalent to one crotchet. Two crotchets are equivalent to one minim. Two minims are equivalent to one semibreve. How do we count a quaver? Take the 2/4 signature that you’ve learnt previously. This would now be counted as -1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and-.

Finally, as a refresher, 6/8 means 6 quavers in a bar, and 6/4 means 6 crotchets in a bar. The concept of time signatures takes some getting used to. But as you go along in this journey to learn the keyboard, it will become clearer and seem more familiar. In the next post, we explore pop chord progressions with a fun piece of music for you to play. Read on to know more about that.