in this series of videos I'll be explaining what time signatures are and how they work in this video part three I'll be looking at the less common time signatures listed here it's really important that you understand what time signatures are and how to calculate them as duple triple quadruple simple or compound if you're unsure have a look at Parts one and two before watching this video some of these time signatures are less common than others some are quite rare and you could argue not really necessary let's look at 28 first by now you should be familiar that an eight at the bottom of the time signature means the beats are Quavers so 2 eight means two Quaver beats per bar each Quaver can be split into two equal parts two semiquavers so we know that this is a simple time signature with two beats in the bar it is therefore a duple simple time signature and for this and all time signatures in this video I'll add their full name at the top of the screen where the red arrow is pointing at the moment now you might say why have 28 when you could have 4 One 14 having one crotchet in each bar one crotchet being the same as two cavers well 14 doesn't really exist anymore it has been used before and I'm sure there somebody's going to write a piece of music where it be used again but trust me there really isn't much point to 14 if it helps remember that we need to refer to a time signature as duple triple or quadruple if our time signature was 1 14 there would only be one beat in each bar the words duple triple or quadruple can't apply so one for it's not really a useful time signature 616 916 and 1216 are time signatures which pop up every now and again so it's worth knowing what they mean this is the first time I've mentioned time signatures with a 16 at the bottom so let's just take a moment to calculate which beat is being used you remember from part one that we need to work out which of these notes fits into a semi breath 16 times 16 being the number at the bottom of the time signatures all of these are accounted for the minim fits into a semi breath twice hence the use for two the crotch it fits four times hence the four and the Quaver fits eight times so let's have a look at a semiquaver one semiquaver equals a quarter therefore a group of four semiquavers equals one because a quarter add a quarter add a quarter and another quarter equals one so four groups of four semiquavers equals a semi breef because 16 semiquavers fit into a semi breef we now know that the 16 at the bottom of the time signature represents semiquaver beats for time signatures with a 16 at the bottom the pulse is a dotted Quaver each dotted Quaver can be split into three equal parts semiquaver so as they can be split into groups of three we know that the three time signatures we are looking at are compound time signatures 616 has two pulses so it is a compound duple time signature 916 has three pulses making it compound triple and 1216 has four pulses making it compound quadruple the time signature of 48 is a bit of an odd one if I showed you this passage of Music it could be 4 eight as there are four Quaver beats per bar however it could also be two four with two crotchet beats per bar if you were sitting a music theory exam and you had to name the time signature both answers would be correct the only difference being the pulse 24 is two crotchet beats per bar whereas 48 is four Quaver beats per bar each beat in 48 can be split into two semiquavers making it a simple time signature as there are four beats in a bar it is quadruple so 48 is a simple quadruple time signature finally let's look at the time signatures of 64 94 and 124 64 94 and 124 are all based on crotchet beats hence the four at the bottom of the time signature but the pulse is a dotted minim here bar of crotchets in nine4 with the crotchet beat numbers written underneath the emphasis or the pulse falls on Beats one 1 4 and 7 or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 this means that the first pulse lasts for the duration of beats 1 2 and three three beats equaling a dotted minim beats 456 is the second pulse and beat 789 the third pulse now you might ask why does the pulse fall on Beats 1 4 and 7 well if it fell on every other beat so 1 3 5 6 seven we'd have an odd beat at the end beat nine there must always be an equal number of pulses per bar that is until we get to irregular time signatures more of those in part four even counting in fours we'd have an odd beat at the end so the pulse Falls every three beats making the bar made up of dotted minim pulses there are three pulses in this bar of 94 meaning that 94 is in triple time in 64 there are two pulses making it duple time 124 completes the trio being the time signature with four pulses hence being quadruple time one final calculation are these time signatures simple or compound well each dotted minim can be split into three equal crotchets a group of three meaning that it is compound therefore 64 is compound duple 94 is compound triple and 124 is compound quadruple I've been through quite a few complex confusing and tricky time signatures in this video I always recommend that theory should be studied in tandem with any instrumental studies next time you play a piece of music have a good look at the time signature feel the pulse and notice how the notes are beam together I will be looking at beaming in another of my videos but by studying carefully the music you are playing will help you recognize and interpret the composer choice of time signature thanks for watching this video in part four I'll be looking at irregular time signatures where the bar does not divide up equally