music education

[srenglish]

the number of what tells how many beats are in a measure?

[naz_nomad]

the 2 numbers at the beginning of a stave usually tell you how many beats to a bar.

3 over 4 is 3 beats to 1 bar
4 0ver 4 is 4 etc
5 over 4 ...well, you get the idea.

[jenstar]

Er... the time signature? If you have to ask, then I'm guessing you don't know what a time signature is, so I suggest you should look it up before your teacher starts asking difficult questions about it.

[naz_nomad]

now now ... no need for that ... lol

[saxy_jag]

Go with Naz. What you should be looking at is the upper number, which tells you how many of the beats there are in a bar. The lower number tells you what sort of note value each beat is - a minim, crotchet, quaver or whatever.

If you're American (I notice you say 'measure' and not 'bar'), then, for instance, 3/4 = 3 quarter notes (crotchets), to the bar; 2/4 = 2 quarter notes; 2/2 = 2 half notes (minims); 6/8 = 6 eighth notes (quavers) etc etc.