Metre | Music | Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos metre Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics Images Quizzes Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz Contents Entertainment & Pop Culture Music Theory & Compositions CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/art/metre-music Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

• Milne Library - Fundamentals, Function, and Form - Introduction to Rhythm and Meter
• Humanities LibreTexts - Time Signature
• Fact Monster - Entertainment - Meter (music)

metre music Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: meter, rhythmic metre Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 23, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

metre, in music, rhythmic pattern constituted by the grouping of basic temporal units, called beats, into regular measures, or bars; in Western notation, each measure is set off from those adjoining it by bar lines. A time (or metre) signature, found at the beginning of a piece of music, indicates the number of beats in a measure and the value of the basic beat. For example, 3/4 metre has three quarter-note beats per measure. The time signature implies that an accent regularly occurs on the first beat of each measure. Simple metres are duple (e.g., 2/2, 2/4), triple (3/4, 3/8), or quadruple (4/4, 4/8). Compound metres are also duple (6/8, 6/16), triple (9/8), or quadruple (12/8) but have time signatures that indicate the number of beats to be a multiple of three. Thus, in 6/8, for example, both beats of the basic duple division are divisible into three subunits, yielding a total of six. Some metres that occur less frequently are neither duple nor triple (5/4, 7/4) but may be considered a combination of duple and triple—such as 2/4+3/4 or 3/4+2/4+2/4.

Also spelled: Meter (Show more) Related Topics: common time simple time quadruple time compound time triple time (Show more) On the Web: Humanities LibreTexts - Time Signature (Feb. 23, 2026) (Show more) See all related content

The concept of regular rhythmic groups is traceable to the ancient beginnings of dance and poetry, which music primarily served to undergird. Specifications of metre first appeared in written music as early as about 1200, when short rhythmic formulas called rhythmic modes (see rhythmic mode) came into use, implying repetition of simple triple patterns. From 1300 to 1600 both duple and triple metres were recognized in music theory, but, in practice, rhythm was often complex and involved combinations of metres. From the 17th to the 20th century, regular metres as used today became the standard. In the course of the 18th century, metre changes from movement to movement gained aesthetic significance equal to that of key and tempo distinctions in multimovement works. Such 20th-century composers as Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók accorded their extensive metrical manipulations a structural prominence previously reserved for melody and harmony.