The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory

Subdividing a 6/8 measure into two groups of three.
So you count the measure “one two three; one two three,” or “one lah lay, two
lah lay.” Easier, isn’t it?
Of course, you could also divide 6/8 into three groups of two, or one group of
four and one group of two, or one group of one and one group of five, but the
two groups of three is the most common way to play this particular time signature.
For another example, let’s look at 5/4 time. In 5/4, measures are typically subdivided
into one group of three and one group of two, like this:
Subdividing 5/4 time into one group of three and one group of two.
You count each measure “one, two, three; one, two.”
Of course, you could also reverse the groupings, and end up with two beats in the
first group and three beats in the second—“one, two; one, two, three.” It depends
on the feel and the flow of the music.
The more beats you have in a measure, the more possible groupings you can come
up with. To demonstrate, the following example shows three possible groupings of
7/4 time—4+3, 3+4, and 2+3+2.
Three different ways to group 7/4 time.
Just for fun, count all the way up to eleven, and see how many groupings you can
come up with for a measure of 11/4!
The Least You Need to Know
◆ You have to place a time signature at the beginning of a piece of music—or
anywhere you change the basic meter or time.
◆ The top number in a time signature indicates the number of beats per measure.
◆ The bottom number in a time signature indicates what note is used for the
basic beat.
◆ Odd time signatures are sometimes broken up into smaller groupings, to
make each measure easier to count.
Chapter 6: Time Signatures
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