two, four, or eight Beats in a Bar, though it would be possible, in case of necessity, to invent others. Others indeed have actually been invented by some very modern writers, under pressure of certain needs, real or supposed. The one indispensable condition is, not only that the number of Beats should be divisible by 2 or 4, but that each several Beat should also be capable of subdivision by 2 or 4, ad infinitum.[1]
II. When, however, each Beat is divisible by 3, instead of 2, the Time is called Compound Common (Germ. Gerade zusammengesetzte Takt): Common, because each Bar contains two, four, or eight Beats; Compound, because these Beats are represented, not by simple, but by dotted notes, each divisible by three. For Times of this kind, the term Compound is especially well-chosen, since the peculiar character of the Beats renders it possible to regard each Bar as an agglomeration of so many shorter Bars of Triple Time.
The forms of Compound Common Time most frequently used are—
1a Twelve-four Time (Germ. Zwölfvierteltakt), 124, with four Beats in the Bar, each Beat represented by a dotted Minim—or its equivalent, three Crotchets; used, principally, in Sacred Music.
2a. Twelve-eight Time (Ital. Tempo di Dodiciupla; Germ. Zwölfachteltakt), 128, with four Beats in the Bar, each represented by a dotted Crotchet, or its equivalent, three Quavers.
3a. Twelve-sixteen Time, 1216; with four Beats in the Bar, each represented by a dotted Quaver, or its equivalent, three Semiquavers.
4a. Six-two Time, 62; with two beats in each Bar; each represented by a dotted Semibreve—or its equivalent, three Minims; used only in Sacred Music, and that not very frequently.
5a. Six-four Time, (Germ. Sechsvierteltakt), with two Beats in the bar, each represented by a dotted Minim—or its equivalent, three Crotchets.
6a. Six-eight Time (Ital. Tempo di Sestupla; Germ. Sechsachteltakt), with two Beats in the Bar, each represented by a dotted Crotchet—or its equivalent, three Quavers.
7a. Six-sixteen Time, 616, with two Beats in the Bar, each represented by a dotted Quaver—or its equivalent, three Semiquavers.
8a. Twentyfour-sixteen, 2416 with eight Beats in the Bar, each represented by a dotted Quaver—or its equivalent, three Semiquavers.
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III. Unequal, or Triple Times (Ital. Tempi dispari; Fr. Mesures à trois temps; Germ. Ungerade Takt; Tripel Takt) differ from Common, in that the number of their Beats is invariably three. They are divided, like the Common Times, into two classes Simple and Compound the Beats in the first class being represented by simple notes, and those in the second by dotted ones.
The principal forms of Simple Triple Time (Germ. Einfache ungerade Takt) are—
1b. Three Semibreve Time (Ital. Tempo di Triplet di Semibrevi), 31, or 3, with three Beats in the Bar, each represented by a Semibreve. This form is rarely used in Music of later date than the first half of the 17th century; though, in Church Music of the School of Palestrina, it is extremely common.
2b. Three-two Time, or Three Minim Time (Ital. Tempo di Triplet di Minime) with three Beats in the Bar, each represented by a Minim, is constantly used, in Modern Church Music, as well as in that of the 16th century.
3b. Three-four Time, or Three Crotchet Time (Ital. Tempo di Tripla di Semiminime, Emiolia maggiore; Germ. Dreivierteltakt) with three Beats in the Bar, each represented by a Crotchet, is more frequently used, in modern Music, than any other form of Simple Triple Time.
![{ \time 3/4 \override Score.Clef #'stencil = ##f \clef bass
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4b. Three-eight Time, or Three Quaver Time (Ital. Tempo di Tripla di Crome, Emiolia minore; Germ. Dreiachteltakt) with three Beats in the Bar, each represented by a Quaver, is also very frequently used, in modern Music, for slow movements.
- ↑ This law does not militate against the use of Triplets, Sextoles, or other groups containing any odd number of notes, since these abnormal groups do not belong to the Time, but are accepted as infractions of its rules.
