◄Previous: Group 2: identifying simple and compound time signatures

# Group 3: identifying omitted time values in compound time

## Activity 1

Which single time value is required at each of the places marked with asterisks?

crotchet/dotted crotchet
crotchet/crotchet
dotted crotchet/dotted crotchet

### Answer

The time signature, 6/8, has two dotted-crotchet beats per bar. In the first bar, following the first dotted-crotchet beat which is conveniently beamed, we need a crotchet to make up the second dotted-crotchet beat. The three quavers that open the second bar add up to another dotted-crotchet beat and therefore we need a dotted crotchet to complete the bar.

## Activity 2

Which single time value is required at each of the places marked with asterisks?

dotted crotchet/dotted semibreve
dotted minim/semibreve
dotted minim/dotted semibreve

### Answer

The time signature, 12/8, has four dotted-crotchet beats per bar. In the first bar, since two dotted-crotchet beats are already present, another two are required. A single time value for this would be a dotted minim. The time value that would extend throughout the second bar is a dotted semibreve.

## Activity 3

Which single time value is required at each of the places marked with asterisks?

crotchet/quaver
crotchet/dotted crotchet
crotchet/crotchet

### Answer

The time signature, 9/8, has three dotted-crotchet beats per bar. Since, in the first bar, the fourth and fifth quavers are not beamed together, they are showing the division between the second and third beats. Therefore the second beat needs a crotchet before the fourth quaver to make up the second dotted-crotchet beat and the third beat needs a crotchet after the fifth quaver to make up the third dotted-crotchet beat.

◄Contents►Next: 4 Rests

OpenLearn - An introduction to music theory
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.