The time signature, or meter, tells us how to count the music. The top number shows how many beats to count in each measure. The bottom number tells us the kind of note that gets one count.

If the top number is 4:





If the top number is 3:




If the top number is 6:




There are other meters, but these are the three most common and we will be studying those signatures.

In the following examples observe that a:

a white note with no stem a white note with a stem a black note with a stem a black note with a stem and one flag