# Duple and quadruple metre > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Duple_and_quadruple_metre > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Duple_and_quadruple_metre.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duple_and_quadruple_metre > Source revision: 1344048125 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Musical metre This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Duple and quadruple metre" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) ## Duple metre **Duple metre** (or **duple meter** in [US spelling](/source/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#-re,_-er), also known as **duple time**) is a musical [metre](/source/Metre_(music)) characterized by a primary division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples ([simple](/source/Simple_meter)) or 6 and multiples ([compound](/source/Compound_meter_(music))) in the upper figure of the [time signature](/source/Time_signature), with **2** **2** ([cut time](/source/Alla_breve), also notated as ), **2** **4**, and fast **6** **8** being the most common examples. Shown below are a simple and a compound duple drum pattern. - Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/override-midi/p/m/pmqwv8aeng1hxjwxyhc3uroqach20wi.mp3). - Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/override-midi/n/w/nwj54yfvbt2i3cj0i7ahvk88vec5kd8.mp3). Though the upper figure *must* be divisible by 2 in duple metre, the contrary is not necessarily true. For instance, in the first movement of [Maurice Ravel](/source/Maurice_Ravel)'s [Piano Trio](/source/Piano_Trio_(Ravel)#I._Modéré), the **8** **8** time signature is subdivided as **3+2+3** (3 beats) rather than a **4+4** subdivision (2 beats, duple metre). The movement is in [odd time](/source/Time_signature#Complex_time_signatures), not duple metre, even though the upper figure **8** is divisible by 2. Duple time is especially common in [marches](/source/March_(music)) (especially in [American march music](/source/American_march_music#Meter)), where the duple meter provides a clear upbeat/downbeat feel that is suitable for [marching](/source/Marching). Duple time is also common in many styles including the [polka](/source/Polka), well known for its obvious "[oom-pah](/source/Oom-pah)" duple feel. Compare to the [waltz](/source/Waltz), a form in [triple metre](/source/Triple_metre), where the feel is an "oom-pah-pah" triple feel. ## Quadruple metre **Quadruple metre** (or **quadruple meter** in [US spelling](/source/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#-re,_-er), also known as **quadruple time**) is a musical metre characterized in modern practice by a primary division of 4 beats to the bar,[1] usually indicated by 4 in the upper figure of the [time signature](/source/Time_signature), with **4** **4** ([common time](/source/Common_time), also notated as ) being the most common example. Shown below are a simple and a compound quadruple drum pattern. - Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/override-midi/d/q/dq6clcbclad77kr3h5sarb70g5ylzi4.mp3). - Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/override-midi/r/1/r1x5ruutcpthfv0bgfjn44npk7lvxis.mp3). The most common time signature in [rock](/source/Rock_music), [blues](/source/Blues), [country](/source/Country_music), [funk](/source/Funk), and [pop](/source/Pop_music) is **4** **4**.[2] Although jazz writing has become more adventurous since [Dave Brubeck](/source/Dave_Brubeck)'s [*Time Out*](/source/Time_Out_(album)), the majority of jazz and jazz standards are still in "[common time](/source/Common_time)" (**4** **4**). ## Sources 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Sadie, S.](/source/Stanley_Sadie); [Tyrrell, J.](/source/John_Tyrrell_(musicologist)), eds. (2001). "Quadruple time". *[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians](/source/The_New_Grove_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians)* (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-333-60800-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-333-60800-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Schroedl_2-0)** Schroedl, Scott (2001). *Play Drums Today!*. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. p. 42. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-634-02185-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-634-02185-0). v t e Musical meters Duple Triple Quadruple Quintuple Sextuple Septuple Undecuple v t e Rhythm and meter Additive and divisive Anacrusis Bar Beat Canter rhythm Colotomy Counting Count off Cross-beat Duration Note value Gatra Groove Half-time Harmonic rhythm Hemiola Homorhythm Iqa' Isorhythm Metric modulation Non-retrogradable rhythm Notes inégales Note value Polyrhythm Prolation Prosody Pulse Rhythmic mode Stop-time Swing Syncopation Tala Tempo Time point Time signature Tuplet v t e Musical notation Staff 8va 15ma Abbreviation Bar Clef Da capo Dal segno Key signature Ledger line Mode Ossia Scale Rehearsal letter Repeat sign Tempo Time signature Transposition Transposing instrument Musical notes Accidental flat natural sharp Cue note Dotted note Grace note Note value beam Notehead stem Pitch Rest Tacet Tuplet Tremolo Interval Helmholtz pitch notation Letter notation Scientific pitch notation Articulation Accent Caesura Damping Dynamics Fermata Fingering Legato Marcato Ornament Appoggiatura Glissando Grace note Mordent Portamento Slide Trill Portato Slur Staccato Tenuto Tie Tonguing Chords Chord chart Chord diagram Figured bass Lead sheet Sheet music History of music publishing Music engraving Music publisher Scorewriter Other systems Ancient Greek Braille music Chinese Ekphonetic Eye music Gamelan Graphic notation Klavarskribo Kunkunshi Mensural notation Nashville Number System Neume Numbered musical notation Parsons Percussion notation Shakuhachi Shape note Simplified Tablature Swaralipi Znamenny Related Music stand Perfect pitch Sight-reading Transcription List of musical symbols Category:Musical notation --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Duple and quadruple metre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duple_and_quadruple_metre) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duple_and_quadruple_metre?action=history)). 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