11.3 · The Pulse

Marches & waltzes

How many beats gather into each bar? That choice is the meter, and it changes how music moves. Four beats marches: ONE-two-three-four. Three beats spins: ONE-two-three. That's the first rhythm fingerprint.

March vs. waltz

Same tempo, same drums. Only the gathering changes. Count along with each: where does the kick land?

Game · March or waltz?

1 / 6

Three bars of clicks, kick on beat 1. Count from kick to kick: four clicks per bar, or three?

Listen first. Then answer.

The time signature

Written music announces its meter up front with two stacked numbers. The top number is how many beats gather in each bar; the bottom says which note value carries the beat (4 = the quarter note).

ONE 2 3 4. The marchONE 2 3. The waltz

Four is pop, three is the waltz

Count the beats per bar and you know the song's family: pop, rock, and hip-hop run in four almost without exception, waltzes and folk dances in three.

Quiz

1 / 4

Listen: in three, or in four?

Listen first. Then answer.
Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.Long notes, short notes →