MUSIC. 



105 



employed in performing the preceding one of the individually, while as a whole they are the same, 

 same melody, but the notes may be different in value Thus : 





1 



Here the measures are composed of notes of differ- 

 ent duration, but the amount of the lengths of all the 

 notes in one measure is the same as the amount of 

 those of all the notes of any other ; one semibreve 

 being equal to a minim and two crotchets, or eight 

 quavers, or two quavers a crotchet and a minim. The 

 semibreve may be taken as the unit of measure, and 

 the subdivisions are formed by continual bisection, 

 i. e. dividing by two, or trisection, i. e. dividing by 

 three, the former being called common, and the latter 

 triple time. Of both of these kinds of time, there are 

 various species, distinguished from each other by the 

 recurrence of accents. The first subdivision of com- 

 mon time is that of two minims in the bar, denoted by 

 placing a large C immediately after the signatures 

 at the beginning of the piece, as may be seen in the 

 example below (A). The next subdivision is that 

 wherein two crotchets constitute a measure, which is 

 signified by prefixing the fraction ! in the same way 

 as was directed for the C (see B). Here the under 

 figure denotes into how many parts the semibreve is 

 divided, and the upper figure how many of these 

 constitute one measure. 



Four-crotchet time is accented on the first and 

 third, and unaccented on the second and fourth. It 

 has, therefore, a kind of close at the half of the 

 measure, as well as at the end, in consequence of 

 which it is not unfrequently called compound com- 

 mon time. It differs, however, from ! time only in 



the omission of each alternate bar, and is designated 

 by a C , with a bar drawn through it, placed after the 

 signatures at the beginning of the clef (see C in the 

 example below), and it may be observed, concerning 

 this measure, that it is commonly understood to be 

 quicker than the other species of common time. In 

 the following examples, from Haydn's Symphonies, 

 it will be easy to follow the time. In the last bar of 

 each of the examples B and C, the duration of the 

 notes will not complete the measure, and a rest is 

 therefore introduced, which fills up the time. In the 

 last measure of example C, we find a mark tr, signi- 

 fying that the note over which it is placed is to be 

 shaken, and the two small notes immediately follow- 

 ing are to be played quickly, and whatever time they 

 occupy is to be taken off the succeeding note. 



In triple time, the measure is divided into three 

 equal parts, the first being accented, and the second 

 unaccented, but the third, according to Colcot, is 

 somewhat accented when compared with the second. 

 This time is either of three minims, or three crotchets, 

 or three quavers, which are expressed by fractions 

 of the semibreve ; the under number showing how 

 many parts the semibreve is divided into, and the 

 upper, how many of these parts complete a measure. 



These are the principal kinds of triple measure, 

 but compound triple measure is often formed by leav- 

 ing out each alternate bar, and thus we have, f, \, \, 

 or the subdivisions, ,% !, i, I, or V, &c 



EXAMPLES OF COMMON TIME. 



EXAMPLES OF TRIPLE TIME. 



-O - 



r r r r r r 



m 



ITT 



. 



