Learn to Play Recorder

Lesson 7: Time Signatures and Simple Songs

  • Feel the difference between duple meter (4/4) and triple meter (3/4) in the body.
  • Play a piece in each, with the meter audibly shaping the phrasing.

A waltz is not a march played in three.

A time signature tells you how many beats fill a bar and which note value gets one beat — 4/4 means four quarter notes per bar, 3/4 means three. The first beat of each bar feels heavier; in 3/4 the second and third beats are lighter still. Your playing should make that audible without trying.

4/4 — common time

The most frequent meter in folk and popular music. Feel: ONE-two-three-four, with a secondary stress on three.

Let each downbeat be slightly more present — don't accent, just let it breathe.

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3/4 — waltz time

Feel: ONE-two-three, the second and third beats floating upward toward the next one. A waltz sweeps; a march pounds.

Lean very slightly on each ONE.

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Play: two folk songs, two meters

Twinkle marches in 4/4; find a 3/4 piece in “Now play these” below.

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Now play these

Au Clair de la Lune · 4/4
Feel the downbeats without leaning on them.
Go Tell Aunt Rhody · 4/4
The meter is felt, not heard.
Amazing Grace · 3/4
Starts on an upbeat — beat 3 of a partial bar.

When the same five-note tune sounds audibly different played in 4/4 and in 3/4, move on to Lesson 8.