Simple and Compound Time
Time signatures fall into two basic categories – simple time and compound time. Simple time is any time signature where the basic beat is divisible by two. E.g. in *, ^, and % the basic beat is a quarter note, which may be divided in half to become two eighth notes per beat. Any time signature where the basic beat is divisible by three (eg. a dotted quarter note) is called compound time. The most common example of compound time is six eight time ()). Other examples of compound are _ and +. In each case, the basic beat is felt as a dotted quarter note which can be divided by three.
Six Eight Time Signature
This is the six eight time signature.
There are six eighth notes in one bar of ) time.
The six eighth notes are divided into two groups of three.
When playing ) time there are two beats within each bar, with each beat being a dotted quarter note. Note that this is different from * and ^ time, where each beat is a quarter note. Here is an example in ) time using a simple picking pattern. Accent (play louder) the 1 and 4 count to help establish the two beats per bar, and remember to count out loud and use a metronome.
When playing music in minor keys, it is common to use chords from all three types of minor scales. A good example of this is the song House of the Rising Sun. In this arrangement in the key of A minor the chords are played as arpeggios. Look through the chords and determine which ones come from each type of minor scale. Once you have done this, transpose it to several other keys.
