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Quintuple meter
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Quintuple meter
Quintuple meter or quintuple time is a musical meter characterized by five beats in a measure, whether variably or equally stressed.
Like the more common duple, triple, and quadruple meters, it may be simple, with each beat divided in half, or compound, with each beat divided into thirds. The most common time signatures for simple quintuple meter are 5
4 and 5
8; compound quintuple meter is most often written in 15
8.
Simple quintuple meter can be written in 5
4 or 5
8 time, but may also be notated by using regularly alternating bars of triple and duple meters, for example 2
4 + 3
4. Compound quintuple meter, with each of its five beats divided into three parts, can similarly be notated using a time signature of 15
8, by writing triplets on each beat of a simple quintuple signature, or by regularly alternating meters such as 6
8 + 9
8.
Another notational variant involves compound meters, in which two or three numerals take the place of the expected numerator. In simple quintuple meter, the 5 may be replaced as 2+3
8 or 2+1+2
8 for example. A time signature of 15
8, however, does not necessarily mean the music is in a compound quintuple meter. It may, for example, indicate a bar of triple meter in which each beat is subdivided into five parts. In this case, the meter is sometimes characterized as "triple quintuple time".
It is also possible for a 15
8 time signature to be used for an irregular, or additive, metrical pattern, such as groupings of 3+3+3+2+2+2 eighth notes or, for example in the Hymn to the Sun and Hymn to Nemesis by Mesomedes of Crete, 2+2+2+2+2+3+2, which may alternatively be given the composite signature 8+7
8.
Similarly, the presence of some bars with a 5
4 or 5
8 meter signature does not necessarily mean that the music is in quintuple meter overall. The regular alternation of 5
4 and 4
4 in Bruce Hornsby's "The Tango King" (from the album Hot House), for example, results in an overall nonuple meter (5+4 = 9).
Before the 20th century, quintuple time was rare in European concert music, but is more commonly found in other cultures.
Rhythm in ancient Greek music was closely tied to poetic meter, and included what are understood today as quintuple patterns. The two Delphic Hymns from the second century BC both provide examples. The First Delphic Hymn, by Athenaeus, son of Athenaeus, is in the quintuple Cretic meter throughout. The first nine of the ten sections of the Second Hymn, by Limenius, are also in Cretic meter.
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Quintuple meter AI simulator
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Quintuple meter
Quintuple meter or quintuple time is a musical meter characterized by five beats in a measure, whether variably or equally stressed.
Like the more common duple, triple, and quadruple meters, it may be simple, with each beat divided in half, or compound, with each beat divided into thirds. The most common time signatures for simple quintuple meter are 5
4 and 5
8; compound quintuple meter is most often written in 15
8.
Simple quintuple meter can be written in 5
4 or 5
8 time, but may also be notated by using regularly alternating bars of triple and duple meters, for example 2
4 + 3
4. Compound quintuple meter, with each of its five beats divided into three parts, can similarly be notated using a time signature of 15
8, by writing triplets on each beat of a simple quintuple signature, or by regularly alternating meters such as 6
8 + 9
8.
Another notational variant involves compound meters, in which two or three numerals take the place of the expected numerator. In simple quintuple meter, the 5 may be replaced as 2+3
8 or 2+1+2
8 for example. A time signature of 15
8, however, does not necessarily mean the music is in a compound quintuple meter. It may, for example, indicate a bar of triple meter in which each beat is subdivided into five parts. In this case, the meter is sometimes characterized as "triple quintuple time".
It is also possible for a 15
8 time signature to be used for an irregular, or additive, metrical pattern, such as groupings of 3+3+3+2+2+2 eighth notes or, for example in the Hymn to the Sun and Hymn to Nemesis by Mesomedes of Crete, 2+2+2+2+2+3+2, which may alternatively be given the composite signature 8+7
8.
Similarly, the presence of some bars with a 5
4 or 5
8 meter signature does not necessarily mean that the music is in quintuple meter overall. The regular alternation of 5
4 and 4
4 in Bruce Hornsby's "The Tango King" (from the album Hot House), for example, results in an overall nonuple meter (5+4 = 9).
Before the 20th century, quintuple time was rare in European concert music, but is more commonly found in other cultures.
Rhythm in ancient Greek music was closely tied to poetic meter, and included what are understood today as quintuple patterns. The two Delphic Hymns from the second century BC both provide examples. The First Delphic Hymn, by Athenaeus, son of Athenaeus, is in the quintuple Cretic meter throughout. The first nine of the ten sections of the Second Hymn, by Limenius, are also in Cretic meter.