How does a 3/4 time signature differ from a 6/8 time signature?
I mean the bottom number tells us what note gets one beat right? Like if it’s 4, it’s a quarter note, or if it’s 8, it’s an eighth note. The number above tells us how many beats in a measure(?), so 3/4 means 3 beats in a measure with quarter notes as one beat. So a 6/8 has 6 beats, so I guess thats different.
Now how about this 3/8 and 3/4. Both have three beats in a measure with just different notes signifying one beat. What’s the use of that if that’s the case?
Now I am assuming I am wrong in the last statement, so here’s another question. Maybe 3/8 means faster than 3/4, I am not entirely sure because I still hold to the assumption that they are the same. So if I say, like there are notations above the staff right, like where they say eighth note = 120, which I think stands for beats per minute, so is it the same as 60 bpm when I use the 3/4 signature instead?
Also what does it mean for beats to be in measures? Does something significant happen to music once a measure ends?
Sorry for all the questions because this is not taught in detail in our music classes. The lesson just teach this is a quarter note, the top number says beats per measure but does not say what do those actually mean in music. Hopefully someone answers this.
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It’s not that hard to google this… [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4q2kBe82-o) gives a great explanation of 3/4 vs 6/8.
3/4 is a *simple meter*, and is counted as ONE two three.
6/8 is a *compound meter*, meaning that the grouping is in groups of 3. We have 2 beats of 3: ONE-and-a TWO-and-a.
3/4 and 3/8 have the same beat. Though 3/8 usually suggests a higher tempo than 3/4.
> So if I say, like there are notations above the staff right, like where they say eighth note = 120, which I think stands for beats per minute, so is it the same as 60 bpm when I use the 3/4 signature instead?
If the notation were the same, then the two tempi would *sound the same*. However, the note duration used in the tempo marking has to correspond to the time signature. You wouldn’t use a ‘quarter note = 120’ tempo marking for a 6/8 piece because that isn’t the natural division. You would use ‘dotted quarter = X’ instead.
> Also what does it mean for beats to be in measures? Does something significant happen to music once a measure ends?
Measures (or bars) are just the grouping of music based on the time signature. A bar of 3/4 is 3 beats of quarter notes. When a measure ends you just go on to the next measure (or however the music dictates).
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