Duple and quadruple meter
Duple meter is a musical metre characterized by a
primary division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples or 6 and multiples in the upper figure of the time signature, with 2/2, 2/4, and 6/8 being the most common examples. Though it must, the upper figure being divisible by two does not of itself indicate duple metre; for example, a time signature of 6/8 usually indicates compound duple metre though it may locally emphasize simple triple, such as the famous example of Leonard Bernstein's song, "America" from
West Side Story. Compound duple drum pattern: divides each of two beats into three Play Compound quadruple drum pattern: divides each of four beats into three Play 4/4 is the most common time signature in rock, blues, country, funk, and pop. Although jazz writing has become more adventurous since Dave Brubeck's seminal
Time Out, the majority of jazz and jazz standards are still in straight four time. Duple time is common in many styles including the polka, notorious for its obvious "oom-pah" duple feel. Compare to the waltz.