Time Signature describes the rhythmic organisation of a track — how beats are grouped into bars. It is expressed as two numbers: the top number indicates how many beats are in each bar, and the bottom number indicates which note value represents one beat (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note). Common time signatures in popular music include 4/4 (the overwhelming standard), 3/4 (waltz time), 6/8 (compound duple), and 12/8 (shuffle feel).
The vast majority of contemporary pop, hip-hop, electronic, and rock music uses 4/4 time — four quarter-note beats per bar. A non-4/4 time signature is a distinctive structural choice that immediately signals genre positioning. Tracks in 3/4 or 6/8 are more common in folk, jazz, orchestral, and progressive genres. An unexpected time signature change can be a powerful artistic statement, but it also risks triggering skip behaviour if it confuses listener rhythmic expectations.
SongScore automatically detects the dominant time signature from the audio signal by analysing beat strength patterns and rhythmic periodicity. For tracks with time signature changes, SongScore identifies the primary time signature and flags any structural sections where the time signature shifts.