Measures

Measures are sections of staves, separated by vertical bars called bar lines.

Every measure in the same music piece contains exactly the same number of beats, but does not need to contain the same number of notes (because different notes have different beats, so two "A notes" may have the same beat value as one "B note").

You'll notice that at the end of the very last measure measure, there are two vertical lines instead of one. These are called double bar lines and they signify "the end" of a piece.

Measures are necessary because they give us the structure for rhythm. We will eventually cover rhythm in Lesson 3, so for now, we will only need to understand that measures exist.


Review

  1. Measures are sections of staves.
  2. All measures within the same music piece contain the same number of beats.
  3. Measures gives us the structure for rhythm.
  4. Double bar lines at the end of a measure signify "the end."

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