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Music vocabulary · Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

Compound meter

Meaning in music, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In music, compound meter means: A meter where each beat naturally divides into three smaller parts, such as 6/8 or 9/8.

In Turkish: bileşik ölçü

How it is used

Used in rhythm study, conducting, and rehearsal. It helps musicians feel larger beats instead of counting every small note equally.

Example sentences

  1. The drummer explained that the intro feels smoother once you hear it in compound meter instead of six separate eighth notes.

    Here compound meter changes how the rhythm is grouped and felt, not the total number of written notes.

  2. During rehearsal, the conductor asked the choir to lean on two big pulses because the passage is in compound meter.

    In this sentence, the term shows that performers should feel broader beats made of triplet-like subdivisions.

Common collocations

  • feel compound meter
  • in compound meter
  • compound meter pattern
  • compound meter example
  • rhythmThe pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music, and how they are placed in time against the beat.
  • beatThe steady pulse that you tap your foot to in a piece of music. Beats are grouped into bars, and their speed is the tempo.

More terms: Rhythm, Meter and Tempo

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