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Complex time signatures: Difference between revisions

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m "Compound" -> "complex"; untag as official documentation in preparation for renaming
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Tag for inclusion in official documentation
 
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[[Category:Included in the official documentation]]
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  This snippet will be renamed because "compound meter" just means 6/8, 9/8, etc.
  https://gitlab.com/lilypond/lilypond/-/merge_requests/2850#note_2990509829
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[[Category:Rhythms]]
[[Category:Rhythms]]
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Latest revision as of 12:30, 9 January 2026

Odd time signatures (such as “5/8”) can often be played as complex time signatures (e.g. “3/8 + 2/8”), which combine two or more inequal metrics.

LilyPond can make such music quite easy to read and play, by explicitly printing the time signatures and adapting the automatic beaming behavior.

\version "2.24"

\relative c' {
  \compoundMeter #'((2 8) (3 8))
  c8 d e fis gis
  c8 fis, gis e d
  c8 d e4 gis8
}