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Complex time signatures: Difference between revisions

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Eble (talk | contribs)
m "Compound" -> "complex"; untag as official documentation in preparation for renaming
Eble (talk | contribs)
m Eble moved page Compound time signatures to Complex time signatures: "Compound" refers to 6/8, 9/8, etc.
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Revision as of 12:29, 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
}