Common time is another name for 4/4 time. It can be written as a large letter C at the start of the music. Cut time is 2/2 time, and it is written as a C with an upright line through it. The two can look the same on the page. The difference is in how the beats are counted.
The two signs
| Name | Sign | Means | Beats in a bar | The note that gets one beat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common time | C | 4/4 | 4 | Quarter note |
| Cut time | C with a line through it | 2/2 | 2 | Half note |
Cut time has an Italian name too: alla breve. Say “AH-lah BREH-veh.”
How to count each one
Take a bar with four quarter notes.
- In common time, count “1, 2, 3, 4.” Each quarter note is one beat.
- In cut time, count “1 and 2 and.” Each quarter note is half a beat. The foot taps twice in the bar, on the first quarter note and on the third.
The notes on the page are the same. In cut time, the beat is twice as long, so the music is felt in two big steps and not four small ones.
Why cut time exists
Fast music is easier to feel in two. A march at full speed has too many quarter notes to tap one by one. Two taps in a bar match two feet: left, right.
Cut time also changes the sound. With two beats in a bar, there are fewer strong accents, and the music flows in longer lines.
A conductor shows the difference. In common time, the stick moves in four directions in each bar. In cut time, it goes down and up. Read how to conduct music for kids.
The C does not stand for “common”
The sign is older than the English word. Hundreds of years ago, music in groups of three was thought of as perfect, and it was marked with a full circle. Music in groups of two was marked with a broken circle, a shape close to the letter C. The broken circle stayed in use and came to mean four beats in a bar.
A line through the sign once told singers to count the music twice as fast. That is where cut time comes from: the beat is “cut” in half.
Music to hear
Common time. The “Ode to Joy” tune from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 has four even beats in a bar. Read Ode to Joy for kids.
Cut time. The Stars and Stripes Forever, by Sousa, is written in cut time. So are many other fast marches. March to it, and count the steps: two in each bar.
Which one is my child playing?
Look at the start of the first line, just after the clef and the key signature.
| What is printed | What it means |
|---|---|
| 4 over 4 | Four quarter-note beats |
| C | The same thing |
| 2 over 2 | Two half-note beats |
| C with a line | The same thing |
Beginner books use common time far more than cut time. Cut time shows up in band music, in marches, and in fast pieces from the Baroque and Classical eras.
Cut time and 2/4
Both have two beats in a bar. In 2/4, a quarter note gets the beat. In cut time, a half note gets the beat. A march can be written in one or the other, and it will sound much the same.
Things to do together
Two ways to tap. Play a march. Tap four quick beats in a bar, and then two slow ones. Ask which feels more natural.
Find the sign. Look through a music book for a C, and for a C with a line.
Conduct it. Beat four in a bar for a slow piece. Beat two in a bar for a march.
Walk it. Walk around the room to a march, one step for each beat of cut time.
Print and play
For all the time signatures, read time signatures explained and 6/8 time explained. For bars, read measures and bar lines explained for kids. Print the note values chart, and try the metronome for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Music theory for parents: what your child is learning and how to help.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.