The Measure is the basic unit of musical time because it allows us to put time into writing. Musical time is measured in pulses or seconds, and music written in tablature uses the Measure as a symbol that represents a single unit of time. This symbol is called a Measure because it shows us a measured amount of time.
One Measure stands for one unit of time, but we can combine measures when we want to represent additional units. For example, if one Measure means one second, then two measures would mean two seconds. In the example below, if each measure represents two seconds, we add seconds when we move from left to right. Two measures mean four seconds and all three measures mean six seconds.
Author Glenn Miller.
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Revised:
09/15/07