Audio: duple and triple meter (0:05)
duple and triple meter uses a standard drum kit to play two bars of duple meter, 2/4, followed by two bars of triple meter, 3/4. The duple and triple meter figure shows the score.
Duple meter is a meter with two primary beats.
Triple meter is a meter with three primary beats.
Beats are usually grouped together in twos, duple meter, or threes, triple meter.
The terms, duple and triple, apply at the top-level organisation of meter. A bar containing two primary beats is in duple meter, and a bar with three primary beats is in triple meter.
The number 2 in the top of a time signature signifies duple meter, 3 signifies triple meter, and 4 signifies quadruple meter.
A number in the top of a time signature which is not a multiple of 2 or 3 is a sign of a complex rhythm. For example, 5 and 7 are time signatures for complex rhythms.
