How to Use time signature in a Sentence

time signature

noun
  • That’s the time signature for at least the first half of this album: two rope turners and a jumper.
    New York Times, 25 July 2022
  • Our songs tend to be in time signatures other than 4/4 – like 6/8.
    Ed Masley, azcentral, 6 Sep. 2019
  • There are short lessons on time signature and melody and her favorite vocal warm-ups.
    Arika Herron, Indianapolis Star, 4 May 2020
  • The track heaves and stretches, its beat slipping through wild time signatures and then pausing for breath.
    Randall Roberts, latimes.com, 25 May 2018
  • The time signatures and rhythms contort like snakes in a bag (though sticking to 7/4 for a lot of it provides a strange cohesion).
    Christopher R. Weingarten, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2019
  • Well, there’s lots of time signature parts that went into the writing of just me on an acoustic guitar.
    Annie Zaleski, SPIN, 20 Sep. 2022
  • According to the lawsuit -- which was filed Sept. 17 -- the two tracks have the same time signature and similar tempos.
    Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 21 Sep. 2021
  • Lage took his new music to Chicago, where Jeff Tweedy suggested tweaks — a chord alteration here, a change of time signature there.
    BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2021
  • The filmmakers reflected on how those musicians in the small mountain town of Barichara strummed guitars and the region’s 12-string tiple in a waltz time signature.
    Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2021
  • And each of the musical notes has a time signature associated with it.
    Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2019
  • Meanwhile, adding to the sense of crisis, albeit on a different time signature, Venice continues to sink as sea levels rise.
    Washington Post, 22 Apr. 2022
  • That means there have been three alterations to the category count in just five years, and, honestly, a 5/3 time signature doesn’t exist for a reason.
    Vulture, 16 June 2023
  • In one song, the ensemble began with a steady rhythm before splitting into two clashing time signatures at once.
    Kate Armanini, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
  • Many bands mash up styles of music, types of instrumentation, or time signatures.
    Jamie Ludwig, Chicago Reader, 2 May 2018
  • Everything is off-balance, including the time signature, which is in 5/4.
    Nate Jones, Vulture, 11 Jan. 2021
  • In the throwback picture, which shows the couple at an HBO event, Rinna paired the chic garment with strappy black heels, simple silver earrings and her long-time signature haircut.
    Zizi Strater, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Watts begins gently but instantly ramps up the intensity with a couple of snare cracks, shifting the time signature to lead up into the vocals.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 24 Aug. 2021
  • Roeder decided to test Lage by abruptly altering the time signature in a standard to one from his native Peru.
    BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2021
  • Well, even nondrummers have to be in awe of his ability to turn percussion into a new dimension, with varied time signatures and tempos.
    Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 12 Jan. 2020
  • Evans strung some serpentine riffs over the tune’s unconventional time signature.
    Dan Emerson, Twin Cities, 26 Dec. 2019
  • The tricky 5-4 time signature provided an exciting extra kick.
    Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Feb. 2021
  • Ulicny achieves this by harnessing a twangy guitar and buoyant percussion that manically switch time signatures at whiplash speed.
    Washington Post, 7 June 2019
  • To determine the creativity of songs, Berg used an algorithm to measure features such as key, tempo, time signature and danceability.
    Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 May 2022
  • By subjecting the space-time signature of every individual to spatial and social network analyses, Torrens can identify the sources of gridlock in both the crowd and the urban infrastructure.
    Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
  • Yet Brubeck also was quite controversial at points, his experiments in unorthodox time signatures and cross-genre experiments drawing purists’ ire.
    Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 25 Nov. 2019
  • The amalgamation of international styles influenced the group to experiment with unfamiliar sounds, unconventional pacing and uncommon time signatures for an upcoming album.
    Raj Tawney, Billboard, 13 Dec. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'time signature.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: