Talk:Compound metre
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Moving this. It may be another meaning which I'm not aware of:
comprising a number of beats greater than four. Time signature having one beat are rare; those having two, three or four beats are common; those having more than four can be considered compounds of more common meters.
A musician playing in 54, for instance, may choose to count three beats followed by two, or two followed by three, since counting in groups of two or three is more familiar than in larger groups. Most musicians will find a count of 1-2-3 1-2 much more natural than 1-2-3-4-5. When the numerator gets bigger such a strategy is indispensible, as in time signatures such as 138.
There are several definitions of the term. The one mentioned above is closest to that used in the eighteenth and nineteenth
century: A compound measure is composed of two simple measures, i.e. two 2/4 become one 4/4, or two 3/8 become one 6/8. Thus, one compound measure contains the musical material of two simple measures, and two downbeats comparable in strength. A four-mm. phrase will appear in the score as a two-mm. phrase, and cadences will occur in the second half of m. 2. (Instead of at the beginning of m. 4.) Theories of phrase rhythm (e.g. Koch, Versuch einer Anleitung zur Composition or Riepel, Anfangsgründe der Tonsetzkunst) therefore recommend counting every notated measure as two mm. when comparing phrase-lengths. In compound-meter pieces, Cadences will normally occur in mid-measure, but phrases with an odd number of measures as well as elisions can cause cadences to fall on the first downbeat (whereas phrases will begin in mid-measure). It also frequently happens that a recapitulation, compared with the exposition, appears displaced by half a measure. In those cases, there is no reason to believe that the recap should be accented differently.
The phenomenon described in the main article was known as "mixed meter". The mixed 6/8 (a 2/4 with triple subdivision) is not to
be confused with the compound 6/8 (3/8 + 3/8), and the compound 4/4 (2/4 + 2/4) is different from 2/4 and the modern notion of 4/4 (with hierarchical accentuation). The notational practice of compound meter dates back to the invention of the barline in the sixteenth century, and slowly came out of use in the nineteenth century.
Example of a compound 4/4: Haydn, Piana Sonata No. 62 in E flat, Hob. XVI:52 Example of a compound 6/8: Mozart, Piano Sonata in A, K. 331
The definition given in the main article (also in the "meter" article) is IMHO a corrupt use, also quite pervasive. I have not yet had time to trackdown the history of calling mixed compound.
