Simple and Compound Time
Time signatures fall into two basic categories – simple time and compound time. Simple time is any time signature where the basic beat is divisible by two. For example, in * , ^ , and % the basic beat is a quarter note which may be divided in half to become two eighth notes per beat.
Any time signature where the basic beat is divisible by three is called compound time. The most common example of compound time is six eight time ( )). Other examples of compound time would be 
, _ , and + . In compound time, the basic beat is felt as a dotted quarter note which can be divided by three.
Six Eight Time ( ) )
In six eight time there are six eighth note beats in each bar. Although every eighth note is counted as a beat in ) time (1 2 3 4 5 6), it is felt as two pulses per bar (1 2 3, 4 5 6, or 1 2 3, 2 2 3). The song House of the Rising Sun in lesson 14 is written in ) time. This time signature is also particularly common in Folk music. The following song shows some typical note groupings in ) time.
Twelve Eight Time ( + )
Another useful time signature is twelve eight time (+ ). It tells you there are twelve eighth note beats in each bar. A bar of eighth notes in twelve eight time sounds the same as a bar of triplets in four four time. Although there are twelve individual beats which can be counted, twelve eight time is usually still counted in four (1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 3) as demonstrated in the following example.
One of the main reasons for using the twelve eight time signature instead of * is that it becomes easier to count when the eighth notes are subdivided. Since there is a number on each eighth note, sixteenth notes can be counted as + (and) as demonstrated in the following example.
To finish things off, here is a solo which makes use of 16th notes in + time. It also contains 16th note triplets. The chord symbols above the music are mostly seventh chords.
