> On 6 Jan 2026, at 11:42, Kieren MacMillan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Hans, > >> The English usage is given at the top of this article (also elsewhere). >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature > > Thanks for that reference. > > 1. For 7/8 and sim., I like “irregular”. > > 2. For (3+4)/8 and sim., I like “additive”.
For irregular meters, it is common not to write out the plus sign, not at all, or just enough to provide suitable disambiguation. Thus, there is a difference between irregular meters and irregular time signatures. In your example 2, both meters are irregular, but the second could be called, in addition, an additive time signature. In the example 1, the meter could be said to be 3+2+2 or 2+2+3, leaving it to the performer to infer it, say from the beaming or the type of tune. > 3. For 3/8+2/4 and sim., I like “mixed”. In Bulgarian music, they have complex irregular meters, but when they combine meters, they call it mixed. They need not be complex: there was a case of switching between 2- and 3-time. There can be an ambiguity. For example, the Sedi Donka noted as mixed 25 = 7+7+11 separated by bars, with irregular meters 7 = 3+2+2, and 11 = 2+2+3+2+2 with no plus signs. However, because the mixed meter is completely regular, it is natural to think of it as an irregular meter in 25-time. So there, I decided to use dotted bars. > 4. For 6/8 (3/4) and sim., I like “alternating”. You mean as in America, the West Side Story song? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(West_Side_Story_song) In the Bulgarian usage, “mixed” just means that the meter is shifting; it need not do that in a regular manner. > 5. For 1/3 and sim, I like “non-dyadic” (and dislike “irrational”). I haven't encountered those, so fine. 🙂 > 6. I would like to save “irrational” for 3/π and other truly irrational > signatures. It agrees with the mathematical definition of irrational numbers. > 7. “Compound” can be reserved for cases in which [to quote that Wikipedia > page] “the note values specified by the bottom number are grouped into > threes, and the upper number is a multiple of 3, such as 6, 9, or 12”, and > “simple” can be reserved for the rest. This terminology seems deeply ingrained in English usage.
