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Cut time (2/2)

Cut time is 2/2: two beats in a bar, and a half note gets each beat. It holds the same notes as a bar of 4/4 but counts two big beats instead of four, so it feels in two. It is written as a C with a line through it and is also called alla breve.

80 BPM, Andante: at a walking pace

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How to count 2/2

Count 1 2, one for each half note, or 1 & 2 & in quarter notes. Players count fast music in two so it reads easily: a quick march or show tune in cut time is two steps a bar.

2/2 at a glance: its type, its beats and what a bar holds
2/2
TypeSimple duple
Beats in a bar2
A beat isA half note
A bar holdstwo half notes, four quarter notes or one whole note

Music in 2/2

Marches such as Sousa’s "The Stars and Stripes Forever", fast show tunes, bluegrass and other fast music that feels in two.

2/2 or 4/4?

Both bars drawn to one scale: the wider a box, the longer its note.

2/2: 1 2
4/4: 1 2 3 4

4/4 has four quarter-note beats in the same space, so the notes look the same on the page. Cut time counts them in two: the metronome at 80 BPM in cut time clicks half as often as at 160 BPM in 4/4, and the music is as fast.

How to count it and where it is heard are on the page for the 4/4 time signature.

Questions about 2/2

What does 2/2 mean?

Cut time is 2/2: two beats in a bar, and a half note gets each beat. It holds the same notes as a bar of 4/4 but counts two big beats instead of four, so it feels in two. It is written as a C with a line through it and is also called alla breve.

What is cut time in music?

The time signature 2/2: two half-note beats a bar. It is 4/4 counted in two, written as a C with a line through it.

Is cut time the same as 4/4?

Not quite. A bar holds the same notes, but cut time counts two half-note beats where 4/4 counts four quarters, so it feels in two. Cut time at 80 BPM is as fast as 4/4 at 160.

Why is it called cut time?

Because the C of common time is cut by a line, and the beats are cut from four to two. Its Italian name is alla breve.

What music is in 2/2?

Marches such as Sousa’s "The Stars and Stripes Forever", fast show tunes, bluegrass and other fast music that feels in two.

Other time signatures

4/43/42/45/46/47/42/23/26/89/812/83/85/87/8

For any tempo in any of them, use the online metronome.

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