Size 3 eighths. Musical time signatures

Every person studying music is required to undergo solfeggio studies. And one of the fundamental themes is meters in music. Next, their main varieties, methods of determination and some of the most common combinations will be considered.

Concept of musical meter

Before defining what constitutes a musical meter, you need to have an understanding of the concept called musical meter.

It is generally accepted that all music is based on the so-called pulsation - alternating beats of equal duration, which can be strong and weak. The downbeat always comes first in the measure. But you should not confuse strong beats with emphasis, since such emphasis can also occur on weak beats.

IN modern music Most often you can find meters consisting of two or three parts. IN in simple terms a two-beat meter consists of one strong and one weak beat (one-two), and a three-beat meter consists of one strong and two weak ones (one-two-three). Thus, musical meter can be represented as a process of counting such alternations or even as a kind of time grid with a sequence of beats indicated in it.

Types of lobes and their varieties

Understanding what a musical meter is is impossible without knowing the types of beats. As already mentioned, in the simplest case they are divided into strong and weak.

However, some may object, they say, what about the most common 4/4 time signature? In music, it is believed that the first beat is strong, the second and fourth are weak, but the third is relatively strong. The size itself is classified as complex, since it consists of two simple ones. But this will be discussed separately.

Tact in music

Now a few words about understanding tact. If we talk in simple language, a beat in music is the interval of sound from one strong beat to another.

No matter how many beats are indicated in the musical size in total, only one strong beat and any number of relatively strong and weak ones can be present in a measure. The counting in a measure always starts with “one”. Depending on the size, the shares can be counted as “one-two” (“one-two-three”), “one-and-two-and” (“one-and-two-and-three-and”), etc. d.

Time signature in music: main varieties

Finally, we come to the concept of size. Meters in music are sometimes called the numerical expression of the meter, indicating the relative duration of the beats and their total number in one measure.

Why is the concept of relative duration used? Yes, only because the beats can be broken down into components, which the musical meter does not provide for. For example, the 4/4 time signature in music, also denoted by the Latin letter “C,” provides for the presence of one measure consisting of four quarter notes in total.

But each quarter note can also be represented as combinations of eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, or even sixty-fourth notes! How exactly they will be combined with each other is decided by the composer himself. The main thing is that their sum does not exceed the total sound duration corresponding to four quarters. But these are already the basics musical literacy.

As for the main varieties, time signatures in music they are divided into simple and complex. Complex sizes also include categories of mixed, asymmetrical and variable sizes.

Simple time signatures

Based on the understanding of meter, we can describe the sizes that are called simple in music. They distinguish between two-lobed and three-lobed sizes. In the first case, the repetition of strong beats occurs through one weak beat, and in the second - through two.

The most common two-beat sizes are considered to be 2/8, 2/4 and 2/2 (meter 2/2 in music, like 2/8, is extremely rare and is considered exclusively within the framework of theoretical information). Of the three-part sizes, these are 3/4, 3/8 and 3/2. Again, 3/2 or 3/8 are hardly ever used, and three-quarter time is the most common (for example, it is used for almost all waltzes).

Complex time signatures

Complex dimensions in the simplest case should be understood as a combination of two or more simple ones. In this case, it is the first beat of the first size that is strong, and the seemingly strong beat from the second automatically goes into the category of relatively strong.

In complex time signatures, the easiest to understand are sizes like 4/4, 4/2, 6/4, 6/2, 6/8, 12/8, 8/4, 8/8. As you can see, these sizes are comparable to each other, for example, 8/8 is the same as 4/4.

Mixed and asymmetrical time signatures

Another thing is mixed sizes. In music, five-, seven-, nine- and eleven-beat combinations are most often found. And the sequence of beats, accordingly, can look completely different. Let's take 5/4 as an example.

When creating this size, simple components are used: 2/4 and 3/4. But the combination can look like “2+3” or “3+2”. Thus, a shift occurs relative to the strong lobe.

Perhaps the brightest and famous composition, written in this measure with the combination “3+2” can be called “Mary Magdalene’s Aria” from the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

As for other dimensions, there may be more combinations in them. So, for example, a musical time signature of 7/8 can consist of the sequences “2+2+3”, “2+3+2” or “3+2+2”. In nine- and eleven-beat dimensions, there are, respectively, more such variations. But when creating music using such meters, it is worth remembering that the average listener will have difficulty perceiving such a melody by ear, and not everyone will be able to play it.

Although, if you look at the bands playing thrash metal, they cope with this simply perfectly and quite often combine “ragged” riffs with the usual simple or complex meters.

For example, the same Xentrix group very successfully alternates 3/4 time signatures with triplets of eighth notes on each beat and 7/8, sometimes adding 9/8. Naturally, it will not be so easy for an untrained listener to determine the size by ear the first time, but it sounds very, very interesting. In general, a classic of the genre.

Variable time signatures

Meters of this type are extremely rare in music, mostly in folk music. musical folklore. Bulgarian folk songs- a vivid example.

The very concept of this term only implies that during one composition the main size can change several times, for example, using several regular complex and several asymmetrical sizes.

Sizing method

When determining the size, the listener relies solely on his own hearing and this is the only way to distinguish where exactly the strong beat sounds, from which to start.

However, in almost all music schools During solfeggio lessons, students use a special conducting technique. For example, the 4/4 time signature is represented by swinging the hand first down, then to the left, then to the right, and then up again (usually at an angle of 45 degrees).

Three quarters - swings down, right and up. Six eighths - swings down, left, right, up again, and at the top two swings to the right (or in another combination). However, at first, when determining meters by ear and writing dictations, teachers, in order to develop a sense of rhythm in students, deliberately highlight the strong beat of each measure. It is this technique that makes it possible to ensure that in the future a person will be able to determine any type of dimension (even taking into account their alternation) independently and without any accents or hints.

Conclusion

To sum it up, musical meters are very closely related to the understanding of musical meter, beats and measures. Therefore, in order to learn to clearly determine exactly what meter sounds in any piece of music, you cannot do without the basics of musical literacy and solfeggio.

True, many students, at least at first, do not like solfeggio, to put it mildly, considering it unnecessary and difficult to understand. However, it is precisely this that is the very basis that provides fertile ground for the development of a person as a musician of the highest professional level. After all, there is also a world-famous guitarist who played in such famous groups, How Deep Purple and Rainbow, argued that moving the fingers quickly along the fretboard is not a technique. Without knowledge of the basics and classical canons of music, become a professional highest level It's simply impossible.

So, beginning musicians can be advised to be patient and persevering and study these subjects thoroughly. IN music education, so to speak, it’s like “Our Father.”

Staff

Notes are placed on five horizontal lines called stave or stave. Staff lines are always counted down up in order, that is, the bottom line is the first, the one following it is the second, etc.

The notes on the staff are located on or between lines. The bottom line of the staff is E.
Any note located on this line is played as E, as long as there are no decreasing or increasing signs.
The next note (between the lines) is the note F, etc.

Notes can also extend beyond the staff and are written on additional lines. Additional lines above the staff are called upper additional rules and are counted from bottom to top of the staff.
High-pitched sounds are recorded on these additional rulers. Low sounds are written under the staff and are called lower additional lines, and are counted from top to bottom from the staff.

Keys

At the beginning of the staff there is always a key that determines the height of one of the sounds in the scale, from which the height of the remaining sounds is measured.

Treble clef (or salt key) determines on the staff the position of the G sound of the first octave, which is written on the second line.

The bass clef (or F clef) determines the position on the staff of the F sound of the small octave, which is recorded on the fourth line.

Beat and time signature. Confluent and weak beats.

For ease of reading notes music recording divided into equal periods of time (number of beats) – so you .
Tact – This is a segment of musical notation limited by two bar lines.

The first note of each measure has a stress - an accent.

This accented beat serves as the beginning of the count in each measure.

Measures are separated from each other by vertical lines that cross the staff. These vertical bars are called bar bars.

After the key, the beat size is set.

The size is indicated by two numbers, one below the other in the form of a fraction: 2/4; 3/6; 4/4 etc.
The upper number indicates the number of beats in a bar, and the lower number indicates the duration of each beat (what duration is taken as a unit of counting - a quarter, a half, etc.).

(For example: a 2/2 time signature consists of two half-time notes, and a 7/8 time signature consists of seven eighth-time notes.)

As we have already said, the first beats of each measure stand out, sound stronger than other sounds - are accentuated.
At the same time, the periodicity of the sound of strong and weak beats is preserved, i.e. there is a uniform change of stress. Typically, a measure consists of several beats, the first strong (in the musical notation it is marked with an accent sign >) and several weak ones following it.

In a two-beat measure (2/4), the first beat (“one”) is strong, the second (“two”) is weak.
In a three-beat measure (3/4), the first beat (“one”) is strong, the second (“two”) is weak, and the third (“three”) is weak.

Two-beat and three-beat measures are called simple. The four-beat measure (4/4) is complex. It is formed from two simple measures of two-beat time. In such a complex bar, there are two strong accents on the first and third beats, with the first accent on the strongest beat of the bar, and the second on a relatively weaker beat, that is, it sounds slightly weaker than the first.

Alteration signs

To indicate the tonality of a note, the notes may be preceded by the signs flat, sharp, double-flat, double-sharp and becar.

Such signs are called alteration signs.

If there is a sharp in front of a note, then the note rises by half a tone, a double-sharp - by a tone. If it is flat, then the note is lowered by a semitone, and if it is double-sharp, by a tone. Decreasing and raising signs, appearing once, are applied to the entire score until they are canceled by another sign.

There is a special sign that cancels the lowering or raising of a note and returns it to its natural height - this is the bekar. Double-flat and double-sharp are rarely used.

Alteration signs are used mainly in two cases: as key and as random.

Key characters are located to the right of the key in a certain order: fa – do – sol – re – la – mi – si for sharps , For flat – B – E – A – D – G – C – F .

If in any measure the same note with a sharp or flat occurs several times, then the flat or sharp is placed only once and retains its effect throughout the entire measure. Such sharps and flats are called random.

Duration of notes and rests

Whether the note is shaded or not, as well as the sticks attached to it, i.e. stems indicate the duration of the note. The main note durations are whole (1) and are indicated by an unshaded head without a stem, as well as its half divisions: half (2), quarter (3), eighth (4), sixteenth (5), etc. In this case, the duration of a whole note is a relative value: it depends on the current tempo of the piece.

Another standard duration includes a double whole, indicated by a small unshaded rectangle with strokes near the corners.

If several notes with a duration of less than a fourth are written in a row and none of them (except, perhaps, the first) falls on a strong beat, then they are written under a common edge or a viscous stick - a stick connecting the ends of the stems.

Moreover, if the notes are eighth notes, the edge is single, if the sixteenth notes are double, etc. Nowadays, we encounter a combination of notes from different measures, as well as notes that are not in a row.

It happens that you need to write a note that lasts, for example, three eighths. There are two ways to do this: if there is a strong beat while the note is sounding, then two notes are taken, giving a total of three eighths (that is, a quarter and an eighth) and ligated, that is, a league is placed between them - an arc, the ends almost touching the ovals of the notes .

If the strong beat is left aside, then to extend the note by half its sound, a dot is placed to the right of the oval (that is, at in this case three eighths is a quarter with a dot). Dotted notes can also be combined under a single edge.

Finally, it may be necessary to divide any duration not into two halves, but into three, five or another number of equal parts, not a multiple of two. In this case, triplets, pentoli and other similar notation forms are used.

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A break in sound is called a pause . The duration of pauses is measured in the same way as the duration of sounds (notes). A whole pause (8) is equal in duration to a whole note. It is indicated by a short line under the fourth line of the staff. A half rest (9) is equal in duration to a half note. It is indicated by the same dash as the quarter rest, but this dash is written above the third line of the staff. The quadruple rest (10) is equal in duration to the fourth note and is indicated by a broken line in the center. The eighth (11), sixteenth (12) and thirty-second (13) rests are equal in length to the eighth, sixteenth and thirty-second notes respectively and are indicated by a slash with one, two or three small flags.

A dot to the right of a note or rest increases its duration by half. Two dots at a note or at a pause increase the duration by half and another quarter.

The dots above or below the notes indicate the abrupt nature of the performance or staccato, in which each sound loses part of its duration, becomes sharper, shorter, drier.

League (arc curved up or down) binds standing nearby notes of the same height, summing up their duration. A league connecting two or more notes located on different heights, means a coherent execution of these sounds or legato.

Fermata is a sign indicating to the performer that he should increase the duration of a note or pause at his discretion.

Repetition marks

When performing a piece, you often have to repeat a fragment or the entire piece. To do this, the symbols of repetition - reprises - are used in musical notation. The music laid out between these signs must be repeated. Sometimes when repeating there are different endings. In this case, at the end of the repetition, brackets are used - volts. This means that for the first time the ending measures contained in the first volta are played, and when repeated, the measures of the first volta are skipped and the measures of the second volta are played instead.

(Reprise)

Pace

The notation also indicates the tempo of the composition. Tempo is a particular speed of execution piece of music.

There are three main execution speeds: slow, moderate and fast.

The main tempo is usually indicated at the very beginning of the piece. There are five main notations for these tempos:

Slowly – adagio (Adagio),
Slowly, calmly - andante (Andante),
Moderate – moderato
Coming soon - Allegro
Quickly - Presto.
The average of these tempos - moderato - corresponds to the speed of a calm step.

Often, when performing a piece of music, you have to speed up or slow down its main tempo.
These tempo changes are most often indicated by the words:
Accelerando, abbreviated accel. (accelerando) – accelerating,
Ritenuto, abbreviated as rit. – slowing down,
and tempo (a tempo) - at the same tempo (restore the previous tempo after the previous acceleration or deceleration).

Volume

When performing a piece of music, in addition to the tempo, you should also take into account the required volume (strength) of the sound. Everything related to sound volume is called dynamic shades. These shades are displayed in notes, usually between staves.
The most commonly used designations for sound intensity are the following:
pp (pianissimo) - very quiet,
p (piano) – quiet,
mf (mezzo forte) - with medium strength,
f(forte) – loud,
ff (fortissimo) - very loud.
And also signs:
< (crescendo) - gradually increasing the sound
> (diminuendo) - gradually weakening the sound.

Along with the above tempo designations, notes often contain words that indicate the nature of the performance of the music of the work, for example: melodiously, tenderly, agilely, playfully, brilliantly, decisively, etc.

Melisma signs

Melism signs do not change the tempo or rhythmic pattern of the melody, but only decorate it. There are the following types of melismas:

Scale and octave

Musical sounds form a musical sound series that starts from the most low sounds to the highest. There are seven basic sounds in the scale: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si.

You are a beginner musician and enjoy learning musical notation, but are you having problems understanding yet another piece of music and counting correctly? Nothing, anyone who has a question will always find an answer.

The unit of calculation when reading any piece of music is the duration. The duration of notes is not a specific constant that depends on time - it cannot be measured in seconds. The duration of notes can only be represented in relation to the durations of other notes, and the same piece can be played faster or slower, but still sound correct in both cases. But how can you learn to count notes correctly and easily?

Note duration table

In order to determine the duration, you just need to look at the denominator of the time signature indicated in that particular piece. A meter is a sequence of repeated beats that divide time into equal intervals (beats). So, if the time signature is 4/4, the duration is four, 6/8 - the duration is eight. However, this rule may be violated if one of these sizes is used: 2/2, 3/2, etc. In this case, very often not a half, but a quarter is taken as a unit of account.

But before we move on to counting, let's still figure out what the notes of different styles mean. The outline of the notes themselves tells the musician how long and at what frequency to play the sound of a given pitch in a specific time signature. Below is a table of note durations and rests.

And one more drawing for greater clarity.

The splitting of notes does not end there, and the sixteenth is followed by the thirty-second, followed by the sixty-four, one hundred and twenty-eighth, and two hundred and fifty-sixth. But the notes presented in the table above are the most common.

Note with a dot

By adding a dot or dots, the duration of a particular note can be increased. One dot increases the duration of a note by one and a half times, two dots - by 1.75 times, three dots - by 1.875 times.

In addition to the dot, the duration of a note can be increased by a league. Such a note is two identical notes of the same pitch, connected by a league. In this case, only the first note is played, and the second is linked with it.

How to count notes?

If you don't know how to count notes correctly, you will never be able to play an unfamiliar piece of music correctly. I will not describe the theory for a long time, but with a clear example I will show how convenient it is to count notes in different sizes. For this, I selected excerpts from several musical works recorded in different sizes and signed the correct count, where you can clear examples see how to count notes in time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8 and 6/8. This method of counting is as convenient as possible for me, but if you have another, share it with readers in the comments.

Time signatures 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 in music

The size of a piece of music can be seen at the very beginning, while the numerator of the fraction indicates the number of beats in a measure, and the denominator indicates the duration by which these same beats are expressed.

How to count 4/4 time signature

4/4 time signature is one of the most common musical time signatures. Size C is equivalent to size 4/4. This measure consists of four beats, with each beat equal in duration to a quarter (fourth note). Below are examples of invoices.

How to count size 3/4

The 3/4 time signature consists of three beats, each beat being equal to a quarter note.

How to count size 2/4

In this case, the duration is four, but we count to two. (One and two and; one yes and yes, two yes and yes). The 2/4 time signature consists of two beats, each of which is equal in duration to a quarter.

Or below is a slightly more complex version (you can click on the image and it will enlarge). In this case, we count not just by “one and two and”, but by “one yes and yes, two yes and yes.”

Meter 6/8 in music, how to count?

The 6/8 time signature is made up of six beats, and each beat is an eighth note. We count to six: one, two, three, four, five, six.

First of all, a little later I will write a continuation where I will look at other sizes. If the article was useful to you, please like it!

Musicians like everyone else normal people, sometimes they get together to drink and talk. It happens that normal people also get together with musicians, in which case their task is to prevent the musicians from locking tongues, because in this case they will actually start drinking and talking. And if there is some kind at hand musical instrument, then show it for clarity.

Let’s assume that normal people didn’t save the musicians, they got hold of two guitars somewhere and still started showing each other cool cartoons (in their musician’s language this is called “jam”). Very fun fun at these jams, play non-standard time signatures.

The melody, with rare exceptions, has size. If you don't know what it is, explain in simple words difficult (but very easy to show), but I'll try. Size is, roughly speaking, to what count you would count to yourself if you danced this melody. In a waltz you count "one-two-three, one-two-three", so the waltz is in three-quarter time, or, in short note, 3/4 .

It should be noted that this notation does not mean “three divided by four.” It is also necessary to clarify that “quarter” is such a conditional duration of our “ones”, “two” and “three”. There are also “eighths” and “sixteenths”; they are two and four times shorter than a quarter, respectively. And there are also... sorry.

The song Yesterday or the anthem of the USSR is played in the size 4/4 . March dimension - 2/4 (“at-two, at-two”).

Perhaps the most famous non-standard meter song is Take Five. She is played in 5/4 , and that extra quarter is blowing the minds of generations of young musicians.

Another famous song in 5/4 is Sting - Seven days. Non-standard size, the musicians perk up and move on.

At the rate of 7/4 the most famous song is Pink Floyd - Money (14.6 MB). It’s quite difficult to sing, even if you’ve heard it a hundred times, and the size itself is at the limit of perception for an unprepared listener - famous songs at 7/4 no more.

Custom sizes are handled jazz musicians, mathcore players, arttrokers and other music hooligans. At the dawn of its existence, the group Juniper, out of hooligan motives, performed Old Man Kozlodoev (4.22 Mb) in 9/4 , which pretty much broke the mold for the few who dared to dance to it.

Also, non-standard sizes form the basis of traditional Balkan music, and these guys knead like adults - dancing to the sizes of 13, 15, 21 and 25 quarters is a common thing for them. Here, for example, is Sedi Donka in all its murderous glory 25/16 .

In short, complex dimensions aren't scary, they're a lot of fun. Comrade! If you are a musician, add an extra eighth to your favorite “what is autumn”, it’s more fun!

And, in conclusion, a terribly beautiful thing in size 22/8 —

Size. Types of size

What is the size of a piece of music? How to diversify the “pulse” of music?
This section contains information about types of musical signature.
Let us remind you: musical time signature (see dictionary) is the number of beats of a certain duration that form a measure.

Simple sizes.

Consist of a simple, indivisible number of shares. There are two-lobed and three-lobed ones.
Let's look at each type of simple size separately.

Bipartite simple size.
A meter in which strong beats are evenly repeated through one weak beat is called bipartite. Those. a strong beat, then a weak beat, again a strong beat, a weak beat, etc. Examples of two-part sizes: 2/2, 2/4, 2/8.
Size 2/2 has its own name: alla breve (read: alla breve), as well as its own designation: .
Please note that one measure with this size contains two beats: the first beat is strong, the second is weak.

Trilobed simple size.
A meter in which strong beats are evenly repeated through two weak beats is called tribeat. Examples of three-part sizes: 3/2, 3/4, 3/8, 3/16.
Please note that one measure contains three beats: the first beat is strong, the second and third are weak.

Grouping durations.
In simple meters, the durations of the main beats should be separated from each other:

Figure 1. Duration grouping

There are exceptions, for example: if a measure contains notes of the same duration, then they can be grouped; The 3/8 time signature allows for merging of the main beats.

Complex sizes.

Complex dimensions are obtained by merging two or more simple homogeneous dimensions. For example, the 4/4 time signature can be thought of as a fusion of two simple time signatures, 2/4 and 2/4.
- Quadruple complex sizes: 4/2, 4/4, 4/8.
- Six-part complex sizes: 6/4, 6/8, 6/16.
- Nine-beat complex sizes: 9/4, 9/8, 9/16.
- Twelve-beat complex sizes: 12/8, 12/16.
Number of strong beats in complex size corresponds to the number of simple sizes included in its composition.

Relatively strong shares.
The emphasis on the first beat of a complex meter is always stronger than the accents of the remaining beats, and therefore the first beat is called a strong beat, and the remaining strong beats are called relatively strong shares.

Figure 1. Strong and relatively strong beats

In the figure we see a complex 4/4 time signature made up of two simple 2/4 times. Accent marks ">" indicate notes that correspond to downbeats. The strong beat is underlined in red - it is the first in the measure, and in blue - a relatively strong beat.
Note: since the beat in our case occupies one quarter, both the red and blue lines underline the durations of one quarter to indicate the beat.
Please note: the downbeats in a complex time signature are evenly spaced.

Grouping.
When grouping notes in a complex time signature, the notes that are part of a simple time signature are combined. If a bar contains a single note whose duration is equal to the duration of the bar, then you can:
- indicate one note with a duration per beat;
- indicate individual notes for each simple size, combining them with a league.

Mixed sizes.

Mixed sizes are the result of merging two or more simple dissimilar sizes. For example, the 5/4 time signature can be thought of as a fusion of two simple time signatures, 2/4 and 3/4; and also vice versa: like 3/4 and 2/4.

The most common mixed sizes are:
- Five-part sizes: 5/4, 5/8.
- Seven-lobe sizes: 7/4, 7/8.
The number of strong shares in a mixed size corresponds to the number of simple sizes included in its composition. Let's return to the example with the 5/4 time signature: since it is formed by merging two simple sizes, it has two strong beats.

In the first case, when the 5/4 measure is formed by merging the 2/4 and 3/4 measures, the strong beats will be the first (the strong beat of the 2/4 size) and the third (the strong beat of the 3/4 size). Look at Figure 1, everything will become clear:

Figure 1. Mixed sizes

Strong beats in the figure are indicated by the symbol “>” (accent). The picture also shows the sizes 2/4 and 3/4, from which we got 5/4.
If we change the order of simple sizes, i.e. first 3/4, and then 2/4, then we will shift the second strong beat from the third to the fourth (see Figure 2):

Figure 2. Mixed sizes

From the examples it is clear how important the order of simple dimensions in a complex one is: it is this that determines the location of the strong beats. It is also clear that the strong lobes are not evenly spaced.

Mixed size properties.
Due to the heterogeneity of simple sizes that make up a complex size, the following is observed:
- the order of the simple sizes that make up the mixed size is important. It is this order that determines the alternation of strong and relatively strong beats (note that there are cases of changing the order of simple sizes in complex ones throughout the same work);
- the alternation of strong and relatively strong beats in a mixed size is uneven.

Mixed size designation.
Sometimes, for ease of reading, next to the indication of the main size of the work, the order of simple sizes is written in parentheses:

Figure 3. Example of mixed size designation

Grouping.
Notes in mixed time signatures are grouped in the same way as in complex time signatures. Due to the heterogeneity of simple meters, the rhythmic groups are uneven.

Variable sizes

In music it happens that the time signature changes within one piece. In this case, the work is said to have a variable size. Let’s immediately look at an example from which everything will become clear:

Figure 1. Variable sizes

Initially, the size of the work is set to 3/4. Starting from the 3rd measure, the time signature changes to 5/4. And in the 6th measure the size returns to the original (3/4). This piece has a variable size.
As a repetition, please note: the work has reprises, triplets, and sharps. In the penultimate measure, “3x” is written above the closing reprise sign - this obliges you to play this passage 3 times, and not 2, as usual.

Results.
You took note that the size can be simple, complex, mixed. As the work progresses, the size may change. This is called variable sizing. You also learned more about note grouping and accents.