A measure, also called a bar, is the space between two bar lines. The time signature says how many beats each measure holds.
Measures are how musicians refer to a place in a piece: "from bar 17" is precise in a way "from the loud bit" is not. In 4/4 every measure holds four quarter-note beats, so the count restarts at each bar line.
How to spot it
It is the chunk of music between two vertical lines. Many editions number every system's first measure in small type above the staff.
Find it in thirty seconds
Number the first eight measures of a piece in pencil. Then play measure 5 on its own. Being able to start anywhere is what separates practicing from playing through.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
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How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each, clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Pickup (Anacrusis): Pickup (Anacrusis) in piano music. A pickup, also called an anacrusis, is an incomplete measure at the start of a piece, holding the note or notes that lead in…
Bar Line: Bar Line in piano music. A bar line is the vertical line crossing the staff that divides music into measures. A double bar line marks the end of a section, and…
Time Signature: Time Signature in piano music. The time signature is the pair of numbers after the clef. The top number says how many beats are in each measure; the bottom say…
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Middle C: Middle C in piano music. Middle C is the C nearest the middle of the piano, and the note that sits on its own little ledger line between the two staves of pian…
Natural Sign: Natural Sign in piano music. A natural (♮) cancels a sharp or a flat, returning the note to its unaltered pitch for the rest of the measure.
