Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the U.S., while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages.

Related Topics:
Musical notation - Beats - U.S.

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A bar line (or barline) is a vertical line which separates bars. A double bar can consist of two barlines together, separating two sections within a piece, or a barline followed by a thicker barline, indicating the end of a piece or movement. A repeat barline looks like the second type of double bar but is preceded by two dots, one above the other, indicating that the preceding section of music is to be repeated. The beginning of the repeated passage can be marked by a begin-repeat barline; if this is absent the repeat is understood to be from the beginning of the piece or movement. This begin-repeat barline, if appearing at the beginning of a staff, does not act as a true barline because no bar precedes it; its only function is to indicate the beginning of the passage to be repeated.

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Note that the term double bar refers not to a type of bar, but to a type of barline.

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In music with a regular meter, bars represent a periodic pulse in the music. In music employing mixed meters, barlines are instead used to indicate the beginning of rhythmic note groups, but this is subject to wide variation: some composers use dashed barlines, others (including Hugo Distler) have placed barlines at different places in the different parts to indicate varied groupings from part to part.

Related Topics:
Meter - Mixed meters - Hugo Distler

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Quote: "The bar line is much, much more than a mere accent, and I don't believe that it can be simulated by an accent, at least not in my music." - Igor Stravinsky (DeLone et. al. (Eds.), 1975, chap. 3).

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