TIMBREL, a musical instrument of the highest antiquity ; the tympattess Jere of the Roman poets, and, in the opinion of all writers of any authority, the same, in an almost unaltered state, as that now known in every part of Europe under the names of tabor, tambourine, tambour de Banta, &e.
TIME (in Music) is : I. The measure of the duration of sound.
II. That which divides a bar into two or three equal parts, and sub divides these.
III. The movement—that is, the quickness or /slowness— of a composition.
I. The degree of sound, or pitch, is shown by the place on the staff of any one of the characters called notes; but its duration is known by the particular note ; that is, as minim, or crotchet, &e. The longest note, in relation to time, used in modern music, is the semibreve, which is considered the measure-note, and its average length is about four beats of a healthy man's pulse. The five other notes are pro portionate parts of this. Thus the minim is in duration / of a semi breve ; the crotchet is I, &e. : consequently two minims, or four crotchets, &c., are equal to one semibreve, as exhibited in the annexed table :— 2. Time is either duple or triple. The former divides every bar, or
measure, into 2, ;or 4, &e., equal parts; the Latter into 3, or 6, &c. Times are marked by the letter C,—also by this letter barred (0), and by figures. The C, whether barred or not, indicates Common Time ; that is, duple time, having one semibreve, or ita equivalent in notes, in each bar. Figures represent the fractions of a semibreve, the upper figure the numerator, the lower the denominator. When the nume rator is 2 or 4, the time is duple ; when 3, it is triple ; when 6 or 12, it is compound-common ; and when 9, it is compound-triple. But in reality, there are only two times—binary and ternary; or duple and triple.
3. The terra Time has hitherto had a third meaning annexed to it in musical language, by its employment in the sense of movement, a:practice which has produced some confusion. The Italian word Tempo, signifying the same, is now growing into use. [AlErnososts; Ilurrnat.];