Q: Passage: The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are to be contained in each measure (bar) and which note value is equivalent to one beat.

Question: Based on this passage, what does a time signature mean in music?
Let's give stream of consciousness below
To answer the above question, the relevant sentence is: The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are to be contained in each measure (bar) and which note value is equivalent to one beat. So the answer is specify how many beats ( pulses ) are to be contained in each measure ( bar ) and which note value is equivalent to one beat.