meter in music definition
Irregular Meters in Music. Irregular meters (also called asymmetrical meters) establish a regular metric pattern from an asymmetrical sequence of two or more time signatures. A 5/8 time signature, for example, is usually understood as the sum of two simple meters 3/8 + 2/8 or 2/8 + 3/8. Beat hierarchy in irregular meters, just like in regular meters, is either simple (diving in two equal parts) or compound (diving in three equal parts). The time signature of 15/16, however, corresponds to the compound meter relative of 5/8.