The <time> element
Parent element: <attributes>
Time signatures are represented by the <beats> element for the numerator and the <beat-type> element for the denominator. Multiple pairs of <beat> and <beat-type> elements are used for composite time signatures with multiple denominators, such as 2/4 + 3/8. A composite such as 3+2/8 requires only one <beat>/<beat-type> pair.
The print-object attribute allows a time signature to be specified but not printed, as is the case for excerpts from the middle of a score. The value is "yes" if not present.
Content
Exactly one of the following
-
In this order
-
In this order (One or more times)
- <beats> (Required)
- <beat-type> (Required)
- <interchangeable> (Optional)
-
In this order (One or more times)
- <senza-misura>
Attributes
| Name | Type | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| color | color | No | Indicates the color of an element. |
| default-x | tenths | No | Changes the computation of the default horizontal position. The origin is changed relative to the left-hand side of the note or the musical position within the bar. Positive x is right and negative x is left. This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the <offset> element. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both features should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy. |
| default-y | tenths | No | Changes the computation of the default vertical position. The origin is changed relative to the top line of the staff. Positive y is up and negative y is down. This attribute provides higher-resolution positioning data than the placement attribute. Applications reading a MusicXML file that can understand both attributes should generally rely on this attribute for its greater accuracy. |
| font-family | font-family | No | A comma-separated list of font names. |
| font-size | font-size | No | One of the CSS sizes or a numeric point size. |
| font-style | font-style | No | Normal or italic style. |
| font-weight | font-weight | No | Normal or bold weight. |
| halign | left-center-right | No | In cases where text extends over more than one line, horizontal alignment and justify values can be different. The most typical case is for credits, such as:Words and music by Typically this type of credit is aligned to the right, so that the position information refers to the right-most part of the text. But in this example, the text is center-justified, not right-justified. The halign attribute is used in these situations. If it is not present, its value is the same as for the justify attribute. For elements where a justify attribute is not allowed, the default is implementation-dependent. |
| id | ID | No | Specifies an ID that is unique to the entire document. |
| number | staff-number | No | Allows a time signature to apply to only the specified staff in the part. If absent, the time signature applies to all staves in the part. |
| print-object | yes-no | No | Specifies whether or not to print an object. It is yes if not specified. |
| relative-x | tenths | No | Changes the horizontal position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-x attribute. Positive x is right and negative x is left. It should be interpreted in the context of the <offset> element or directive attribute if those are present. |
| relative-y | tenths | No | Changes the vertical position relative to the default position, either as computed by the individual program, or as overridden by the default-y attribute. Positive y is up and negative y is down. It should be interpreted in the context of the placement attribute if that is present. |
| separator | time-separator | No | Indicates how to display the arrangement between the <beats> and <beat-type> values in a time signature. |
| symbol | time-symbol | No | Indicates how to display a time signature, such as by using common and cut time symbols or a single number display. |
| valign | valign | No | Indicates vertical alignment to the top, middle, bottom, or baseline of the text. The default is implementation-dependent. |
Examples
This element is used in the following examples: