A time signature tells you how many beats fill each measure and which note value counts as one beat — e.g. 4/4 is four quarter-note beats per measure, the most common meter in Western music. The brightest dot is always beat 1; the medium-bright dots are secondary accents. The “♪.” (dotted quarter) options show 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 grouped into their compound pulse (2, 3, or 4 sweeping beats) instead of individual eighth notes — same meter, same tempo, just felt as one rolling beat instead of counted one-by-one.

Subdivisions add extra clicks between the main beats so you can hear — and internalize — exactly where the off-beats fall. "Eighth" adds one click halfway through each beat; "Triplet" splits each beat into three even clicks; "Sixteenth" into four. Quintuplet, sextuplet, and septuplet divide each beat into 5, 6, or 7 even clicks for practicing unusual groupings. "Dotted 8th–16th" plays a long-short shuffle/swing feel instead of even clicks. Practicing with subdivisions on, then switching back to plain quarter notes, is a great way to build a steadier internal sense of rhythm.