LilyPond Music Glossary: 1.157 hymn meter

## 1.157 hymn meter

ES: ?, I: ?, F: ?, D: Silbenanzahl, NL: ?, DK: ?, S: ?, FI: säkeiden tavumäärät.

A group or list of numbers that indicate the number of syllables in a line of a hymn’s verse. Different hymnals have different ways of noting the hymn meter: for example, consider a hymn that has four lines in two couplets alternating regularly between eight and seven syllables. The English Hymnal notes this as 87. 87. Other hymnals may note it as 8787, 87.87, or 8 7 8 7.

Some frequently-used hymn meters have traditional names:

- 66.86 is called Short Meter (abbreviated SM or S.M.)
- 86.86 is called Common Meter (CM or C.M.)
- 88.88 is called Long Meter (LM or L.M.)

Some hymns and their tunes are doubled versions of a simpler meter: for easier reading, a hymn with a meter of 87.87.87.87 is usually written 87.87D. The traditional names above also have doubled versions:

- 66.86.66.86 is Double Short Meter (DSM or D.S.M.)
- 86.86.86.86 is Double Common Meter (DCM or D.C.M.)
- 88.88.88.88 is Double Long Meter (DLM or D.L.M.)

#### See also

No cross-references.

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