It is of great importance that the beaming is correct, because then the performer can tell at a glance where the beats are without referring to the time signature — and this is especially important in a piece where the time signature changes often, or if the music has an irregular time signature.

Music without beams

Look at the bar of music above, and then the two possible beaming interpretations below (the accents indicate the emphasis on the beats that a performer might add).

Interpretation 1:
Interpretation 2:

Without knowing the time signature, it's impossible to say which is correct. By contrast (and importantly for the performer), if you know which one of the interpretations is correct, you can immediately tell the time signature (either 6/8 or 3/4 in this case), and therefore which notes are on the beat.

Hemiola

Some music deliberately takes advantage of this kind of ambiguity — for example, the famous tune 'America' from Bernstein's West Side Story, which is in 6/8 time but with every other bar in a 3/4 feel. This technique is known as hemiola:

Hemiola in America from West Side Story (Bernstein)

Irregular time signatures

With an irregular time signature (for example 5/8), the bar cannot be divided equally (for example in 5/8 — a group of 2 quavers and a group of 3 quavers), and beaming becomes even more important to tell the performer whether (as in 5/8) to play 2+3 or 3+2. We'll have a closer look at irregular time signatures in the next Clements Tip.

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