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Time signatures describe the number of beats per measure, where each measure is basically a musical idea, although this is a very loose concept. Most modern music is 4/4. That's 4 beats per measure with each beat represented by a 1/4 note. A guitarist may play each chord for one measure, strumming each beat. A drummer may play a repeating pattern every measure, with at least one stroke per beat.
The time signature often suggests a certain <u>meter</u>, which is a repeating pattern of <u>accents</u>. Consider a common drum pattern in 4/4 - boom ssss taah ssss boom ssss taah ssss. The musical idea repeats every 4 beats, with accents on both the 1st and 3rd beats but the 3rd being a bit stronger (> x - ^ x-). ''(x - is a normal hit, > is an accent, and ^ is a strong accent.)'' Here's a similar pattern in 3/4 - boom ssss taah boom ssss taah (> x - ^). The musical idea repeats every 3 beats. We could play the first pattern in 3/4 or the 2nd in 4/4, but the pattern won't fit neatly inside each measure, appearing more complex than it actually is.
pattern 1
4/4 |> x - ^ x-|> x - ^ x-|> x - ^ x-| - same every measure 3/4 |> x - ^|x - > x-|^ x - >|x - ^ x-| - different every measure
pattern 2
3/4 |> x - ^|> x - ^|> x - ^|> x - ^| - same every measure 4/4 |> x - ^ >|x - ^ > x-|^ > x - ^| - different every measure
The meter isn't necessarily confined to 1 measure - it may last 2 or even more measures. The point is that the meter and time signature typically have a relationship where things fit neatly and logically, allowing the musician to more easily understand the music.