All pieces of music in the Western tradition state the time signature and key signature at the beginning of the score. Many works are written in 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 3/8, and 6/8 time frames; other time signatures are used but these are the most common. In the process of composing a piece of music, the writer may chose to change the time signature. Sometimes it will be just for a measure or two and on other occasions the change will require a major divergence in the composition. These small measured changes are referred to as "broken time" where a transition may occur or syllabic composing will call for a slight interruption from the original time signature. 4/4, when interrupted, often changes to 2/4. Broken time can also refer to stuttered time signatures such a 5/4 or 7/8 which, for the novice performer and listener, can be quite unsettling.