How To Count Music and Start a Song with “1 2 3 4”

“One.. two.. one, two, three, four!” It’s a phrase we’re all familiar with – no air guitar performance would be complete without it! – and yet the proper execution of this rhythmic remark is rarely taught. It may not seem like a big deal, but learning how to count beats in music – before starting the song – is worthwhile as it makes it possible for two or more musicians to start a song together, at the same time.

A good count-in is spoken confidently, lets everyone know when to start, conveys the rhythm feel and tells dictates how fast or slow the song will be played. For some examples of count-in’s used in popular music listen to “Matter of Trust” by Billy Joel, “Good Lovin’” by The Young Rascals, “Let’s Dance” by Chris Montez, or “I Saw Her Standing There” by The Beatles. Notice how everyone says it a bit differently, but the goal is always the same: everyone starts the song together, and plays at the same tempo.

Now that you know why it’s necessary to do a count-in, let’s figure out how. The first step is to figure out the meter of the song you want to play. The best way to figure this out is to count along with the song. If you count to 4 over-and-over, and it feels “right”, the meter is 4. If you find that counting to 3 over-and-over sounds “right,” then the song is in 3. There’s a bit more to it than that – mixed meter, odd time signatures… but we’ll save that stuff for another day. Here’s a lesson if you are interested in learning how to count bars in music.

How to count beats in music in 4-4 time
Here you can see there are 4 beats for each chord. This is an example of counting in 4.
How to count rhythms in 3-4 time
And here we can see only 3 beats per chord, so this would be considered 3/4 time.

How to count music in 4-4 time, where the rhythm is grouped in 4’s (Like… pretty much 99% of songs)

  • “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • “Crazy” by Willie Nelson (Patsy Cline’s version, too)
  • “Roxanne” by The Police
  • “Safe And Sound” by Capital Cities
  • “1,2,3,4” by Feist (Yes, I included this on purpose)

How to count music in 3-4 time, where the rhythm is grouped in 3’s

  • “A Taste of Honey” by The Beatles
  • “Open Arms” by Journey
  • “Between The Bars” by Elliott Smith
  • “My Name Is Jonas” by Weezer
  • “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson

Now that you know what to count to, it’s time to figure out how to count it.  If you checked out any of the recordings that start with a count-in that I listed near the start of this article, you may have noticed that sometimes the count goes to 3 – “1,2,3!” – yet the song starts in 4.  Or that some people say “One <pause> two <pause>, One Two Three Four!” while some people simply say, “One Two Three Four.”  So, what should you do?  Honestly, you can say anything you want.  I’ve even heard people grunting a rhythm and it’s worked just fine!  For the sake of education, we’ll count-in with numbers and keep it as simple as possible.

So here it is:

  1. Close your eyes (not necessary, but it helps) and imagine the song playing in your head.  I find it best to skip ahead to the chorus since it’s usually the most memorable part of the song.  Really listen to it and feel the beat.
  2. Tap along to your imagination – use your foot, your hand, your head… whatever works for you.
  3. When you’re ready, say it and say it with confidence, “One Two Three Four!”
  4. Begin playing the song on beat 1

One last thing. If the song starts with a pickup (the melody starts just before the chords) you can say “One, Two, Three, —” and leave a space for four, or say “One, Two, —, —.” This is necessary because the singing starts before beat 1 (that’s what a pickup is), and if you were still counting, you wouldn’t be able to sing!

how to count pick up songs like happy birthday
Here you can see the first word of the song starts before the chords. The first beat of the first chord (G) actually lines up with the word “birthday.” The word “happy” is the pickup, because it leads us into the chords.

While it may not seem like the most important thing, counting a song in confidently can make a world of difference. It tells the other musicians when to start and how fast, and it shows the audience you mean business.

Develop the fundamental skills needed to play guitar with confidence. Hands-on learning, presented in a clear and concise manner. Learn the basics using real songs, strum with a steady rhythm, master the basic chord shapes, learn to count along to music and more!

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