Count off

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Second shortest count off, "& four &", followed by one measure of drum beat for reference. Play (high tom-tom rather than voice)ⓘ

A count off, count in, or lead-in is a verbal,[1] instrumental or visual cue used in musical performances and recordings to ensure a uniform entrance to the performance by the musicians[2] and to establish the piece's initial tempo, time signature and style.[3][4] Although a count off usually lasts just one or two bars,[2] it is able to convey the music's style, tempo, and dynamics from the leader (such as the conductor, bandleader or principal) to the other performers.[3] A count off is generally in the same style of the piece of music—for instance, a joyful swing tune should have an energized count off.[5] A misleading lead-in, one which indicates a different meter than that of the piece, is a false trail.[6][7] Counting off is evident in

ethnomusicologist J. H. Kwabena Nketia has observed the benefits of such techniques in West African music.[8]

hi-hat

A silent count off, such as those given by an orchestral conductor using a baton, may be given as a value "in front" (e.g. "eight in front" refers to a count off of eight beats).[9]

In recorded music, the final two beats of the count off (one, two, one—two—three—four) are often silent to avoid

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise" (1967).[6]

Pre-count[14] and count-off[15] are functions of digital audio workstations which give an amount of click track—typically two bars[15]—before the recording begins.

Examples

  • "Let's Dance" by Chris Montez (1962)
    • The song's verses accent upbeats on beats 1 and 3 and vice versa for the rest of the song, so drummer Jesse Sailes counts it off as "one—two—one, two, three".
  • "I Saw Her Standing There" by the Beatles (1963)
    • Paul McCartney's count off of "one—two—three—four!" was recorded on the ninth take of the song, and then edited on to a different take comprising the rest of the song;[16] George Martin liked the "spirited" raw live feel of the count off and decided to have it spliced onto a better performance.
  • "
    Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
    (1965)
    • The song features a bilingual count off of "uno, dos, one, two, tres, cuatro".[17]
  • "Taxman" by the Beatles (1966)
    • George Harrison performs two count offs on the track—one is to set the tempo (and is most audible on the fourth beat), and another is for effect (it is off-tempo, "secretive-sounding", and layered with coughing) which was added later.[18]
  • "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles (1966)
    • Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) but was first released on Anthology 2 in 1996.[19]
  • "Give Peace a Chance" by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band (1969)
    • The version recorded for the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album features Lennon beginning with a count off in German: "eins, zwei, ein—zwei—drei—vier".[20]
  • "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" by James Brown (1970)
    • The song begins with a few seconds of spoken dialogue, which Brown ends by saying "can I count it off? One—two—three—four!"
  • "I Don't Wanna Face It" by John Lennon (1984)
    • The third track from Lennon's posthumous Milk and Honey album features a "characteristically free-form" count off of "un, deux, eins—zwei—hickle—pickle".[21]
  • "Patience" by Guns N' Roses (1988)
    • The song begins as bass guitarist Duff McKagen gives out the count off. "One, two, one, two, three, four".
  • "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals (1998)
  • "Walla Walla" by The Offspring (1998)
    • The track starts with the count off "One and two and three and four and" which repeats as it approaches the tempo of the song.
  • "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)" by Tom Green (1999)
    • The count off happens mid-song after the bridge and before the final chorus. "One, two, three, four".
  • "Son Song" by Soulfly featuring Sean Lennon (2000)
    • The song begins with a count off by Lennon. "One, two, three, four".
  • "You'll Never Meet God (If You Break My Heart)" by
    Carly Hennessy
    (2001)
    • Co-written by the New Radicals' Gregg Alexander, the song echoes his introduction to 1998's "You Get What You Give" with a count off of "one, two, one–two–three–OW!"[22]
  • "Vertigo" by U2 (2004)
    • During the final two bars of a four-bar drum introduction Bono counts off the song with "unos, dos, tres, catorce" – Spanish for "some, two, three, fourteen".[23][24][25]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-7579-9125-4
    .
  2. ^ a b c "Count off (Count in)". Sweetwater. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-7579-9125-4
    .
  4. ISBN 1-884848-09-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  5. ISBN 0-7390-3387-5
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8264-6322-7
    .
  7. ^ Van Der Merwe (1989), p.157. Cited in Shepherd (2003).
  8. ISBN 0-19-803645-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-4574-3052-7
    .
  10. ISBN 0-88284-495-4
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-19-971870-2
    .
  12. ISBN 0-517-57066-1
    .
  13. ISBN 1-4574-2484-3
    .
  14. ISBN 978-1-906005-00-9
    .
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59863-907-0
    .
  16. ISBN 0-19-534972-5
    .
  17. ISBN 0-595-26384-4
    .
  18. ISBN 0-19-988093-X
    .
  19. ^ Marinucci, Steve. "'The Making of Sgt. Pepper' paved the way for 'Beatles Anthology'". Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  20. ISBN 978-3-905894-07-3
    .
  21. ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7
    .
  22. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Carly Hennessy—Ultimate High". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  23. ISBN 978-0-8108-8157-0
    .
  24. ISBN 84-611-1498-1
    .
  25. ISBN 978-0-313-35509-7
    .
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