1-2,
1-2, Count, People, Count! Count
the Beat in Your
Music
-by Bob
Pardue
Want to get
started with some real voice
lessons from a pro?
Go
here now
to start your singing
lessons
!
"Count,
people, count!" is what my
high school music director use to
tell us. And, it is just as
important in today's music as it
was when I first heard those
words. The beat is everything in
singing.
Count the
Beat for Better
Singing
To have the
ability to sing is one thing, but
to correctly follow the timing of
a song is another thing. You can
have the most beautiful voice in
the world, but if you don't
understand how the timing and
rhythm of a song goes, your voice
will be wasted.
Timing in a
song affects how every line of a
verse or chorus is sung. The
music is counted in bars and
beats. Each beat starts on the
first note played and will
represent one count.
There may
be several counts on a bar. When
reading sheet music, notice if
the timing is labeled as 2/4,
3/4, 4/4, etc. This indicates how
many counts are in a bar. For
example, 2/4 means there are 2
beats in 1 bar, 3/4 means there
are 3 beats in 1 bar. This will
give you an idea of how the
timing of a song should
go.
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Why
Timing is So
Important
The
reason timing is so
important is because you
need to know where to
come in on the song's
introduction and where
to start and stop
singing throughout the
song. Counting will help
tremendously on brand
new songs. Once you
become familiar with a
song and its timing,
you'll no longer need to
count.
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When
singing songs in which you need
to start singing immediately, you
can count the beat in your head,
verbally, or by tapping your foot
- "1,2,3,4." Keep in mind that
every song is unique.
Some will
be easy to recognize the timing
and number of beats while others
might be difficult. Work with
your instrumentalist to get the
right timing before practice. You
should practice counting with the
song until you are familiar with
the timing.
Recognizing
Clues
There are
other ways to master the timing
of a song if you don't want to
count. If you have a good ear for
music, you can listen for clues
and certain notes or beats in a
song so you’ll know when to
start or stop singing. Many
musicians and singers who learn
music by ear only use this
method.
Learn the
Rhythm
The rhythm
of a song is the pattern or
grouping of sounds in varying
lengths and accentuation. You can
tap out the rhythm of a song on a
table without the tune. Whether
you tap slower or faster, the
rhythm remains the same, but the
tempo changes. Rhythm can be
identified by where notes are
accentuated. The notes are played
loud, short, or long or soft, and
flow repeatedly. These make up
the song's rhythm.
Number of
Beats in a Song
There are 8
beats in a song. If mixing a
song, the new song should be
added on the first beat of the 8
count.
Here's an
example... count along:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 Start Again
2-3-4-5-6-7-8
Songs are
divided into sections, each with
either 32 or 64 beats. At these
beats, a new sound is either
added to a song or removed from a
song.
Combine
your knowledge of timing and
rhythm when learning a new song
so you can sing the song smoothly
and never miss a beat!
Self-Help
Voice Training
Courses
If you
don't feel you are ready for a
full singing career just yet you
can find plenty of
speech
level singing
tutorials
online by enrolling in distance
learning music schools with a
professional
singing
trainer.
If you feel uncomfortable singing
in front of a group of people,
speech level voice training might
be just what you need to overcome
your singing fears!
Are you
ready to jump-start your singing
career?
Act
now and Check
out
our complete line of
speech
level singing
classes.
Bob Pardue is
the owner of Vocal
Sphere.
Have some fun and learn to sing
by visiting Voice
Lessons
Online
today...
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