Finding The Count 

What Is The Count?

The Count is a large part of what we’ll eventually refer to as the ‘Time Signature’. This lets us split a song up into measurable pieces that can be written out for other musicians. Just about every song you’ll ever hear has a count and finding it is usually, but not always pretty easy.

How Do I Find The Count?

Before you find The Count to a particular song, you’ll need to be confident that you know The Pulse. If you do then all you need to do is…

Step 1: Find The Downbeat 

Every few pulses there will be a heavier pulse emphasized by the music in some way. This is the ‘Downbeat’ and it, like the pulse, should be consistent and steady throughout. 

Step 2: Count The Pulses Between Downbeats

If you have a regular Downbeat then you should have the same number of pulses between them. Count how many pulses you have between Downbeats. Start with 1 on the Downbeat and then keep counting pulses til the next Downbeat where you’ll start over at 1. If done correctly you should be repeating the same counting system over and over. This is The Count.

Step 3: Is The Count Accurate?

Most songs have a count of 4; although 3 and 2 are common enough. So if your count is one of these you’re probably pretty close. The easiest way to be sure is to see if all of your Downbeats support the song. Most importantly ALL the major changes in the song (verse to chorus for example) should happen on a Downbeat. 

The Next Steps

You should practice finding The Count to songs frequently to get better and better at it. Being able to find The Pulse and The Count to a song is a skill that every musician should be able to do effortlessly. Even the most basic music concepts are built on understanding these two aspects of music.