Count singing

Technique#

Count singing requires analyzing a piece or section of music to determine how to subdivide it. For example, music written in time could be count sung as quarter notes (“one two three four”), eighth notes (“one and two and three and four and”), triplets (“one and a two and a three and a four and a”), or sixteenth notes (“one ee and a two ee and a three ee and a four ee and a”). The director decides how the choir should count, depending on how they want the choir to interpret the music. Count singing often uses “tee” instead of “three”, since it has a simpler consonant at the onset. Subdivision can change fluidly throughout the piece. For instance, in time, count singing would normally be done with the longest-duration counting (“one two three four”), but subdividing whenever shorter notes are used. A measure with 2 eighth notes followed by 3 quarter notes might be count sung “one and two three four”. However, longer notes are still subdivided to the longest allowed duration: a measure with a whole note would still be sung “one two three four” if singing quarter notes, “one and two and three and four and” if singing eighth notes, etc. (although the director may call for an exception if a note has a fermata or is the last note of the piece). Count singing provides an easy way to help singers internalize the desired rhythm of a piece of music. For instance, music in time might be counted by sixes: “one two three four five six”. The director could tell the choir to stress the “one” and “four” while singing the other notes lightly, to emphasize the duple meter: “ONE two three FOUR five six”. The same effect could also be accomplished by counting in two with triplets: “ONE and a TWO and a”.