Count off

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 musical genres other than Western classical and popular music; Ghanaian ethnomusicologist J. H. Kwabena Nketia has observed the benefits of such techniques in West African music.[8]

A two-bar percussive and verbal count off played on a closed hi-hat
Second shortest count off, "& four &", followed by one measure of drum beat for reference. Play (high tom-tom rather than voice) 

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 spill onto the recording,[2][10] especially if the piece has a pickup. The count off is typically edited out after the recording has finished.[11] There are, however, instances where the count off is deliberately kept on a recording—sometimes even edited onto a recording. In the case of "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles, the count off was edited onto a different take of the song.[12] A recorded count off can be made by musicians through an open microphone or through the studio's talkback system,[13] the latter being done by non-performing personnel such as the producer or engineer. The inclusion of a count off in a studio recording may give the impression of a live performance, as on the Beatles' "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.
  • "Wooly Bully" by 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)
    • John Lennon used a droll count off of "sugarplum fairy, sugarplum fairy"; the count off was not part of the take included on the album version (on 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)
  • "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"—the Spanish for "ones [sic], two, three, fourteen".[23][24][25]

See also

References
  1. Dunscomb, J. Richard; Willie L. Hill (2002). Jazz pedagogy : the jazz educator's handbook and resource guide. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 63. ISBN 0-7579-9125-4.
  2. "Count off (Count in)". Sweetwater. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  3. Dunscomb, J. Richard; Willie L. Hill (2002). Jazz pedagogy : the jazz educator's handbook and resource guide. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 157. ISBN 0-7579-9125-4.
  4. Vradenburg, written by Wilbur M. Savidge, Randy Lee (2001). Everything about playing blues (1st ed.). Springtown: Praxis. p. 40. ISBN 1-884848-09-5.
  5. Weir, Michele (2005). Jazz singer's handbook : (the artistry and mastery of singing jazz; includes jazz standards recorded by Chet Baker ...). Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 76. ISBN 0-7390-3387-5.
  6. Shepherd, John (ed.) (2003). "Lead-in", Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Part 1 Performance and Production, p.610. ISBN 978-0-8264-6322-7.
  7. Van Der Merwe (1989), p.157. Cited in Shepherd (2003).
  8. London, Justin (2004). Hearing in time psychological aspects of musical meter. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-19-803645-0.
  9. Tedesco, Tommy (2008). For Guitar Players Only. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 84. ISBN 1-4574-3052-5.
  10. Sharp, J.D. (1992). Home recording techniques : a step-by-step guide to multitracking and mixing. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 29. ISBN 0-88284-495-4.
  11. Everett, Walter (2009). The foundations of rock from "Blue suede shoes" to "Suite : Judy blue eyes". Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-19-971870-9.
  12. Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles recording sessions (1st ed.). New York: Harmony Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
  13. Hurtig, Brent (1988). Multi-Track Recording for Musicians. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 90. ISBN 1-4574-2484-3.
  14. Millward, Simon (2007). Fast Guide to Cubase 4. Tonbridge: PC Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 1-906005-00-1.
  15. Barrett, Don (2009). Digital Performer 6 power! : the comprehensive guide (Guide (Instructor's) ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology Cengage Learning. p. 115. ISBN 1-59863-907-2.
  16. Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as musicians the Quarry Men through Rubber soul. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-19-534972-5.
  17. Scott, Richard J. (2003). Chord progressions for songwriters. New York: Writers Club Press. p. 292. ISBN 0-595-26384-4.
  18. Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles As Musicians:Revolver through the Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-19-988093-X.
  19. Marinucci, Steve. "'The Making of Sgt. Pepper' paved the way for 'Beatles Anthology'". Examiner. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  20. Bardola, Nicola (2010). John Lennon : Wendepunkte (1. Aufl. ed.). Zürich: Römerhof-Verlag. p. 160. ISBN 3-905894-07-6.
  21. Urish, Ben; Bielen, Ken (2007). The words and music of John Lennon (1st publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Praeger. p. 88. ISBN 0-275-99180-6.
  22. Collar, Matt. "Carly Hennessy—Ultimate High". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  23. Calhoun, Scott (2011). Exploring U2 : is this rock 'n' roll? : essays on the music, work, and influence of U2. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-8108-8157-8.
  24. Díaz, Itxu (2005). Haciendo Amigos. Ediciones DaylNet. p. 84. ISBN 84-611-1498-1.
  25. Kootnikoff, David (2012). Bono : a biography. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 140. ISBN 0-313-35509-6.
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