Count singing

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Count singing is a choral rehearsal technique that involves singing the correct pitches, but replacing the lyrics with each note's position within a measure. In 4
4 time, this would mean a sequence of quarter notes would be sung as "one two three four" rather than their actual lyrics. Count singing was developed and used extensively by Robert Shaw, [1] and much of its current popularity can be traced back to Shaw through directors who worked with him. [2]

Quarter note musical note duration

A quarter note (American) or crotchet (British) is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. Often, musicians will say that a crotchet is one beat, but this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat. Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem usually points upwards if it is below the middle line of the stave or downwards if it is on or above the middle line. However, the stem direction may differentiate more than one part. The head of the note also reverses its orientation in relation to the stem.

Robert Shaw (conductor) American conductor, born 1916

Robert Lawson Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide ranging influences and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.

The claimed advantage of count singing is that it simultaneously teaches both pitches and rhythms. In contrast, singing pitches with nonsense syllables removes the difficulty of lyrics but does not aid in learning either pitches or rhythms; solfege and shape note singing emphasize pitches but do not aid in learning rhythms; and counting the rhythm in a spoken form completely ignores the pitches. On the other hand, it can take more mental effort to count sing, particularly for singers who have little experience with it, and the effort of remembering the correct syllables to count with can be a distraction from reading the music or singing it correctly.

Shape note

Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the note heads in written music to help singers find pitches within major and minor scales without the use of more complex information found in key signatures on the staff.

Technique

Count singing requires analyzing a piece or section of music to determine how to subdivide it. For example, music written in 4
4 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.

Eighth note musical note duration

An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note played for one eighth the duration of whole note (semibreve), hence the name. This amounts to twice the value of the sixteenth note (semiquaver). It is half the duration of a quarter note (crotchet), one quarter the duration of a half note (minim), one eighth the duration of whole note (semibreve), one sixteenth the duration of a double whole note (breve), and one thirty-second the duration of a longa. It is the equivalent of the fusa in mensural notation

Sixteenth note musical note duration

In music, a sixteenth note (American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the duration of an eighth note (quaver), hence the names. It is the equivalent of the semifusa in mensural notation, first found in 15th-century notation.

Count singing often uses "tee" instead of "three", since it has a simpler consonant at the onset. [1] [3]

Subdivision can change fluidly throughout the piece. For instance, in 4
4 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).

Fermata symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be prolonged beyond its normal duration or note value would indicate

A fermata is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be prolonged beyond the normal duration its note value would indicate. Exactly how much longer it is held is up to the discretion of the performer or conductor, but twice as long is common. It is usually printed above but can be occasionally below the note to be extended.

Count singing provides an easy way to help singers internalize the desired rhythm of a piece of music. For instance, music in 6
8 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".

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Polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythms,

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Gregorian chant form of song

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Anglican chant

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<i>Chichester Psalms</i> composition by Leonard Bernstein

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Rehearsal practice performance

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Half-time (music) type of metric change in music, that doubles the tempo resolution or metric division, in comparison to common-time

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1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
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In music, counting is a system of regularly occurring sounds that serve to assist with the performance or audition of music by allowing the easy identification of the beat. Commonly, this involves verbally counting the beats in each measure as they occur. In addition to helping to normalize the time taken up by each beat, counting allows easier identification of the beats that are stressed. Counting is most commonly used with rhythm and form and often involves subdivision.

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Rehearsal Techniques of Robert Shaw" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Count Singing- an underused tool?".
  3. ↑ "Count Singing".
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