Step 4 How to Identify Song Form and How to Count Out The Bars
Step 4
Identify Song Form and Counting the Bars
Identifying the parts of a song allows you to see the whole picture. When you know how many bars are in each part of the song, you will be able to play a better musical phrase. Popular songs are constructed with musical phrases that are usually eight bars in length. When these phrases, or sections, are chained together one after another, it creates a song. To create your chart, you will have to identify all of the sections that make up what is called the song form. The following is a breakdown of the different sections of a song, with detailed descriptions of their function within the song. At the bottom of this page is an example of how to count bars.
The following chart is an example of how to count out the form of a song. Learn to feel what an eight-bar musical phrase sounds like. Try playing a drum fill of your own every eight bars to make sure you know when the phrase ends. This will help you keep your place in the music. Playing drum fills every eight bars creates cues, or signals, that help you and the other players know exactly when there is going to be a change in the music—such as when the chorus or a new verse starts.
Listen to Track for a demonstration of how to count out a song. Use the chart below to follow along with the track, and try playing along and counting as you play. The example song, “Until Huntsville,” by Jill Sissel, is in 4/4 time, so count the bars like this as you listen: 1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4, etc.
The task of following a music chart is an important skill to master.
Listen to the following track to hear how to count out the song form.
