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Once you’ve talked through your tune, it’s time to count off
the tempo so the musicians will know when to start and how fast to play.
Don’t be shy about this. It’s a bit tough at first but with
practice it gets easier. If you let one of the band members count off
the tempo, you won’t necessarily get the mood that you want.
There are several different ways to count in a song.
For a ballad, a slow four count, “1, 2, 3, 4” works perfectly.
For a swing tune, the tradition is, “1, snap, 2, snap, 1, 2/snap, 3, 4/snap”.
For a waltz, emphasis is one the one so you count “1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3”.
In general, the count should sound like you want the rhythm to sound.
To get the tempo going, listen to the song in your head, maybe hum it a little. It’s best to hear the chorus or a bridge and not the very beginning of the song. When you get the feeling of the beat firmly into your foot, then start to think of counting.
It is so important to be able to count the tempo accurately. It takes practice so don’t wait until the day of the show to work on it. If you’ve started into the song and feel like the tempo is a little too fast or too slow, use your body language to tell the band to pick it up or slow it down a bit. If the tempo is way out of whack, if you can live with it, do so; it’s much more professional. If not, stop the song and start again but only as a last resort!