Dancer’s counts and Musician’s counts

Often, there is a difference between how dancers perceive counts and how musicians perceive counts.  Musicians are trained to count according to the beats in the measures or bars whereas dancer’s counts reflect a different organization, most often by individual measures, usually reflecting the phrase and it’s components rather than the individual measures

Dancers normally count in groups of eight.  This is true, for the most part, in duple and triple meters.  If the exercise is in common time (4/4), dance teachers will normally count off in 5, 6, 7, 8 . . . This is true even if the musician is playing music in 2/4, 2/2, or other duple meters.   When using triple meters, the musician might be counting 3/4 time like so:  1-2-3 1-2-3- 1-2-3- 1-2-3- and so on.  The dancer most likely will count 1-2-3- 2-2-3 3-2-3- 4-2-3- or more likely, 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a.  Knowing that these types of differences exist can save a lot of time and frustration.  Odd meters are usually counted as they are written.  An intuitive musician can usually tell what the teacher wants without asking for clarification on counts.  However, it is appropriate for either the musician or the teacher to ask the other for clarification.

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