Counting is one of the most important, basic things in life. And learning how to count with music is just as important. Imagine a simple song such as “Mary had a little lamb” but your tones were all the same length. This would sound funny. Instead, when the tones are stretched out, and the word “lamb” is held for a longer period than the “Mary had a” part, it involves counting, believe it or not.

Counting with music is vital to provide the right kind of sound for the song that you want to play. It is important to avoid every word and every note being the same length. Counting can be challenging, especially in some orchestral pieces and some rock songs. Having a solid foundation in the basics of music theory and especially learning how to count with music is vital to the success of any music.

There are several ways that you can learn to count with music. One is obviously learning the theory behind it. But once you have the theory under your belt, counting out loud while you sing or play for example: “one, two, three, one, two, three” is extremely helpful.

Another helpful way to learn to count with music is by investing in a metronome. A metronome is piece of music equipment, or accessory if you wish to call it that, which helps you to count by having a beat at regular intervals while you count out loud and play the notes to the length that it’s supposed to be. There are several metronomes on the market. Some are manual wind up Metronomes and others are electrical. You can even download a metronome app if you don’t want to pay for a Metronome, but apps tend to be softer and less audible.

I hope this has answered your questions as to why it is important to count with music so that next time you encounter music notes and theory, you know the answer to this vital question.