As a dancer or a DJ we need to be able to count music so that we can understand how long a given section is and when it will change.  We need to think about beats, bars, phrases, and sections.

Most music we dance zouk to is 4/4 timing- that means there are 4 beats to a bar (or measure), and each beat is a 1/4 note.  As a dancer or DJ, you just need to know that there are 4 beats to a bar, and four bars make a phrase.  So a phrase is usually 16 beats.  Usually there is a small change in the music after one phrase (4 bars) and a bigger change after 2 phrases (8 bars).  But sometimes it may be a little different so you always have to pay attention to the music.

As dancers, we count in 8 counts instead of 4 counts.  So to convert the counting into 8’s- a phrase is two 8 counts.  So usually after two 8 counts there is a small change and after four 8 counts there is a bigger change.

As DJs we need to be able to count automatically so we can mix songs together with good timing, so the mix starts and ends at a point which makes sense. In this lesson, we won’t mix anything. We are just going to count a few different songs from different genres all the way through to make the habit.

It will be repetitive but building habits takes repetition. You want this counting to happen automatically, without needing to *think*, so you can use your brain to focus on connection and movement if you are dancing or on mixing if you are a DJ.

Count with me and pay attention to how the music changes. Let’s go!