One Two Three Four!?_
I’m not claiming to be correct, I’m honestly looking for and answer (although I kinda think I am correct).
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/2 "2004-03-30T12:46:26Z")
I’d say kt’s a matter of convention. You could say that a major scale is the 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13 notes of the chromatic scale. But once you’re in the scale, when you say third, you mean the chromatic fifth. In other words, once you’ve settled on a count, everything adjusts accordingly.
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/3 "2004-03-30T12:51:35Z")
It’s not notes the band’s counting … they’re just counting.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/4 "2004-03-30T13:53:05Z")
Some of my band conductors would say ‘1\_3\_1234’.
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### Author:  [@mrsam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsam)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/5 "2004-03-30T14:43:09Z")
You could consider the first bar cut-common (2/2) time and the second bar is in common (4/4) time. To take a stab at how it might of originated, it generally helps to think of most music these days as in 2/2 stylistically (or at least it helps to read it that way IME), but if the band comes in on the offbeat of four you want everyone to come in together. That’s just a wild-arsed guess though.
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### Author:  [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/6 "2004-03-30T15:19:34Z")
I concur with **mrsam**. The initial count (1 - 2) is essentially a cut-time counting of a measure. Then it is subdivided into 1, 2, 3, 4. This two measure lead-in allows the musicians to better prepare for the tempo of the piece. The tempo begins to be “felt” with the cut-time measure, then the full count measure solidifies it.
Typically this is only done for up-tempo music. For slower pieces, the conductor will simply conduct a four count lead-in. (for common time at least).
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/7 "2004-03-30T16:25:24Z")
I was in a band once upon a time with a singer who was musically particularly clueless. She’d heard me or the drummer count the band in and one time wanted to count us in herself.
Her count in went…
…One…
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### Author:  [@Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_Loves_Co)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/8 "2004-03-30T19:29:07Z")
On a related note to **Small Clanger’s** post -
I’m particularly enamoured of people who count in (or click in) at a _completely_ different tempo than the song - as if the count in is some kind of “on your marks” signal, rather than establishing the beat.
_sigh_
Count me in for the “convention” and/or “halftime-\>fulltime” explanation re: the OP.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/9 "2004-03-30T21:10:53Z")
Dancers count “five, six, five-six-seven-eight.”
But, yeah, same thing – it’s about establishing the tempo.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/10 "2004-03-30T22:15:18Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> Dancers count “five, six, five-six-seven-eight.”
>
> But, yeah, same thing – it’s about establishing the tempo.
Yeah, it’s not rocket science. But if it _were_ rocket science, it would be “six, five, 4-3-2-1”.
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### Author:  [@CairaJade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairaJade)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/11 "2004-03-30T22:23:15Z")
I’m going with the cut-time/common-time or subdividing assessments. Saying 1, 2, 1 & 2 & just doesn’t have the same ring.
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### Author:  [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/12 "2004-03-30T22:42:05Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> Dancers count “five, six, five-six-seven-eight.”
Yeah, why do the do that???
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### Author:  [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/13 "2004-03-31T00:02:37Z")
Maybe they should say, _One \ Two \ Three and Four and!_
Actually, I like the accelerating-toward-the-song feeling of _One \ Two \ One Two Three Four!_
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/14 "2004-03-31T00:41:38Z")
Well, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you all start together at the same tempo. You could grunt as long as everyone knew how many grunts there would be–or use Ted N.'s “Wang, Tang, Sweet PoonTang” as a tempo-setter. Yeah, it’s “beat 3” but who cares? And as **jackelope** says, that “accelerating toward the song” feeling is cool, too.
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### Author:  [@gooti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gooti)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/15 "2004-03-31T03:16:55Z")
I think it’s just a matter of trust…
_I wish they had that slappy-carp smiley from Snopes on this board_
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### Author:  [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/16 "2004-03-31T06:07:40Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#):
>
> Yeah, why do the do that???
Because we usually count in eights. So the beat right before 1 is usually 8. I don’t know why dancers do this, but maybe because dances tend to be “slower” than songs. In other words, You can often fit as much as four notes into one beat (using 16th notes in 4/4 time) but it’s hard to fit four different dance steps into one beat, so it’s easier to get confused in a dance that’s counted in fours. (“The kick is on beat 3.” “Which beat 3?”) Of course the same problem could happen in music, but with a printed score it’s less of a problem. (“3rd beat in measure 92”)
Anyway, back to the OP: I agree that saying “three” is strictly more correct, but “two” sounds way better.
> [@Libertarian](#):
>
> I’d say kt’s a matter of convention. You could say that a major scale is the 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13 notes of the chromatic scale. But once you’re in the scale, when you say third, you mean the chromatic fifth. In other words, once you’ve settled on a count, everything adjusts accordingly.
You’re thinking of a different matter entirely. As someone said, we’re discussing beats, not pitches. Remember the old Kit-Kat commercials (gimme a break, giiiimme a break)? They started off with exactly what the OP is talking about: someone yelling out numbers in order to set the tempo.
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### Author:  [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/17 "2004-03-31T07:59:42Z")
It’s supposed to be, “uno, dos, one two tres quatro!”
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldnt-1-2-1-2-3-4-be-1-3-1-2-3-4/237291/18 "2004-03-31T08:16:48Z")
> [@gooti](#):
>
> I think it’s just a matter of trust…
Just thought you’d like to know that somebody did get this reference, **gooti**.