Ways to Kick Off Songs

I am in a band that has played a few open mics and at a block party last summer. We have 3 hours plus of material ready to go and our first paying gig lined up in a couple of weeks. Among the things we are still working out is how to get each song started. There are a few where one instrument (usually one of the guitars) plays a lick as an intro, but for most songs the drummer is counting 1-2-3-4. I'm sure the audience doesn't hear it much since he is not miced for most songs, but is there a better way to cue the songs so that we all come in together at the right time and tempo? What do you all do?

"1,2,3,4"- Dee Dee Ramone. Hard to beat the classics!

Ask the drummer to count you in by rapping his sticks together, tick , tick, tick, tick.
The audience generally cannot hear it.

Drummers have a metronome in their heads, so they are good at leading the band in. Or they can feed off a riff from the guitar for the rhythm, as when you start with a lick from another instrument. Or use a visual signal from the band leader, e.g. a raise and drop of the guitar neck.

There´s nothing wrong with a good old count in. Doesn´t have to be from the drummer though... Albert Lee usually sets the tempo and rhytm with his guitar when he plays with his band.
And the songs that start with a solo riff or lick from a single instrument doesn´t really need a count in. But it can be a good idea to take a look around the stage and make sure everybody is ready. Not cool to stop mid-intro because someone is tuning or taking a sip of coke.

We rarely all start at the same time and the drummer never does that 1-2-3-4 thing. Usually I either count in or more often I start playing and the drums and bass come in soon after - it seems to work better when I do it by starting to strum/riff as I'm the singer and doing it this way usually means we have the tempo right. Anyways, no right or wrong about this, just the way we do it.

Sometimes we all totally forget how a song starts and involve the audience in the joke. No-one seems to mind too much.

I do the count-in as the front man on a song. Our drummer starts out one song with a shuffle beat. Our bass player counts in another song. Our lead player riffs into one song and then I count in the rest of the band. I riff/play into four songs. Our lead player riffs into a couple more. Our drummer counts in with a loud high hat from the foot pedal on another tune.

Those examples were the way my band started every song on our set list at our last show (not in order). We play original music and our shows are usually less than two hours, but if we played three hours, we wouldn't change our ways of starting. My point.. I know where you're coming from with the concern, but really, there are only about two or three way to start a song and it's just a matter of switching up how those methods are performed. Sometimes an old-school count-in really adds to the attitude of the song.

Your drummer really should be leading the band tempo and dynamics things, so having he or she count in is usually the best way to go. As a front man, sometimes I like to give the big Springsteenesque rockstar count in myself, but I always have my drummer lightly tapping the sticks before I start counting, btw, we play to a click live, so this is kinda required, but nobody ever here's the stick count but those of us on stage.

Another really effective tool to start a song with no count in at all is to have a short drum pickup. Even if it's just wacking the 4 on the snare drum or some sort of "and 3 and 4," lead in. In this way, the tempo is established, with a pickup longer than 1 beat and as long as everyone in the band knows it's an, "and 3 and 4," pickup, starting the song from their is extremely easy.

I'm not the biggest fan of the guitarist playing the riff 1 time then the band joining in accept if it's a song like Satisfaction or something like that. In my opinion, which is just my opinion, so don't get mad at me if you do it, but if you open a lot of songs where somebody starts playing, then the rest of the band joins in too much, it starts to sound a little too unrehearsed, like 1 person knows what's going on and the rest of the band is just trying to catch up all night. However, for some songs, a single instrument opening is great... dynamics for a ballid, start soft and build in, warming folks up to a real rocker, get 'em tapping their feet before the drums come in, but just be careful with too much of this approach. The 2 things people remember most about your shows and your songs are beginnings and endings. Start your show strong, end your show strong and same with each song. Always experiment and see what sounds best.

As a front man, sometimes I like to give the big Springsteenesque rockstar count in myself, but I always have my drummer lightly tapping the sticks before I start counting,

I'm not the biggest fan of the guitarist playing the riff 1 time then the band joining in accept if it's a song like Satisfaction or something like that.

The 2 things people remember most about your shows and your songs are beginnings and endings. Start your show strong, end your show strong and same with each song. Always experiment and see what sounds best.

Good stuff right there. When the guitarist starts the riff, I like for it to be the "hook" (such as in "Satisfaction") and not always just some generic chord changes... even though that has its place as well.

We practice every start and ending and what instruments come in where. Fade out endings don't work for live, IMO.

Not at all. You can make some nice dynamic drops near the end, pull out 1 of the guitars, have the drummer sidestick or just keep time on the hat just before everyone hits the last note. It's not a fade out, but gives a similar feeling. This can be especially effective in slower songs that start off pretty soft, have a big dynamic build near the end, then bring it back down again to take it full circle.

Bun E. Carlos has a wealth of creative drum intros for songs, you may want to explore the Cheap Trick catalog for ideas.

We just play the last line of most country songs for the intro.

I am in a band that has played a few open mics and at a block party last summer. We have 3 hours plus of material ready to go and our first paying gig lined up in a couple of weeks. Among the things we are still working out is how to get each song started. There are a few where one instrument (usually one of the guitars) plays a lick as an intro, but for most songs the drummer is counting 1-2-3-4. I'm sure the audience doesn't hear it much since he is not miced for most songs, but is there a better way to cue the songs so that we all come in together at the right time and tempo? What do you all do?

How do we kick songs off? let me count the ways . . .

1) Guitar player uses neck to cue the bombastic intro on and off, followed by a tempo setting "BANGBANG" on the snare.

2) The band doing a muted slow blues while one of the band members does a dedication of the song to Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Charlie Sheen followed by "ONE, TWO, THREE, WINNING!" and the chord riff to "Cocaine."

3) The ever popular "stick tick."

4) Vocals and guitar do a verse alone

5) Drummer and bass gets the groove a groovin'

6) A capella vocal phrase to start the song a la Buck Owens' "Together Again." or "Tiger by the Tail"

"1,2,3,4"- Dee Dee Ramone. Hard to beat the classics!

Or the Springsteen variation "Do, three, FOE!!!"

In my last band we had a hard time figuring out how to stop!!!:shock::cool:

Drummer counts the majority of songs. Sometimes it's just a light rapping of the sticks together.

Every song is different. Depending on the song, anyone can start it. We don't give our drummer carte blanche to start every song, and I (electric guitar) often feel like I'll have a better feel for the tempo than our drummer or singer do.

I've been with the same drummer for about 15 years. We've had multiple incarnations of bands, from classic rock, to blues, to country. And we've played a million songs, plus he's played with a couple of other old time country bands.

He's a great drummer, and a good friend, but for the life of him he cannot remember song names. I'll call one out and he'll say, have we ever played that? Yeah only like a zillion times. I used to give him a set list, but it was like it was all Greek to him.

Since the bass player and I trade off on vocals, our rule is whoever is singing the song counts it off.

I figure if I could make set list for the drummer that looks like:

1. drum fill, bam, bop bing
2. guitar starts shuffle
3. all start together in 4/4
4. guitar plays 3 notes as lead in

You get the idea

Anyways...

Cheers,
Doug

You can get really spoiled by a drummer who always has the count right from the start. It's so easy. Then, when you get somebody new who either doesn't hold the beat as well, or worse, has always played the song at a different tempo, things get interesting fast!

The last band we all tried to count off the songs we sang on, if not over the mics then at least to each other. But, and I really hate to admit this, I can't count off songs. For some reason there is a disconnect between what I count and what I play and I always come in either ahead or behind the beat. Now, I never have trouble kicking a song off at its right tempo if I'm playing, and back when I played mostly bass I counted in the majority of songs, but it was always with my fingers, never vocally. Make me do a 4 count and I practically guarantee I'll get it wrong.

Hello, my name is Justin and I'm metronomically challenged.

Best I ever heard was "1,2 F__K YOU!" I think I laughed halfway through the first verse.

You can never go wrong with a good cowbell intro...

There are as many ways to start/stop songs as there are songs, IMHO. I have used most of the popular ones, drummer count, pedal steel intro/outro, acapella and so on. There are no rules, just have fun!!

What's wrong with the good old fashioned way?

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No shame in counting it off.

In a string quartet, the leader raises his/her instrument (usually violin) and when it comes down, that's the tempo.
It isn't easy but it's a damn cool way to start a tune.
Something about a string quartet that doesn't lend itself to 1,2,3,4.
Unless they're playing, "And I Saw Her Standing There."

Paul McCartney ; "a wun-two-three-fahh!"
Roy Clark; "Five Seven Eight Nine!"
Ricky Skaggs: "Hit it Boys!"
Archie Bell: "Here we go again!"
Joe Walsh: "Woahabopalooahwoahyeah.....ahhhh!.....ahhhh!.....a hhhh!

Junior Wells: "1...2...you know what to do..."

One of the more tricky kickoffs I do is in my James Taylor tribute band (8pc) on "How Sweet It Is."

One bar triplet fill drums, no count off: 1+a 2+a 3+a 4+a
Band in on Cma7 in on beat 1
3-part vocal harmonies in on beat 2 - with no other chord to cue ie we have the duration of one 1/4 note to pick our parts and sing them when the snare lands on 2.

Luckily I work with some fine singers!