Bar / Measure
also called “measure”also called “bars”
The short version
One full cycle of the count — in 4/4 that's four beats.
Music gets chopped into equal boxes called bars. Loops are usually 1, 2, 4 or 8 bars long, and song sections are counted in bars too ("the chorus is 8 bars").
Count1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .
Kickx..x..x...x.x...
Snare....x.......x...
Two bars of 4/4, sixteenth-note grid
Why you'd careAlmost every arrangement decision is counted in bars. Knowing when bar one comes back around tells you when to drop something new in.
88 words and counting in The Music Guide. Back to the guide