<p>My wife is a violinist and I just asked her. So this is what she said:</p>
<p>一嗒 二嗒 三嗒</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>一嗒嗒 二嗒嗒 三嗒嗒 based on the tempo she wants( just add more &quot;da&quot;).</p>
<p>嗒 is just a sound as &quot;da&quot; in English.</p>
<p>Since all Chinese numbers &lt; 11 only have one syllable, it is quite easy to do.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if all musicians use this method but this is what she said :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-29T22:14:38.957Z
Thank you, I knew I will find someone with first-hand information on this site :)
Reverent Lapwing
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-30T17:28:34.743Z
@ReverentLapwing thanks to my wife :) . would you please accept the answer as the "accepted answer" so this thread will be marked as answered?
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-29T21:28:30.450Z
2023-05-29T21:28:30.450Z
Archeosudoerus
<p>When counting beats in a song, in English we would say &quot;1 and, 2 and, 3 and&quot; etc. where 1, 2 and 3 are beats and &quot;and&quot;s are spaces between them. You can also split the rhythm into smaller pieces by adding short words or vowels, like &quot;1 a and e, 2 a and e&quot; etc.</p>
<p>What would be a typical way to split a beat like this in Mandarin? I'd imagine English numbers become Mandarin numbers and &quot;and&quot;s turn into &quot;he&quot;s. But what about the sounds that come between numbers and &quot;and&quot;s?</p>

<word-choice><vocabulary><culture>
How do Chinese musicians count beats in Mandarin?
# How do Chinese musicians count beats in Mandarin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-29)

When counting beats in a song, in English we would say "1 and, 2 and, 3 and" etc. where 1, 2 and 3 are beats and "and"s are spaces between them. You can also split the rhythm into smaller pieces by adding short words or vowels, like "1 a and e, 2 a and e" etc.

What would be a typical way to split a beat like this in Mandarin? I'd imagine English numbers become Mandarin numbers and "and"s turn into "he"s. But what about the sounds that come between numbers and "and"s?

**Tags:** word-choice, vocabulary, culture


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-05-29. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

My wife is a violinist and I just asked her. So this is what she said:

一嗒 二嗒 三嗒

or

一嗒嗒 二嗒嗒 三嗒嗒 based on the tempo she wants( just add more "da").

嗒 is just a sound as "da" in English.

Since all Chinese numbers < 11 only have one syllable, it is quite easy to do.

I'm not sure if all musicians use this method but this is what she said :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you, I knew I will find someone with first-hand information on this site :)  
> **username_1**: @ReverentLapwing thanks to my wife :) . would you please accept the answer as the "accepted answer" so this thread will be marked as answered?  

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