Four Famous Core `Ukulele Strums - Pattern - Pattern Four

Universal counting is a (non-traditional) approach to counting rhythm. Counting has traditionally been linked to time signatures. If a piece were in common time, the count would always extend to 4 by the end of each measure. The half note for example, would be counted 1 2, or 2 3 or 3 4 depending on its location in the measure. In signatures other than common time, the variety can be even greater. In the universal counting system, a half note is always counted 1 2, regardless of its location in the measure. This concept is extended to every syllable in modular phonetics. Though some of these counts appear to duplicate from one level to another, they are unique when you factor in the subdivisions. 123 in level I is not heard or felt the same as 123 in level III.

In the long run, counting systems are relatively unimportant because, at more advanced levels, the counting is eliminated in favor of the eye - ear - hand reflex. The eye sees the rhythm, the ear hears it and the hand reflexively executes it. The closest parallel to this process is reading a language. As our knowledge of vocabulary in a language grows, we begin to recognize words, how they are pronounced and what they mean. We can achieve the exact same fluent result in reading the visual language of rhythm.