So far, all of our sample songs have started on the downbeat, i.e. the first beat of bar 1. And you have learnt how to give your singers a preparatory beat helping them know when to start.

But what if the music starts on a beat other than the downbeat? This is called an anacrusis. The solution is simple: whatever beat the music starts on, you make the one before it your preparatory beat. Pieces that begin with an anacrusis on the upbeat are very common. This includes songs like “Down by the Sally Gardens,” “Chevaliers de la Table Ronde” and “Amazing Grace.”

The exercises which follow will help familiarise you with this kind of anacrusis which is sometimes referred to as a “pick-up” or, simply, an “upbeat.”