Why do musicians often count to four before starting to play? What’s significant about the number four?
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They won’t always count to four, but what they’re doing is “counting in.” This allows every musician to be in sync when the piece starts as it allows them to mentally recognize where the beat lays, time signature, and how fast to play (tempo). If you listen to a recorded piece in which someone does audibly count in, continue to listen and you’ll hear that count in aligns with the beat. That way, if a piece has multiple instruments and vocalist begin playing/singing right from the get go, they all know where to start (after the count) and how fast to play as well as time signature (if they count up to only 3 or all the way to 7 in some instances.)
It’s similar to a race in which someone says “3, 2, 1, go!” To ensure that no one starts before they’re supposed to.
As for why four is significant, It’s the most common time signature. When counting in, one usually counts in a full measure before the music starts. In 4/4 time, there’s four beats and a quarter note is worth one beat, so the counter is counting the quarter notes that equal a measure at the tempo the piece is to be played. (Listen to a piece of music. Count the beats. If things line up to you counting “1,2,3,4” evenly, It’s in 4/4.) Again, sometimes they only count to three for a 3/4 time signature (3 beats per measure. Quarter not equals one beat. Think circus music or a waltz) or up to 5 for a 5/4 time signature and sometimes 7 for a 7/4 time signature etc. (For weird music) But that’s more uncommon.
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