How to Count Foxtrot: Slow, Quick, Quick

Your teacher says "slow, quick, quick" and the whole floor starts walking. Those three words are the foxtrot, and each one tells you how long to take.

How do you count foxtrot?

Foxtrot is counted slow, quick, quick. The slow takes two beats and each quick takes one, so the three steps fill one bar of 4/4: 1 _ 3 4. The social version stretches it to slow, slow, quick, quick over six beats. You can see the pattern in the foxtrot count in the Count Studio library.

What do slow and quick mean?

A slow and a quick are not beats. They are step lengths. A slow step lasts two beats of the music and a quick step lasts one. That is why dancers count foxtrot in words, not in numbers: "1 2 3 4" would give every step the same length.

The 4/4 bar: where the 1 falls

Foxtrot is in 4/4, so each bar has four beats, with the 1 as the strongest. The slow lands on the 1 and lasts until the 3. The two quicks then land on 3 and 4. After the second quick, the next bar begins and the next slow lands on the new 1.

If you know how to count a waltz, notice the difference. A waltz bar has three beats and a step on each. A foxtrot bar has four beats but only three steps, because the first step is held for two of them.

Step by step: slow, quick, quick

According to Wikipedia's foxtrot article, most International-style figures are built on 4-count units, with the rhythm slow (2 counts), quick (1 count), quick (1 count), repeating in each measure. Here is how that works on the floor.

1. Find the 1. Listen for the strongest beat of the bar and count 1 2 3 4 in your head a few times.
2. Take a slow on 1 and 2. Walk one long step and let it last until the 3.
3. Take a quick on 3. One step, one beat.
4. Take a quick on 4. Another one beat, and the bar is full.
5. Start again on the next 1. The slow lands where the new bar begins.

Walks and the feather step

Slow, quick, quick is the pattern for a run of walks, and it is also the frame for named figures. The feather step is one of them: Wikipedia lists it among the International basic figures and shows it as a four-count figure. Four counts is exactly one 4/4 bar, so the count under it stays slow, quick, quick, and it lines up with the 1 of the bar. Your teacher or syllabus gives the footwork. The count tells you how long each step takes.

The social count: slow, slow, quick, quick

American social foxtrot uses a different pattern. The same Wikipedia article describes 6-count figures built on slow (2 counts), slow (2 counts), quick (1 count), quick (1 count). That is 6 beats, so a figure crosses the bar line: it takes one full bar and half of the next.

Count Studio's library lists it the same way, with a grouping of 2+2+1+1, and notes that ballroom figures use slow, quick, quick instead. If a class changes from one to the other, listen for where the second figure starts: after a six-count figure the next 1 is no longer at the start of the figure.

How fast is foxtrot?

The tempo range in the Count Studio library is 112-120 BPM. It comes from the competition tempo table of 28-30 bars per minute, converted to beats per minute: 28 bars times four beats is 112, and 30 bars times four is 120.

Wikipedia adds a bit of history: over time the foxtrot split into slow and quick versions, now called foxtrot and quickstep. If you want to compare tempos across styles, the dance tempo chart lists them side by side.

Common problems

• Rushing the slow. The slow is two beats long. If you step on the 2, you have turned it into two quicks.
• Counting 1 2 3 4 with a step on each. That is a different rhythm. Say the words, slow, quick, quick, so your body hears the lengths.
• Losing the bar line in the social count. Six beats do not fit a 4/4 bar, so the 1 moves. Keep counting the music, not just the figure, and find the strongest beat again.
• Mixing the two counts. If your class uses slow, slow, quick, quick, do not count slow, quick, quick over it. Ask which one is being taught.

Practise it with Count Studio

Drill the count away from the floor first, then on it. It takes a few minutes.

1. Clap the beat, 1 2 3 4, to a foxtrot at 112-120 BPM.
2. Say "slow, quick, quick" aloud while you walk, one step on each word.
3. Check that your slow lasts until the 3.
4. Switch to slow, slow, quick, quick and see where the 1 lands.

Count Studio keeps the foxtrot pattern in its count library, with the meter, grouping and tempo range shown in this article. The app is coming November 27 to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Bottom line

Foxtrot is slow, quick, quick: two beats, one beat, one beat, filling a 4/4 bar. The social count is slow, slow, quick, quick over six beats. Say the words, feel the lengths, and keep finding the 1.