How to Count Salsa On1: 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _

Salsa gets easier once you can say the count out loud, so start there. The pattern is short.

How do you count salsa On1?

You count salsa On1 as 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _. You step on 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, and you pause on 4 and 8. One basic is eight counts, which is two bars of 4/4 grouped 4+4. Dancers write the same pattern as "1,2,3,...5,6,7,...", where the dots mark the pauses. You can see it set out count by count in the Salsa On1 entry in the count library.

Step by step: the count, beat by beat

Here is the whole basic in one table. Read it across, then say it aloud.

Two ideas explain the shape. First, the basic is three steps for every four beats of music, so each bar of four has one beat with no step. That beat is your 4, and your 8. Second, the break steps fall on 1 and 5, the first beat of each bar. That is where the name comes from: in the LA style, dancers break forward on the first beat of the music, which is "on 1".

The lead-in is 5 6 7 8. You count it before the first step, so your body is already moving when the 1 arrives.

The pause on 4 and 8

The pause is a count, not a gap. Say "4" and "8" in your head as loudly as the others. What your feet do on it depends on your teacher: some schools have you tap, some hold. Whichever you learn, the count doesn't change, and a full-beat pause is what keeps you in time.

Say it the way teachers do

Teachers usually count a class in with "5, 6, 7, 8" and then keep saying the numbers for the first few rounds. You can drop the voice once your feet know the pattern, but keep the count running in your head. It is the quickest way to notice when you have slipped a beat, and it makes it easy to rejoin a partner or a class mid-song.

On1 and On2 share the pattern

On2 is danced to the same 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _ pattern, but it starts from the second beat of the music instead of the first. If you want that version, see how to count salsa On2, or the On1 vs On2 comparison. More salsa counts are collected on the salsa page.

How do you find the 1 in salsa music?

Counting only works if your 1 lands on the music's 1. Salsa runs fast: usually somewhere between 160 and 220 beats per minute, so you have less time to think than in a slower dance.

Try this routine with any salsa track:

1. Listen for the steady beat and tap 1 2 3 4 along with it, without dancing.
2. Group the taps in fours, then in eights: 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8.
3. Listen for where a phrase begins. That is usually a good candidate for the 1.
4. Count 5 6 7 8 into it, and start on the 1.

If your count drifts away from the music, stop, find the beat again and restart from a 5 6 7 8. There is more on this in how to find the 1 in music.

Count Studio's song import is built for this step. It finds the tempo, the beats and the likely 1 on your device, and you can fix it with tap-along if it picked the wrong beat.

Common problems when counting salsa On1

Stepping on 4 or 8. It's the most common slip. Your feet want to keep going because the music does. Say the pause out loud and keep your weight where it is.

Rushing 5 6 7 after the pause. If you cut the 4 short, the whole second half arrives early. Give the pause its full beat.

Counting eight steps. The basic has six steps in eight counts. If you are counting 1 to 8 and stepping on every number, you are dancing a different pattern.

Mixing up On1 and On2. The footwork is the same, so it is easy to land on the wrong beat of the music. If your break step lands on the second beat, you are on2. Decide which one you are learning before you start counting.

Practise it with Count Studio

Drill the count in three passes:

1. No music. Say 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _ out loud while you walk the steps slowly, and give the pauses a real beat.
2. Slow track. Do the same with a slower salsa track and tap the pauses.
3. At tempo. Move up to a track in the 160 to 220 BPM range, with a 5 6 7 8 lead-in each time.

Count Studio is a counter for dancers, coming November 27 to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Its count library already includes Salsa On1, set out as 4+4 with a 5 6 7 8 lead-in, so you can check the count and the lead-in before you drill it.

Bottom line

Salsa On1 is 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _: break on 1 and 5, steps on 2, 3, 6 and 7, and a full-beat pause on 4 and 8. Learn the pause as a count and the rest of the basic follows.