"why refer to them as bars and not measures?"

We could turn that question around and ask "why refer to them as measures and not bars?" It is a terminology thing.

It appears the US prefers measures full of quarter notes and eighth notes while the English (and at least some others) prefer bars with crochets and quavers.

Musicians and nightclub DJs need the tighter control of specifying tempo as beats per minute. Dancers are generally more worried about choreography to fit into several bars/measures so have traditionally specified tempo in bars per minute.

So, why is the famous song titled 'Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar' and not 'Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Measure.'

Counting in beats. Would the average person be able to find if I asked Google. Marcus Hilton Basic Foxtrot . Go to beat 92 and tell me which way Karen is looking. It's much easier to count 23 bars. In fact it's no trouble at all. And if it was something towards the end of there demonstration I would find it impossible counting beats. As for using the words measure to describe a bar of music is plain stupid.I would say at a guess that the word bar of music was used long before Columbus sailed to America. Is that right.

so in a nut shell, bars is just a term. it is just the word dancers use for measures which is the sheet music term which combined with time signature gives us the beats per minute so as a musician i can set the metronome. in music the bar is the physical line that separates measures and therefore parts of the song including denoting the beginning and end and any time signature changes or key signature changes. now i understand, thank you polished and social dancer.

On of the stupidest things that folks can do is argue over disagreements which can be resolved by simply consulting conventional reference material.

Merriam-Webster shows numerous definitions for the word 'bar."

Here's the definition in musical terms.

Music
a. A vertical line drawn through a staff to mark off a measure.
b. A measure.

Merriam-Webster: bar

Use the definition that you, your partner, and your coach all understand. It doesn't matter which.



jj

Most of the world wouldn't recognise the musical term "measure" at all. A measure IS a bar, and what the definition says is a bar is, of course, a bar line (the line in musical notation that divides the bars).

I have never seen tempo referred to in MPM, but always BPM, and while occasionally it is beats per minute that is meant (90 bpm for slow waltz, for example), it is much more likely to be 30 bpm (ie 30 bars per minute: the same as 90 beats per minute).

Measures? Why do Americans have to keep inventing vocabulary for things that already have perfectly servicable words?

I hate to tell you this.. but the English changed not only the terminology , but the technique in many of the smooth and rhythm dances.. starting with Rumba !. ( actually.. was a french guy, Pierre )

They have done exactly the same thing with Salsa/ Mambo.. names established for over 50yrs were arbitrarily changed (can supply numerous e.g. )


Do agree with you on the bars thing .

dance terms and musical terms often have similar/different names, based upon origins.. hence the confusion.

"Why do Americans have to keep inventing vocabulary for things that already have perfectly servicable words?"

So we won't be mistaken for Brits.

jj

jofjonesboro. I like that one. So you wont be mistaken for Brits..When Slavic was demonstrating in Brisbane. After he did his awesome demonstration he was handed the microphone. He said Sorry I do not speak good English. A voice came from the gallery Neither do we. But seriously now. I think to use the term leader and follower may give a person the wrong impression .By that I mean it may seem to some that the follower is to be pulled and pushed along. Instead of that each one does an equall amount of work . Whoever is going forward is in control otherwise the dancing looks lopsided.
To get away from dancing. Somebody said to me . You have an English accent. I said hold on. I am English speaking English. Your the one with the accent. Would you say to a Chinese person that they were speaking with a Chinese accent if they were speaking in Chinese. Cheers

Way to go, JJ!

When you stop patting yourself's on the back I would like to say there is a lot more following than leading in dancing by both partners. Cheers