What to call groups of measures?
I'm making a music game. It's a dancing game to electronic music at 120ish bpm in 4/4 time (I'm assuming).
I have beats, and 4 of those make a measure.
But dancers yell that 5,6,7,8 before dancing, so whats a good name for those pairs of measures?
The music seems very structured into groups of 8 measures with a theme, then move to another theme. I've been calling these "Movements" - they don't always have to be 8 measures, but seem to be a power of two.
Naming things is about communicating. I've been googling, but haven't found a description for these groups of measures.
Is it structured or do yall just make it up?
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A '5,6,7,8' count-in (and that's the name for it) at q=120 sounds like it would be one bar. (Funny thing - dancers like to count backwards, a musician would be more likely to shout '1,2,3,4.)
No, a 'movement' is a (much) bigger unit than a 4 or 8-bar phrase (which is probably the word you want). A movement is a complete piece of music.
Groups of measures that contain one idea are called a phrase. Phrases are often, but not always, four measures long. Phrases can be grouped together and simply be called "phrase groups" or they can follow a stricter form called periods if they contain certain cadence patterns. There are different types of periods, as well, depending on the melodic structure and cadences of the phrases that are included. These are the foundations of larger structures and form in music.
The lead-in notes that are understood to somehow before its true beginning are called anacrusis. When we count before the tune starts, that's a sort of anacrusis. Sometimes when music with an anacrusis loops, the last measure's ending is short, and combines with the anacrusis. E.g. a 3 note anacrusis in 4/4 time might start music which ends on a bar that has just one beat; this is supposed to dove-tail with a repeat of the anacrusis.
Groups of related measures could be called segments or sequences. It sounds as if the music in question consists of 8 bar sequences that are introduced by an anacrusis/countdown, and have space in the last measure to accommodate the next such lead-in.
Music that consists of unrelated melodic sequences, or entire tunes, stitched together, usually under an uninterrupted tempo, is a medley.
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