: How can I say that a chord lasts for a period of time related to the rhythm of a song? Suppose there are 2 chords within a measure of 4 beats. The first chord sounds from the first beat of the measure until the middle (or

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Every phrasing that you used made sense to me.

Your possibilities were:

"The first chord lasts from the start of the measure until the middle of the second beat."
"The first chord lasts from the start of the measure until the middle of the second beat, at which point it changes to another chord."

Some other possibilities:

"The E-minor chord lasts for a beat and a half before switching to A minor."
"The switch from E minor to A minor happens on the and of 2."

If you're looking for a specific English verb, we say that the chord "lasts" (or, less commonly, "sounds") for a specific period of time. Example: "The chord lasts for three beats."

This is what we call the harmonic rhythm, which is just the rhythm of the chord changes. But in terms of specific ways of phrasing it, I don't really think there's one universal way; any of the four ways I mentioned seem fine to me, and would be easily understood by every musician I know.

The final option is the shortest and most concise, and with limited rehearsal time that might be ideal, but they all work.