In its most standard form, shout music is characterized by very fast tempo, chromatic bass lines, snare hits and hand claps on the upbeat of each beat. The organ typically plays dominant 7 chords while improvising over blues riffs. The pianist typically plays counter rhythms to the established rhythmic structure. There are many variations of this particular style of music. Often bands will break into shout music at the end of a song or as a finale, or at a particularly high emotional point during a church service or sermon-often cued by the pastor or speaker themselves.
Shout music is used as a bed for vocal riffing and calling out of exclamatory catch phrases, or "shouts" (e.g. "Hallelujah!" or "Thank you, Lord!").