Back beat

This article is about musical beats. For the film about The Beatles, see Backbeat (film). In music a back beat (also called the, or a, backbeat) is a term applied to the beats 2 and 4 in a 4/4 bar or a 12/8 bar as opposed to the odd downbeat, (quarter beat 1). In a simple 4/4 rhythm, 1 2 3 4, the 1st beat is the down beat. If beat four immediately precedes a new bar it is also called an upbeat (see upbeat article for more information on what an upbeat is).
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