Upbeat (music)

Upbeat (Ger. Auftakt).1. An unaccented beat or beats that occur before the first beat of a following measure. Also called anacrusis or pickup. In other words, this is an impulse in a measured rhythm that immediately precedes, and hence anticipates, the downbeat, which is the strongest of such impulses. It can be the last beat in a bar where that bar precedes a new bar of music.
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