Contents
Early on, I explained how the difference between downbeat and upbeat accents affects the groove.
In this session, we focused just on the accents of the hi-hat, but this time, we will broaden the discussion and delve into accents more comprehensively.
1. Strong Beat / Weak Beat
In Western music theory, there is another set of classification terms aside from downbeat/upbeat: “strong beats & weak beats“.
Now, here we have four-on-the-floor rhythm patterns. Which one is the “strongest” beat?
OK, sorry, I was wrong. the examples I gave weren’t very good… Let’s take Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, for example.
Suppose you were the conductor of an orchestra. If you were allowed to wave the baton only once per bar, on which beat would you swing it down?
—I would predict that most people would answer the first beat. Without indicating it, you wouldn’t be able to align the phrases properly, and you wouldn’t be able to start the piece in the first place😂
And if you were allowed to wave the baton one more time, you would probably choose the third beat, which divides the measure exactly in half. The beats that mark the quarter divisions, the second and fourth beats, would be the last in priority.
This means the following: each beat, which serves as a marker for measuring rhythm, is not equal in terms of its importance as a marker. And the words that explain the importance within this rhythmic framework are what I mentioned earlier.
The beats 1 and 3 are referred to as Strong Beats and beats 2 and 4 as Weak Beats (and in a strict sense, the third beat is sometimes called a “medium-strong” beat because it’s not considered to be as strong as the first beat).
Please note that this is a conceptual term within the rhythmic framework and has no bearing on actual accents in performance. For example, even in a straightforward “four-on-the-floor” kick pattern like earlier, the first and third beats are still referred to as strong beats, while the second and fourth beats are considered weak beats.
In Classical Music
In classical music, however, as observed in pieces like ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’, phrases often do align with the strong beats. Particularly in orchestral compositions, such structures are preferred maybe due to the conductor’s need to control everyone’s tempo.
- Mozart “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” (1787)
- Beethoven “Piano Sonata No. 8, III (Pathetique)” (1798)
- Dvorak “Symphony No. 9, IV (From the New World)” (1893)
Can you feel that in all the three cases above, accents are set on “1” and “3”? If not, try pretending to be a conducter, counting 1, 2, 3, 4 and waving your hands. With your eyes closed, you should see the orchestra playing loudly in sync with your counts of 1 and 3.
In Pop Music
I’ll explain in the next topic, but in popular music, rhythms become more complex. However, in slow ballads aimed at creating a relaxed mood, you can still find songs where accents are clearly placed on the strong beats.
“Bridge over Troubled Water” is a typical example. At the crucial moment of singing the important title, the accents of the words perfectly align with beats 1 and 3.
A rhythm as simple and classical as this may not have the kind of allure that makes you want to dance, but instead, it is expected that each word can have a heavy weight, as if sinking deeply into your heart.
in 3/4 Time
In 3/4 time, only beat 1 is considered the strong beat, while beats 2&3 are weak beats.
And also in 3/4 time, conventional music often places accents on the strong beats.
Lisen to “Amazing Grace” and you can see that its melodic accent is consistently placed on the beat 1—When you focus on the lyrics, you notice that less crucial words like “a,” “the,” “like,” or “but” fall on the third beat, while more significant words like “grace,” “saved,” or “found” land on the first beat. This is the classical way of composition.
2. Backbeat
So strong beats are “theoretically” strong in their weight. But, when you look at the rhythm patterns of drums in today’s popular music, you’ll notice that, as you probably know, it’s actually standard to emphasize the weak beats of the 2nd and 4th with the prominent snare hits.
The above are typical rhythm patterns for rock and jazz. Though kicks still basically emphasize the beat 1&3, the “weak” beats are “strongly” accented by snares. It’s quite the opposite of classical music in terms of groove.
These modern beats that have strong accent on what was thought to be weak beats are called the “Backbeats“. It is said that the origins of the backbeat are traced back to 19th-20th African-American music like blues, gospel and early jazz. This was a big paradigm-shift in popular music.
Therefore, paradoxically, in today’s popular music, the “weak beats” become strong. It can be seen that obsolete terminologies are causing needless confusion, but there’s no need to overturn the concept that the first beat is “strong”—at least in an abstract sense. It’s nice to think that the inversion of what should originally be heavy and what should be light is indeed a defining characteristic of modern rhythm.
One Drop
By the way, in both rock and jazz, you could say that they still emphasize the downbeat by properly hitting the kick on the first beat. In reggae, to further emphasize the backbeat, a rhythm pattern called “One Drop” is commonly used, where the kick on the first beat is not played.
Not playing the kick on the first beat is quite unusual and not commonly seen in genres other than reggae. Additionally, reggae’s distinctive feature is emphasizing the upbeat with the guitar. The secret to this tropical and lively rhythm lies in the One Drop pattern.
Rhythm has a profound impact on the musical mood, and the style varies significantly from genre to genre. If you don’t grasp the unique rhythm features of a genre you make, a song might come across as somewhat amateurish.
3. Onbeat / Offbeat
Next, I have to introduce yet another terms, “onbeat/offbeat“. These are also terms related to the rhythmic positions, but unfortunately, it carries a considerable ambiguity in its meaning, and it can vary from person to person.
Some say that beats 1&3 are “onbeat”, and beats 2&4 are “offbeat”.
In this context, the terms “onbeat” and “offbeat” are almost synonymous with “strong beat” and “weak beat”.
But others use them as the synonym to “downbeat/upbeat”—the front and back segemnts of 1/8 grids.
Given this situation, some people suggest that “onbeat” and “offbeat” refer to the front and back parts of a division, regardless of the granularity of the grid. I, too, think that this is the most effective way to use these terms.
- Onbeat/Offbeat
- A term used to differentiate between the front part and the back part (odd-numbered and even-numbered) within the subdivision of the particular grid in question.
- The onbeats are the points where accents are theoretically conceived to be inherent in the most fundamental rhythm structure.
Following this definition, in a 1/4 grid, beats 1&3 are indeed “on”, while 2&4 are “off.” In a 1/8 grid, downbeat equals onbeat, and upbeat equals offbeat. And the term can consistently apply to grids of 1/16 or 1/32, whatever.
