backbeat

[bak-beet]

noun

Popular Music.

1. a secondary or supplementary beat, as by a jazz drummer.

backbeat

/ ˈbækˌbiːt /

noun

1. music the second and fourth beats of a bar written in even time or, in more complex time signatures, the last beat of the bar Compare downbeat upbeat

Word History and Origins

Origin of backbeat¹

back ¹ + beat

Example Sentences

The standout track, “Amor,” is a simple tune with a catchy backbeat and lyrics that cease to complicate concepts of love.

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What had been the backbeat of a bygone epoch, the waltz amazingly survived in the 20th century.

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It’s a jauntily asymmetrical tune that rides a bluesy riff and a backbeat from the drummer Dave King of the Bad Plus.

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He brought an ensemble to the elegant Appel Room theater, overlaying syncopated backbeats, heralding horn lines and tapestries of Rhodes and distorted guitar.

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“Deep Blue” touches on Minimalism, psychedelia and traditional jazz, with a steady backbeat, a polytonal piano lick, electric sitar and back-talk from trumpet, clarinet and violin.

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