Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sharp rhythmic accent on the second and fourth beats of a measure in 4/4 time, characteristic of rock music.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun music The sharp
accent on the second and fourthbeats ofrock music in 4/4 time.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a loud steady beat
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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I mean, my whole life has been, you know, the backbeat has been, the backbeat has been the Beatles.
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One thing I have learned - and this is going to sound silly - is that music is music, and whether it's rap or indie-rock or pop, the circuitry that makes you react to a melody or a backbeat is the same.
NPR Topics: News 2010
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Tony Allen (best known as the backbeat of legend Fela's band) want us to download the 15 constituent parts of the single "Secret Agent," the title track off his new album on World Circuit label.
Disquiet 2009
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While Mr. Domino pounded out a steady bank of triplets (three notes to every beat), the drummer hit the second and fourth beats harder (known as a "backbeat") and the horns played call-and response bass riffs.
The Rhythm of Rock 'n' Roll: 'It's All in the 1, 2, 3' Marc Myers 2010
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Her delivery is made up of not quite equal parts rhythmic gesture you can hear the backbeat in much of her singing and a modulated jazz inflection with which she toys with the ends of lines.
Dan Alford: Review: Emily Warren & The Betters at Webster Hall Dan Alford 2011
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Her delivery is made up of not quite equal parts rhythmic gesture you can hear the backbeat in much of her singing and a modulated jazz inflection with which she toys with the ends of lines.
Dan Alford: Review: Emily Warren & The Betters at Webster Hall Dan Alford 2011
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The rhythm guitarist, in the same mold as the other two, punctuated the backbeat with a bluesy chord, rotating through a basic progression, changing with each quick, downward strum.
1965, what I wanted - 3 J. Mykell Collinz 2011
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Her delivery is made up of not quite equal parts rhythmic gesture you can hear the backbeat in much of her singing and a modulated jazz inflection with which she toys with the ends of lines.
Dan Alford: Review: Emily Warren & The Betters at Webster Hall Dan Alford 2011
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The smoky melody to the ensuing Ruins makes Jack Wyllie's sax more like a stringed instrument crossed with a trumpet, its quivering vibrato spooky but turning more guttural and free-jazzy as the backbeat pushes on.
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"For forty years, I kept on singing," she sang over a pulsing backbeat, then swung her arm around for emphasis, "before the money started r-o-l-l-i-n-g in!"
Art Levine: Amid Dreary Concert Season, Bettye LaVette's Triumphant Return Art Levine 2010
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