Backbeat - the Key to Time and Groove

How do you keep ‘in time’?

Staying in tempo can be a major challenge for many singers who play. One reason is that most of the time when you are just singing, you’re not required to be in charge of the tempo - the band is doing that for you. As a result, many singers never learn how to keep time within themselves.

As a player, though, whether you play by yourself or with other musicians, ‘time is of the essence’, as they say.

And the ‘essence of time’? It’s called the backbeat.

What is the backbeat and why does it matter?

As you know, a 4/4 bar of music has four beats to each measure, with a quarter note getting one beat. So when you count quarter notes, you count “one, two, three, four”. The first beat is called the downbeat. The second beat is the upbeat, also known as the backbeat.

When you count your tempo from the first beat, it does not give you any reference to tempo at all. You will not know the tempo until you hear that second beat, the backbeat. The backbeat is the determining factor in establishing consistent time. So if your time revolves around the downbeat instead of the backbeat - on 1 and 3 instead of 2 and 4 - your meter will not be as strong as it could be.

This is a basic kick/snare drum pattern.




When you count with your accents on 1 and 3, as in the first measure, there is not a balancing beat to define your tempo. When your accent is on 2 and 4, as in the second measure, that accent on the backbeat pulls the whole groove together, because it balances out the downbeat and gives a specific tempo to what you’re playing.

So, when you sing and/or play, feeling the backbeat is essential to your groove.

How can you strengthen your relationship to the backbeat?

Start by getting into the habit of counting in your head and with your body when you listen to music. Dance can help with that, or just moving your body to music, all the while emphasizing the backbeat, or 2 and 4. These are the beats that the snare drum usually occupies, so when you listen to music with drums, lock in to what the snare is doing. Then, when you sing or play, try to keep that same backbeat inside your head, and into your voice and hands. When you work with the metronome, also pay special attention to the backbeat.

Finding and locking into the backbeat is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your time and rhythm.