backbeat

The sharp accent on the second and fourth beats of rock music in 4/4 time.

Noun

  1. The sharp accent on the second and fourth beats of rock music in 4/4 time.
    • Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music / Any old way you choose it / It's got a back beat, you can't lose it, / Any old time you use it - 1957, “Rock and Roll Music”, performed by Chuck Berry:

Origin

From back + beat.

Forms

backbeats back beat