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In music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 performance and music theory
Music theory

Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that govern composer techniques....
, the downbeat is the first beat
Beat (music)

A beat is the basic time unit within much Western music; for example, each tick sounded by a metronome would correspond to a beat. More technically, "the beat is the pulse of the mensural level", also known as the beat level, the meter level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit?"the denominator of the time signature,"...
 of a measure
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
 in music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, the impulse that occurs at the beginning of a bar
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
 in measured music. It is named after the downward stroke of the director or conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
's baton
Baton (conducting)

A baton is a stick that is used by Conducting primarily to exaggerate and enhance manual and bodily movements. They are generally made of a light wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a grip shaped like a pear, drop, cylinder etc, usually of cork or wood....
 at the start of each measure. This differentiates it from the back beat
Back beat

In music, back beat is a term applied to a specific style of rhythmic accentuation with accent on even and odd numbers beat . The term can also apply to those even beats themselves....
 on the even beats.

James Brown
James Brown

James Joseph Brown, Jr. was an United States entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing....
’s signature funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
 groove emphasized the downbeat – that is, with heavy emphasis "on the one" (the first beat of every measure) – to etch his distinctive sound, rather than the backbeat
Back beat

In music, back beat is a term applied to a specific style of rhythmic accentuation with accent on even and odd numbers beat . The term can also apply to those even beats themselves....
, familiar to many R&B musicians, that placed the emphasis on the second beat.






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In music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 performance and music theory
Music theory

Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that govern composer techniques....
, the downbeat is the first beat
Beat (music)

A beat is the basic time unit within much Western music; for example, each tick sounded by a metronome would correspond to a beat. More technically, "the beat is the pulse of the mensural level", also known as the beat level, the meter level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit?"the denominator of the time signature,"...
 of a measure
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
 in music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, the impulse that occurs at the beginning of a bar
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
 in measured music. It is named after the downward stroke of the director or conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
's baton
Baton (conducting)

A baton is a stick that is used by Conducting primarily to exaggerate and enhance manual and bodily movements. They are generally made of a light wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a grip shaped like a pear, drop, cylinder etc, usually of cork or wood....
 at the start of each measure. This differentiates it from the back beat
Back beat

In music, back beat is a term applied to a specific style of rhythmic accentuation with accent on even and odd numbers beat . The term can also apply to those even beats themselves....
 on the even beats.

James Brown
James Brown

James Joseph Brown, Jr. was an United States entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing....
’s signature funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
 groove emphasized the downbeat – that is, with heavy emphasis "on the one" (the first beat of every measure) – to etch his distinctive sound, rather than the backbeat
Back beat

In music, back beat is a term applied to a specific style of rhythmic accentuation with accent on even and odd numbers beat . The term can also apply to those even beats themselves....
, familiar to many R&B musicians, that placed the emphasis on the second beat. According to the New York Times: "By the mid-1960s Brown was producing his own recording sessions. In February 1965, with 'Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,' he decided to shift the beat of his band: from the one-two-three-four backbeat to one-two-three-four. 'I changed from the upbeat to the downbeat,' Mr. Brown said in 1990. 'Simple as that, really.'" According to Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and baritone saxophones....
, Brown's former saxophonist, playing on the downbeat was at first hard for him and took some getting used to. Reflecting back to his early days with Brown's band, Parker reported that he had difficulty in playing "on the one" during solo performances, since he was used to hearing and playing with the accent on the second beat.