Downbeat is a term that musicians use to refer to the first of a group of beats, see meter. A conductor literally moves his hand down to signify when this beat should occur.
The intial, and strongest, beat in a measure ; thus, the most significant beat provided by the conductor, always downward. (See also upbeat .)
The first beat of a measure (bar).
the accented first beat in a measure
The downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton, indicating the first (accented) beat of a measure.
The first beat in a measure. The moment in a metric schema that is most likely to coincide with an event onset. See also meter.
The first beat of the bar; the opposite of backbeat and upbeat.
(1) Refers to the very beginning of each beat. If a measure is counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &... then the numbers 1,2,3, and 4 are considered to be the downbeats, while the "ands" are the Upbeats; (2) Refers to the strongest beats in each measure. In 4/4 music the downbeats are the 1 and the 3. (The upbeats are 2 and 4).
The is the first beat of a loop and is usually signified with an accent or extra burst of sound from and instrument such as a crash symbol or hi hat. If a musical track consists of 16 beat loops, we should hear a downbeat once every 16 beats.
The term Downbeat has several meanings including as a description of a beat in music, and as a genre or style of music.