Four on the floor (music)

"Four to the floor" redirects here. For the song by Starsailor, seeFour to the Floor.For the British music television program, seeFour to the Floor (TV series).

For other uses, seeFour on the Floor (disambiguation).

Four-on-the-floor(orfour-to-the-floor) is arhythmused primarily in dance genres such asdiscoandelectronic dance music.It is a steady, uniformly accentedbeatin⁴
₄timein which thebass drumis hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4). This was popularized in thediscomusic of the 1970s and the termfour-on-the-floorwas widely used in that era, since the beat was played with the pedal-operated, drum-kit bass drum.

"Four on the floor" on the bass drumplay within typical rock beat^ⓘandPlay alone^ⓘ

Four on the floor was common injazzdrumming untilbebopstyles expanded rhythmic roles beyond the basics in the 1940s.Garage rockbands of the 1960s such asthe Troggsandthe Seedsused four-on-the-floor on some of their hits.

Many styles ofelectronic dance musicuse this beat as an important part of the rhythmic structure.Sometimes the term is used to refer to a 4/4 uniform drumming pattern for any drum.

A form of four-on-the-floor is also used injazz drumming.Instead of hitting thebass drumin a pronounced and therefore easily audible fashion, it is usually struck very lightly (referred to as "feathering" ) so that the sound of the drum is felt instead of heard by the listener. Typically, this is combined with a ride cymbal and hi-hat insyncopation.When astring instrumentmakes the rhythm (rhythm guitar,banjo), all four beats of themeasureare played by identical downstrokes.

Inreggaedrumming, the bass drum usually hits on the third beat but sometimes drummers play four on the floor.Sly DunbarfromSly and Robbiewas one of thereggaedrummers who played mostly in this style. AlsoCarlton BarrettfromBob Marley and the Wailersplayed four on the floor on several hits by the Wailers like "Is This Love"and"Exodus".In reggae, four on the floor usually goes by the hand with a low end and powerful bassline. Four on the floor can be found in more modern reggae derivative styles such asdancehall,while it is less common to find it inroots reggae.In the roots context, it is generally referred to as a "steppers" rhythm.

Stylistic differences

In African music

Main article:Gqom

Sgubhu,a variant ofgqomand a type ofSouth Africanelectronic dance music, shares some traits with gqom but sets itself apart with its beat structure. Unlike standard gqom, sgubhu is characterized by a much steadier kick drum pattern although having akickpattern reminiscent of thethree-step rhythm,often adhering to a consistent four-on-the-floor rhythm, which aligns more closely with traditional four-on-the-floor electronic dance music. There were several pioneers of the sgubhu genre, including record producer Emo Kid.