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What is backbeat?
A hard accent on beats 2 and 4 — usually a snare-drum crack — over a steady pulse. It's the engine of rock, R&B, and pop, and what rock traded the blues for.
In 4/4 time the ear expects weight on beats 1 and 3; the backbeat defies that by slamming the accent onto the weak beats, 2 and 4, almost always with a snare drum. That relentless off-square crack is the heartbeat of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and most pop. Where the blues loped along on a swung shuffle, rock straightened the eighth notes and drove them with the backbeat.
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