Four on the floor (music)

Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a rhythm used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in 44 time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4). This was popularized in the disco music of the 1970s and the term four-on-the-floor was widely used in that era, since on a drum set, the beat is played with the pedal-operated, drum-kit bass drum. Four on the floor was common in jazz drumming until bebop styles expanded rhythmic roles beyond the basics in the 1940s. Garage rock bands of the 1960s such as the Troggs and the Seeds used four-on-the-floor on some of their hits. Many styles of electronic dance music use 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 in jazz drumming. Instead of hitting the bass drum in 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 in syncopati