Upbeat (music)

Upbeat (Ger. Auftakt).

1. An unaccented beat or beats that occur before the first beat of the following measure. In other words, this is an impulse in a measured rhythm that immediately precedes, and hence anticipates, the downbeat, which is the strongest of such impulses. It can be the last beat in a bar where that bar precedes a new bar of music.cite web |title=Upbeat |url=http://www.grovemusic.com|accessdate=2007-02-10 |last= DOGANTAN|first= MINE|year= 2007 |work= |publisher=Grove Music Online |language=English]

2. An anticipatory note or succession of notes occurring before the first barline of a piece, sometimes referred to as an ‘upbeat figure’, section or phrase. An alternative expression for "upbeat figure" is "anacrusis" (from Greek. "ana: " "up towards" and "krousis: " "to strike"; Fr. "anacrouse"). This term was borrowed from poetry where it refers to one or more unstressed extrametrical syllables at the beginning of a line.

3. The upward stroke made by a conductor to indicate the beat that leads into a new measure.

4. When referring to a song that's positive-sounding and fast.

Example

Beginning of BWV736, with anacrusis in red.

Citations

Bibliography

* J.-J. Momigny: "La seule vraie théorie de la musique" (Paris, 1821/R)
* H. Riemann: "Musikalische Dynamik und Agogik" (Hamburg, 1884)
* M. Lussy: "L’anacrouse dans la musique moderne" (Paris, 1903)
* E. T. Cone: "Musical Form and Musical Performance" (New York, 1968)