Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

used primarily in dance genres such as

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4)."The Dance Music Manual: Tools, Toys and Techniques," Rick Snoman (2004) This was popularized in the

music of the 1970s and the term ''four-on-the-floor'' was widely used in that era, since the beat was played with the pedal-operated, drum-kit bass drum. Four on the floor was common in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drumming until

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

styles expanded rhythmic roles beyond the basics in the 1940s.

Garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

bands of the 1960s such as the Troggs and the Seeds used four-on-the-floor on some of their hits. Many styles of

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

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 syncopation. When a

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

makes the rhythm (

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

), all four beats of the measure are played by identical downstrokes. In

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

drumming, the bass drum usually hits on the third beat but sometimes drummers play four on the floor. Sly Dunbar from Sly and Robbie was one of the

drummers who played mostly in this style. Also Carlton Barrett from

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

played 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 as

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

, while it is less common to find it in roots reggae. In the roots context, it is generally referred to as a "steppers" rhythm.

Stylistic differences

In South African music

Sgubhu, a variant of gqom and a type of South African electronic 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 a kick pattern reminiscent of the three-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.

References

{{Disco music-footer Electronic dance music Disco Rhythm and meter