A few weeks ago a former student, now in college, posted an upbeat music video clip on his Facebook page and admonished his readers to "clap on the upbeat, white people!" (Well, he had it a little bit wrong, confusing up/down/off beat, but I'm giving him the benefit of doubt, here.) And that led me to consider why it's so true that some kinds of music invite rhythmic clapping on the downbeat (country and Irish, for example) and other kinds of music invite clapping on the up or "off" beat (jazz and African, for example). For those who don't know, up and down referred, originally, to the direction of the conductor's baton, which always comes down on the first beat of a measure . . .
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Celtic Woman, which includes a few numbers in which the performers invite the audience to clap along, and, sure enough, there we were, clapping along (thunderously) on the downbeat! And it was good and right that we should do so.
Just watch an Irish dancer perform: their feet accentuate the downbeat, and to be clapping along with the upbeat would absolutely ruin the urgent, driving nature of the dance . . .
Here's a reel from a previous tour, with the performers dancing and the audience clapping! Slainte!
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