Downbeat vs Upbeat

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Downbeat	Upbeat
Definition	The first and strongest beat of a bar, typically where the conductor's baton reaches its lowest point.	The anacrusis; one or more notes occurring before the first full bar of a phrase.
Category	rhythm	navigation
Pronunciation	/ˈdaʊnbiːt/	UP-beet
Origin	English (descriptive)	English
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	first beat strong beat one	Anacrusis Pick-up Auftakt
Antonyms	upbeat offbeat anacrusis	Downbeat
Usage	The entire ensemble enters together on the downbeat of bar one for maximum impact.	The melody begins with a quaver upbeat that launches the phrase energetically into the first bar.

Definition: The first and strongest beat of a bar, typically where the conductor's baton reaches its lowest point.
Category: rhythm
Pronunciation: /ˈdaʊnbiːt/
Origin: English (descriptive)
Synonyms: first beat strong beat one
Antonyms: upbeat offbeat anacrusis
Usage: The entire ensemble enters together on the downbeat of bar one for maximum impact.

Definition: The anacrusis; one or more notes occurring before the first full bar of a phrase.
Category: navigation
Pronunciation: UP-beet
Origin: English
Synonyms: Anacrusis Pick-up Auftakt
Antonyms: Downbeat
Usage: The melody begins with a quaver upbeat that launches the phrase energetically into the first bar.