Music and Movement in 4
“The most common meter is 4, but that does not make it any more or less complex.”
The meter of 4 is by far the most used in dance, across almost all styles I have ever played. A large percentage of the music I grew up with was in 4, and sometimes in
3. It wasn’t until college that I started working in other meters. Most popular music is in 4 and every piece of music software comes with a default meter of
4. When I speak with other musicians about techno and house music, we use the shorthand of “four on the floor”...meaning a kick drum on each of the four beats of a measure in 4.