Q: When people talk about the "downbeat" do they mean the 1 and 3 of each bar (in 4/4 time) with the 2 and 4 being the upbeat? Or is the downbeat the 1st eighth note and the second eightnote (or "the and" of the beat) the upbeat?
A: the downbeat usually means any of the 4 quarter notes (in 4/4 for example). the upbeat is the in between 8th note. the 2 and 4 can be called the 'backbeat' if there is a snare, clap, etc happening there. 1 and 3 would be the 'white beat' because that's when all the white people clap. god bless, they're trying their hardest