Talk:Four on the floor (music)

Examples?

I'm still not absolutely positive on what this is. Are there any good examples of popular songs featuring this beat? 24.24.191.252 (talk) 06:16, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Most techno music sounds this way -- just a constant "thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump ....." beat. Benwing (talk) 01:47, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

In the '60s?

In my listening experience, this style of drumming came up in the '30s, with Gene Krupa as the popularizer. Did musicians or critics still speak of "floor toms" after, say, WWII? klaus--91.32.46.133 (talk) 21:08, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

I think this may be right - that the term originated in the jazz era, but was revived in order to describe a musical device prevalent in disco. Based upon what you imply with your remarks about Gene Krupa and, immediately afterwards, tom toms, it is not clear to me if in the jazz era, the term referred to the use of a kick drum or a floor tom tom. But in either case they sit or stand on the floor.

I am a former drummer and 'floor toms' are definitely still referred to. They stand on the floor, unlike the smaller 'rack toms' that are mounted on top of the kick drum. Dubmill (talk) 22:08, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

four on the floor vs. four to the floor?

i have always heard it expressed as "four on the floor". i doubt that there is any tendency to substitute "four to the floor", as the page claims; at most these are equivalent terms. Benwing (talk) 01:47, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

I am the user responsible for making that claim. At the time I was very new to Wikipedia so I had no awareness of the issues surrounding 'original research'. In the late 1970s I was an enthusiastic listener to disco music, and that was when I first heard the term '4 on the floor', which I took to be a reference to the kick or bass drum playing four beats to the bar, and having its origin in the fact that the kick or bass drum in a drum kit sits on the floor (unlike some other elements of the kit). That 4 beats to the bar kick was one of disco's most identifiable elements, distinguishing it from rock and funk, in which the kick was not generally played on the 2nd or 4th beats of the bar (those being reserved for the snare drum).

I am not able to produce citations supporting my interpretation of the term '4 on the floor', although I believe it might be possible to do so. Nevertheless that is my belief - that this is a term that originated among musicians and producers (not DJs) and that the floor being referred to is the floor on which the bass drum and its pedal sits, not the dance floor in a nightclub or discotheque. If you accept that analysis of the meaning and origins of '4 on the floor', the question is, what is meant by '4 to the floor'. Is it the same floor? If not, what floor is being referred to? The 'to the floor' term is one that I remember hearing only much more recently, only as far back as the 1990s, and it seemed to be one used by DJs. I formed the opinion, unproven I'll admit, that it arose from a misunderstanding of the origin of the '4 on the floor' term. The DJs had little or no idea of what floor was being referred to in the older term, because, as I said, although the new term referred to the same musical device - 4 kick beats in a bar - by this time the house music the DJs were playing was produced using drum machines and computers, making the original reference to a 'floor' obscure). It is my belief that at some point it seemed to make more sense that the 'floor' must refer to a dance floor.

I'd be interested to hear an alternative theory of how the newer phrase arose. Of course, even my claim that the 'to the floor' phrase is newer probably requires a citation, although I do believe it is a more recent thing. I don't remember hearing it in the late '70s or through the '80s.

Anyway, those are my theories. However, I accept it is a classic case of 'original research' and under the rules of Wikipedia should be removed, unless a citation can be found. I don't have time to look for a citation, and I don't think it would be easy to find one, since dance music is an area not subject to a great deal of scrutiny by academic writers. Although I would have no quarrel with anyone removing the section, at the same time I am not going to remove it myself, because I do genuinely believe what is claimed is correct and not misinforming the reader. Dubmill (talk) 21:52, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi, another novice user here. Must say, all bass drums are on the floor in every drum set. So the definition is not too great. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.171.195.5 (talk) 00:59, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

I've always heard it as "four to the floor" for some reason. — Hex (❝?!❞) 15:05, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I've always heard it as "four to the floor" as well. I've heard it called that for the last 35 years. Never heard it called Four on the floor. 2.29.238.145 (talk) 23:18, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

A house variation?

Ok, so 4 to the floor is KICK KICK KICK KICK or KICK HAT KICK HAT KICK HAT KICK HAT. A variation heard a lot in house music though, is KICK HAT SNARE HAT KICK HAT SNARE HAT . Thoughts? --logixoul 13:13, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Parenthetical

It seems like the parenthetical in the title should be (music), not (dance). Does anyone agree? 66.167.48.222 (talk) 13:06, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Still no mention of the origin of the phrase

This is the reason that I came to the wikipedia page. The name of the phrase makes its meaning pretty obvious, but its origin is still undefined. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.84.125.52 (talk) 06:00, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

I am suspicious of the stated origin of the phrase. A quick search of the google books archive shows that "four on the floor" was in wide use in the mid to late 1960s in its automotive context (a 4 speed shifter mounted between the front seats). Isn't that a more likely source for the phrase than a reference to the drum placement? Regardless the current attribution seems pretty unsupported . . . 68.6.55.52 (talk) 05:21, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Reggae

The example for "Is This Love?" using a 4 on the floor is wrong. That kick pattern is in 8ths. The guitar skank is on the off-beat "1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND" with the skank being on the "AND" The kick drum for "Is This Love?" is straight 8ths. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.246.220.35 (talk) 06:02, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree with this position. Winston Spencer (talk)