# Do you clap on the 1-3 or the 2-4? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193 "2004-06-19T13:01:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/1 "2004-06-19T13:01:27Z")
Another thread in which people were joking about clapping on the 1-3 got me thinking. I clap on the 1-3, I think. Humor me here-let’s use the song _Hit the Road, Jack_ (as Dave Barry once did) I clap like this: Hit the road, (clap), Jack, (clap)-on the offbeat, after the words, rather than on Hit the road(clap), Jack(clap) the words. Is that 1-3 or 2-4? Explain, please? Use another song if needed? I also recently read somewhere that NY is a 2-4 town and Atlanta’s a 1-3 town. ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/2 "2004-06-19T13:35:18Z")
I do the opposite of what everyone else does. I like to appear to be extremely uncoordinated. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/3 "2004-06-19T13:37:37Z")
I think you described clapping on the two and four. I’d consider “Hit the” as pickups to “road” on the downbeat (1), rest/clap on two, Jack (3), and clap on four. “And” is another pickup, then “don’cha” on one, “come”/clap on two, “back” on three, “no”/clap on four, etc. That’s how I’d do it, at least. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/4 "2004-06-19T13:52:53Z")
[Drummer’s Aptitude Test](http://www.studydrums.com/dapp01.html) on a great site with simple explanations that will convince you that you can learn to drum. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/5 "2004-06-19T14:31:59Z")
[Queen] stomp stomp clap stomp stomp clap [/Queen] ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/6 "2004-06-19T14:54:29Z")
ISTR reading in one of my history of early rock and roll books that the change in beat was one of the formulaic changes that led to RnR. Prior to the popularity of Rythym and Blues the primary beat (snare drum) would be on 1 and 3 and that R&B turned that to 2 and 4 and gave us the primacy of the shuffle and agressive dance beats that would later transform a combination of C&W and R&B into early rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/7 "2004-06-19T15:10:43Z")
The backbeat defines jazz, Rock N Roll, and much of pop music that has a blues or funk flair like R&B, as **Jonathan Chance** said. A backbeat is a hit on 2 & 4, on the traditionally unaccented beats; a syncopation of a simple sort. That’s what syncopation is, putting an accent somewhere else than “standard” or “normal.” In the song “Hit the road, Jack…” as usually heard, “Road” falls on 1, “Jack” falls on 2. “Doncha come” on 3, “back no more…” on 4. You’re hip if you clap on 2 & 4, square if on 1 & 3. And don’t you forget it. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/8 "2004-06-19T15:47:19Z")
[qoute] A backbeat is a hit on 2 & 4, on the traditionally unaccented beats [/quote] OK, then. That’s when I clap. I guess I thought it was on the 1-3 because they’re odd numbers=off beat. D’oh. > [@](#): > > You’re hip if you clap on 2 & 4, square if on 1 & 3. And don’t you forget it. 😃 My baby’s Gymboree music teacher, who is teaching 1 year olds the basic rhythms of jazz music, claps on the 1-3. It was driving me nuts the other day-I felt like she was clapping like an old person. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/9 "2004-06-19T16:46:43Z")
Try it with “When the Saints Come Marching In”. If you clap on saints, then you are clapping on the 1. (“When the” is on the pickup) If you clap right after saints, you are clapping on the 2. Try it with Mary Had a Little Lamb. If you clap on “Mary”, you’re a loser (just kidding!) I clap on the 2 and 4 because 1) it’s the most natural to me and 2)songs sound cooler when they are accented on the offbeats. However, this doesn’t always hold. James Brown is famous for “jamming on the one”, which the accent being on the first beat. But he’s the only exception (who’s cool) that I can think of, but maybe there are others. My father is quite observant about these things. He was the first to point out to me that white people are more likely to clap on the 1 and 3 than black people. I didn’t want to agree with this (who would ever clap on the 1 and 3!!??) but then one day, we went to a fairly intergrated church that featured lively gospel music. I watched. Sure enough, all the black people were clapping on the 2 and 4. Some of the white people were as well, but others were clapping on the 1 and 3. I wanted to grab their hands and get them on the beat! I think this tendency is behind the stereotype that whites have no rhythm. Whites do have rhythm, though. It’s just…special. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/10 "2004-06-19T16:51:00Z")
_heh_ One of the little joke you hear in group singing situations (such as church) is that where you clap indicates how “black” you are. i.e. if you clap on 1 & 3, you must be really white; clapping on 2 & 4 indicates “black”. This derives from the traditional image of an all-white congregation clapping on 1 & 3 as compared to a black Southern Baptist congregation all clapping on 2 & 4. If you’re clapping along with, say, a march or ragtime song, 1 & 3 would be appropriate. If you’re clapping along with rock & roll, country, gospel, jazz, etc, 2 & 4 is appropriate. Basically, listen for the snare drum and clap where you hear it. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/11 "2004-06-19T16:54:20Z")
> [@sidle](#): > > …Atlanta’s a 1-3 town. I know Atlanta’s changed somewhat since I moved five years ago, but please don’t let it have changed that much! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/12 "2004-06-19T20:18:10Z")
Please don’t make fun of me, but can you explain this using"Thank God I’m a country boy?" For some reason it’s the only song I can think of the claps clearly right now without the music playing. ```auto Life Ain't noth-ing but a fun-ny fun-ny Ridd-le (pause), Thank God I'ma coun-try boy * * * * * ``` - = clap Which way is that? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/13 "2004-06-19T21:37:39Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Please don’t make fun of me, but can you explain this using"Thank God I’m a country boy?" For some reason it’s the only song I can think of the claps clearly right now without the music playing. > > ```auto > > Life Ain't noth-ing but a fun-ny fun-ny Ridd-le (pause), Thank God I'ma coun-try boy > * * * * * > > ``` > > - = clap > > Which way is that? I’d love to help, but I don’t know that song. Can you think of a non-country tune that you can clap to? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/14 "2004-06-19T22:00:16Z")
How about Billy Squire’s _Stroke_ -? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/15 "2004-06-19T22:19:33Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Please don’t make fun of me, but can you explain this using"Thank God I’m a country boy?" For some reason it’s the only song I can think of the claps clearly right now without the music playing. > > ```auto > > Life Ain't noth-ing but a fun-ny fun-ny Ridd-le (pause), Thank God I'ma coun-try boy > * * * * * > > ``` > > - = clap > > Which way is that? The way you have it written, you have a clap on 1 on the word “Life”, then on “4” on the word “but”. However… I had to download it (bad bad me, I know) to check it out. On the copy I found, which sounds like a live version, the clapping is on 2 & 4. At least until the clapping fades out in the mix, about the time of the first chorus. So it should be: ```auto Life Ain't noth-ing but a fun-ny fun-ny Ridd-le (pause), Thank God I'm a coun-try boy * * * * * * * ``` - = clap ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/16 "2004-06-19T22:31:42Z")
D’OH! My coding didn’t come out right! Probably what happened with yours. It would be nice if I could actually see the monospaced font while I"m typing it, instead of having to count characters. :mad: Trying again… ```auto Life Ain't noth-ing but a fun-ny fun-ny Ridd-le (pause), Thank God I'm a coun-try boy * * * * * * ``` - = clap [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/17 "2004-06-19T22:57:52Z")
_Thank God I’m a Country Boy_ is a particularly difficult example. My SO played in a band for years and the guys would often comment and joke about the unco clapping of some people in the audience. When in doubt, just follow what the majority are doing. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/18 "2004-06-19T22:59:50Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > In the song “Hit the road, Jack…” as usually heard, “Road” falls on 1, “Jack” falls on 2. “Doncha come” on 3, “back no more…” on 4. > > You’re hip if you clap on 2 & 4, square if on 1 & 3. And don’t you forget it. No no! I mean, you could count it that way, but it’s twice as slow as you should when you’re clapping. Think of it this way: ```auto hit the road jack 4 + 1 (2) 3 (4) and don'tcha come back no + 1 + 2 3 4 ``` etc. Then clap on 2 and 4. Never EVER clap on 1 or 3. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/19 "2004-06-19T23:01:57Z")
**Phase42** , type your ```auto in notepad using a monospace font, then copy it into the reply box. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193/20 "2004-06-20T13:12:08Z")
**TJdude825** , your “Hit the road” clapping is, indeed, twice as many claps as I had diagrammed for any time period. Either way will result in a backbeat clapping. You’re just defining the beat values as half the note values I did, so the 1,2,3,4 counting is twice as fast for the same song tempo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-clap-on-the-1-3-or-the-2-4/251193.md?page=2)