Refers to the very beginning of each beat If a measure is counted 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and then the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 are considered to be the down-beat, while each 'and' count is the Up-beat and refers to the strongest or accented beats in each measure In 4/4-time music the downbeats are the 1 and the 3 (The upbeats are 2 and 4)
If people or their opinions are upbeat, they are cheerful and hopeful about a situation. The Defense Secretary gave an upbeat assessment of the war so far Neil's colleagues say he was actually in a joking, upbeat mood = positive
One or more notes occurring before the first bar line, as necessitated by the text for the purpose of desirable accent The unaccented beat of a measure