Apparently dubstep is descended from something called 2-step (which “Dubstep Beethoven” also appears very much not to be). 4-step I’ve never heard of, and neither has the internet so far as I can see.
4-step is what preceded 2-step. I say preceded, but it’s not like 4-step has gone anywhere. It’s still the most common beat pattern for electronic music. It’s just a steady beat in 4⁄4 time with a kick drum on each beat, so it just goes boom boom boom boom with each measure, and it’s super easy to dance to.
Techno and house are pretty much exclusively 4-step.
2-step runs at the same/similar speed as 4-step, and is still in 4⁄4 time, but the drum beat is split up and made more erratic. You’ll often have several drum rhythms going on simultaneously. The effect is that the beat sounds like it is sort of stuttering, sort of like this: boom boom pause boom pause pause boom boom pause boom boom boom (that’s three measure’s worth there). I think Garage was the only real 2-step going on before dubstep, but I’m not real clear on that part of it.
Dubstep gets it beat patterns from 2-step (thus the “step” in the name).
The “Dub” comes from the reggae tradition of sampling pop songs to build a record in an afternoon. That’s why the vast majority of dubstep tracks are remixes—it’s just how you make dubstep. The build ups and drops that are so popular are not necessary for dubstep, and just because a song has that stuff doesn’t make it dubstep. They are just a natural fit for DJ’s (who like to control the energy of a crowd) and a 2-step beat pattern.
It’s not really dubstep if it isn’t heavily sampled with an erratic 4⁄4 beat (aka 2-step).
Yeah, somebody on YouTube claimed it was “4step,” but I don’t know what that is.
Apparently dubstep is descended from something called 2-step (which “Dubstep Beethoven” also appears very much not to be). 4-step I’ve never heard of, and neither has the internet so far as I can see.
4-step is what preceded 2-step. I say preceded, but it’s not like 4-step has gone anywhere. It’s still the most common beat pattern for electronic music. It’s just a steady beat in 4⁄4 time with a kick drum on each beat, so it just goes boom boom boom boom with each measure, and it’s super easy to dance to.
Techno and house are pretty much exclusively 4-step.
2-step runs at the same/similar speed as 4-step, and is still in 4⁄4 time, but the drum beat is split up and made more erratic. You’ll often have several drum rhythms going on simultaneously. The effect is that the beat sounds like it is sort of stuttering, sort of like this: boom boom pause boom pause pause boom boom pause boom boom boom (that’s three measure’s worth there). I think Garage was the only real 2-step going on before dubstep, but I’m not real clear on that part of it.
Dubstep gets it beat patterns from 2-step (thus the “step” in the name).
The “Dub” comes from the reggae tradition of sampling pop songs to build a record in an afternoon. That’s why the vast majority of dubstep tracks are remixes—it’s just how you make dubstep. The build ups and drops that are so popular are not necessary for dubstep, and just because a song has that stuff doesn’t make it dubstep. They are just a natural fit for DJ’s (who like to control the energy of a crowd) and a 2-step beat pattern.
It’s not really dubstep if it isn’t heavily sampled with an erratic 4⁄4 beat (aka 2-step).