Groove is a term that is often used
in relation to rhythmic music.
Usually it refers to a quality in the music
as in this track lacks a good groove,
or we need a better groove to make this song work.
So what signifies a good groove?
Groove, as a quality, is usually defined as an urge to move.
You just can't sit still, is a typical saying
when the groove is good.
So it's related to movement, to the body, to bodily pressure.
Moreover, grooves are repetitive.
A certain part can be repeated many times.
Why?
Well, since you have to learn how to react with your body,
learn the moves and then you repeat it and enjoy,
again and again.
If that constantly changed, you wouldn't have been
able to predict how to move.
But again, if the groove is too static for a long period,
we might find it boring.
So good tracks have both repetition and variation
usually.
The most common grooves used in dance music and modern pop
music are very pulse oriented.
There is no doubt that it pulsates.
Sometimes, the pulse delivery can be so powerful by itself
that it forms a good groove, but usually there
are other elements that pull in other directions.
Doo-doo-doo-doo, ga-ga-ga-ga-ga, goo-goo-goo-ga-ga.
Another type of groove is when the sounds that communicate
the pulse give tension or suspension,
or if they pull or push in various directions.
Unn-- cha-ca, gu-chu, ba-ca I'll end this video
with a short movement oriented analysis of a groove
from a dance music track.
First, the combination of bass drum, hand clap, and hi-hat.
These three communicate the pulse.
The bass drum presents the downbeat.
And zooming in closer on the spectrogram,
we can see that it has downward pitch
movement that makes the downward feeling even stronger.
On this sonogram, you can see that the bass drum sounds,
they have a pitch movement downwards, a descending pitch
movement.
It doesn't go unnh, but It goes unnh,
which also makes it, when you move to it,
it makes it unnh-unnh-unnh.
You feel this movement downwards when you listen to it.
In between the bass drum sounds there
are hi-hats on the offbeats, which
you can see in between there.
And I've drawn a so-called, possible movement
curve that shows how most people move to this sound.
T-ch-t-ch down on the bass drum, up on the hi-hat.
Every second bass drum is combined
with a hand clap sound that gives more energy to the beat.
And in between, on the offbeat, or upbeat,
we have hi-hat, a high frequency sound that may pull us upward.
So I drew a possible curve for up-and-down movement
that can be experienced through, for example,
head nodding or body bouncing.
With the low point being the bass drum, even lower
to show more energy when the snare drum
is added and upwards to where the hi-hat hits.
The groove here also has a pattern
and a vocal-like sound that works to make it more exciting.
Vocal sounds also present the possibilities
to sing along, make a similar sound, sound-producing action.
Later in the track there is a synthesiser sound
with a pattern that also follows the same path of moving upwards
in pitch in line with the this up-and-down movement.
Dancing, moving to music, is a very creative and personal
activity, for it is impossible to predict what kind
of movement music will produce.
Still, good DJs and good producers
know how to make it work.