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The 5 Deadliest Grooves Of 2011

Matthew Dekay closes a party.
Courtesy of the artist
Matthew Dekay closes a party.

Of all of the building blocks that make up a house track — builds, drops and bridges, to name a few — "the groove" is the most vital to any dance floor destroyer. It's built in a 4/4 time signature and commonly made with the following elements: a bass kick on every measure, a 16th closed high-hat pattern, an open high hat on every offbeat, and a clap or snare on the second and fourth beats of every measure. Now, what happens between these basic parameters is what can make or break a groove. For example, shifting the snare drum forward a microsecond can give a beat drive that it hadn't had before, or placing emphasis on the first bass kick instead of the fourth can give a song the extra little rhythmic push it needs.

Musicians have been innovating on the four-to-floor pattern since swing music got people moving. Though groove concoction is a science that rewards precision, there isn't a set formula for making dance-floor magic. Here are five songs that find a way to a sort of magical dance-music alchemy, with deadly grooves that kill every time.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sami Yenigun
Sami Yenigun is the Executive Producer of NPR's All Things Considered and the Consider This podcast. Yenigun works with hosts, editors, and producers to plan and execute the editorial vision of NPR's flagship afternoon newsmagazine and evening podcast. He comes to this role after serving as a Supervising Editor on All Things Considered, where he helped launch Consider This and oversaw the growth of the newsmagazine on new platforms.

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