Question for musicians

[Monkeyleg]

I have a VHS tape of the Rolling Stone's "25x5," which covers their careers from the early days until the mid-1990's.

In an interview, Mick Jagger makes reference to Charlie Watts playing "four on the floor," and how people thought it sounded like disco music.

What exactly is "four on the floor?"

[zahc]

That's when the shifter is on the transmission hump instead of on the steering column.

[charby]

4/4 count where the drum beat hits on each count.

[Monkeyleg]

Each count of what?

[charby]

Dick

This might help http://www.wikihow.com/Count-Beats-in-a-Song

-Charby

[Stickjockey]

Four beats per measure, quarter note gets one beat.

[280plus]

Think "Godzilla' by Blue Oyster Cult. Especially the beginning. 

[Monkeyleg]

Ok, I'm still lost.

The song in question was "Miss You."

Is "four on the floor" four beats of the base drum in a measure, or four beats of another drum?

I know this sounds stupid, but I haven't played an instrument, looked at written music, or even payed much attention to how music is contructed for about 40 years.

[Hazzard]

This may explain it for you...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_to_the_floor

It's a bit technical, but summarizes well.

[280plus]

Or, listen to the drum(s) for just the first few seconds of this:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKySmZ-nPk 

At the very first beat start counting 1-2-3-4 / 1-2-3-4 so on and so forth. You are counting in 4/4 time. 4 beats to a measure so every 1-2-3-4 equals one measure and in the case of the first few measures there is a drum note on each beat. It changes quickly into your standard rock drum stuff after just a few measures.

Now take that knowledge and apply it to disco music and you may get the connection Mick was making.

[280plus]

And, just for a laugh, I found this as an example of Disco and also the kinda CRAP you can find on the internet. After about 2 minutes of Sven's instructions and his even counting 1-2-3-4 in I believe Finnish, it get's into a wild and crazy disco party where you can count 1-2-3-4 to your heart's content. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJj6d5QSYaE

[richyoung]

If you look at a modern drum kit - (formerly known as a "trap set" - snare drum = trap, get it?) - you will notice, (usually, drummers are weird), a number of cymbals, including a special stand with two cymbals facing each other controlled by a foot pedal - (formerly a "sock cymbal", know known as a "high hat"), about a 14" drum, often with a metal body, mounted flat in front of the drummer - (the aformentioned "snare drum"), one or two  big round drums mounted vertically right in front of the drummer and with mechanical pedals to strike them  - these are the "kick drums", usually one or more large tom-toms mounted like the snare, and next to it - these are called "floor toms", and an array of smaller toms, cow bells, other drums like timbales, chimes, gongs, etc, etc, etc.  When a 4/4 beat is played with each primary beat on the kick drums (which are on the "floor", get it?) it got the slang name "four on the floor", kinda disparagingly.  For an example we've all heard, think Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"....

*whump, whump, whump, whump* repeat as needed.