: Why is an Offbeat not perceived as Onbeat? Consider the percussion plays an Offbeat like 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 I wonder why it is so hard to interpret it as Onbeat, i.e. counting it like _ 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 I thought it might be

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Usually in this scenario another part will be playing on-beat, acting as a metronome. Either the chords in a song, perhaps the left hand part of a piano piece, or (as you correctly said), the melody.

Something more prominent will play the '1' so that any off-beat that follows, is correctly perceived as off-beat. So in your example, perhaps the off-beat section you are describing comes after an 'on-beat' section from which the listener will already have the pulse in their head, and so any off-beat notes are easily distinguished.

You said it is still hard for this to occur when there are no other voices. This will most likely be because you are already subconscious of the beat/pulse and so can tell an off-beat from an on-beat when you play it.

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I think the listener will jump on the first rhythmic cue that suggests the beat. In most songs, this is totally unambiguous as there is a plain and known beat established right from the beginning.

However, shifting the beat is a nice device, as discussed here (linked by Some_Guy in a comment): Intended shift of meter in certain songs? I also believe different listeners may react differently to it.

To play with it, you can listen to a metronome and force your brain to interpret the clicks as off-beats. It is possible, although your brain might work against it because it interprets the first click as an on-beat and then just keeps the pulse going. I know some drummers who use off-beat metronome to work on their timing precision.

Compare it to the spinning dancer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_Dancer You may see her rotate in either direction, depending on the model you manage to establish in your brain. And you may switch at any time.

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This depends on the context. In some styles (salsa dance music is one example), it's hard to catch the "2" beat in many pieces. Various styles distinguish breaking on 1 or on 2, but I have watched (supposed) experts miss as often as not. I do not do much better.

I have over the years noticed many dancers miss the down beat in ballroom (even waltz). Sometimes the arrangements lack a strong rhythmic feel.

However, as pointed out above, there is usually some other part of the music that carries the implication of the downbeat. Often this is the bassline, sometimes is the melody, and sometimes comes from other percussion instruments. Note that in the salsa I mentioned, the bass from beat 4 is tied to the bass on beat 1 of the next measure (with the second measure's harmony) and this is followed by the bass on the second part of beat 2, so there's no strong "2" beat for the dancers from the rhythm section.