View source for Motorik

{{Short description|Musical rhythm}}

[[File:Motorik drum set beat.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Staff notation showing the motorik drum beat|The basic motorik drum beat pattern]]
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Motorik rhythm.mid|title=Motorik rhythm|description=A sample of a motorik rhythm}}
'''Motorik''' is the [[time signature|{{music|time|4|4}}]] [[beat (music)|beat]] often used by, and heavily associated with, [[krautrock]] bands. Coined by [[music journalist]]s, the term is [[German language|German]] for "[[motor skill]]". The motorik beat was pioneered by [[Jaki Liebezeit]], drummer with German [[experimental rock]] band [[Can (band)|Can]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Krautrock: German Music in the Seventies|year=2016|first=Ulrich|last=Adelt|page=18|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]|isbn=978-0-472-05319-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Jaki Liebezeit: Can drummer dies aged 78|first=Mark|last=Savage|work=[[BBC News]]|date=23 January 2017|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38716464|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Love Time: Remembering Can Drummer Jaki Liebezeit's Otherworldly Groove|first=Kid|last=Millions|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=23 January 2017|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/remembering-can-drummer-jaki-liebezeits-otherworldly-groove-w462423|author-link=Oneida (band)#Current members|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit has died aged 78|first=Anton|last=Spice|date=22 January 2017|url=http://thevinylfactory.com/news/can-drummer-jaki-liebezeit-dies/|work=The Vinyl Factory|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref> [[Klaus Dinger]] of [[Neu!]], another early pioneer of motorik, later called it the "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]] beat".<ref>{{cite web|title=Klaus Dinger interview transcript (2001)|first=Biba|last=Kopf|date=2002|work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/klaus-dinger-interview-transcript|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref>  The motorik beat is heard in one section of [[Kraftwerk]]'s "[[Autobahn (song)|Autobahn]]", a song composed to convey the feeling of driving on the German highway.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Albiez |first1=Sean |last2=Pattie |first2=David |year=2011 |title=Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVDVrWyAk2YC&pg=PA102 |location=UK |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]] |page=102 |isbn=978-1-4411-9136-6}}</ref> It is heard throughout Neu!'s "Hallogallo", from their self-titled album ''[[Neu! (album)|Neu!]]'', and used on all subsequent Neu! albums with differing [[Tempo|tempos]] and variations;<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Steve |year=2006 |title=The A to X of Alternative Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPOsu8JOHO8C&pg=PA160 |location=UK |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |page=160 |isbn=978-0-8264-8217-4}}</ref> [[Hawkwind]] reproduced Neu!'s "Hallogallo" motorik beat on the track "Opa-Loka" on their 1975 ''[[Warrior on the Edge of Time]]'' album.

Some music critics observed that the motorik style conveys a similar sense of forward momentum as the music of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]] and bears a resemblance to the rhythmic drumming in [[jazz]].<ref name="Bottà2020">{{cite book |last=Bottà |first=Giacomo |year=2020 |title=Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and Post-Punk in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cejkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 |location=Finland |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=48 |isbn=978-1-7866-0738-6}}</ref> They opined that it initially evoked the "glorification of the industrial modern era".<ref name="Bottà2020"/>

The motorik beat is in {{music|time|4|4}} time, at a moderate tempo. The pattern is repeated in each bar throughout the song. A splash or crash [[cymbal]] is often hit at the beginning bar of a verse or chorus. Klaus Dinger emphasized that it was "very much a human beat," adding, "It's essentially about life, how you have to keep moving, get on and stay in motion."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/klaus-dinger-pioneer-of-the-motorik-beat-806964.html?amp|title=Klaus Dinger: Pioneer of the 'motorik' beat|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=9 April 2008}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word's use in music journalism may be derived from a punning modification of "motoric", a term long used by music critics to describe relentless [[ostinato]] rhythm,<ref name="Bottà2020"/> or simply from a combination of "motor" and "music" (German: "musik").<ref>{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |year=2015 |title=Kraftwerk: Publikation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JroSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT86 |location=UK |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |page=86 |isbn=978-1-7832-3618-3}}</ref> In addition, Motorik is the German word for motor skills. The name may derive from the repetitive yet forward-flowing feel of the rhythm, which has been compared to the experience of driving on a [[Controlled-access highway|motorway]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/neu%21-mw0000004284 |last=Jurek |first=Thom |title=Neu! — Neu! |website=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[All Media Network]] |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref>

==Application==
The drumming style of [[Moe Tucker]], the drummer in [[the Velvet Underground]], has specifically been characterized by music critic Chris Jones as "proto-motorik".<ref>Chris Jones (21 June 2007). [https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/fq4h/ Review of "The Velvet Underground & Nico"] for the BBC. Retrieved 20 October 2007.</ref> Apart from the German krautrock bands, the motorik beat has been used by bands from many different genres, most often in [[psychedelic rock]], [[post-punk]], [[indie rock]], and contemporary non-German "krautrock" bands. The motorik beat was a characteristic feature in the music of [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] through the involvement of drummers [[Kenny Morris (musician)|Kenny Morris]] and [[Budgie (musician)|Budgie]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gillespie |first=Bobby |year=2021 |title=Tenement Kid: Rough Trade Book of the Year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydchEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |location=UK |publisher= |page= |isbn=978-1-4746-2209-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=24 October 2014 |title=Siouxsie And The Banshees: 'We were losing our minds' |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/siouxsie-and-the-banshees-we-were-losing-our-minds-2572/ |url-status=live |language=en-GB |work=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220924174550/https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/siouxsie-and-the-banshees-we-were-losing-our-minds-2572/ |archive-date=24 September 2022 |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> Other notable artists include [[Joy Division]], [[Beak (band)|Beak]], [[The War on Drugs (band)|the War on Drugs]], [[Electrelane]], [[The Rapture (band)|the Rapture]], [[LCD Soundsystem]], [[King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard]], [[Squid (band)|Squid]], [[Thee Oh Sees]], [[the Modern Lovers]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Public Image Ltd]], [[Ultravox]], [[Stereolab]], [[Yo La Tengo]], [[Endless Boogie (band)|Endless Boogie]], [[Idles]], [[Moon Duo]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Arizuno |first=Lee |date=22 May 2009 |title=Motorikpop: A Secret History Spotified |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/01702-motorikpop-a-secret-history-spotified |url-status=live |language=en-GB |work=[[The Quietus]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728230128/http://thequietus.com/articles/01702-motorikpop-a-secret-history-spotified |archive-date=28 July 2012 |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> and [[Sam Fender]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=7 October 2021 |title=Sam Fender: Seventeen Going Under review − music that punches the air and the gut |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/oct/07/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under-review-polydor |url-status=live |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120100349/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/oct/07/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under-review-polydor |archive-date=20 November 2021 |access-date=3 August 2022 |quote=clipped and taut, equal parts motorik beat}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Merrick |first=Hayden |date=22 October 2021 |title=Middle England Woes and Glistening Guitars Collide on Sam Fender's 'Seventeen Going Under' |url=https://www.popmatters.com/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under |url-status=live |work=PopMatters |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220826193926/https://www.popmatters.com/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under |archive-date=26 August 2022 |access-date=24 September 2022 |quote=Here, again, is the driving motorik beat that doesn't let up}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Rock music}}

[[Category:Krautrock]]
[[Category:Can (band)]]
[[Category:Neu!]]
[[Category:German styles of music]]
[[Category:Rhythm and meter]]
[[Category:Drum patterns]]