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The story
A question was raised on 5ch’s Hello! Project forum about the phrase “marking the 16-beat,” which is used to describe Hello! Project’s dance instruction. In music theory, 8-beat and 16-beat differ in how finely a beat is subdivided, but the thread kicked off with the observation that, watching the actual movements, dancers only seem to be marking 8 counts. The thread also quoted social media posts from someone said to be a former instructor, and opinions were split over how rhythm is taught and over the instruction given by dance coach Mai Endo.
What people said
Because generally in music,
・8-beat = a rhythm based on eighth notes
The members clearly aren't even conscious of it.
Thanks (or more like "because") basic music knowledge has spread even a little these days, you can't fool amateurs anymore.
@komix215
Back when I used to serve as a "Tsunku Method" instructor, I handled this part of the teaching.
There was another rhythm teacher for the "Tsunku Method" besides me, so I taught the class on feeling rhythm with your body,
though I wonder if I explained it well…
How's everyone who learned with "taka-tsuku-taka-tsuku" doing these days?! 🤗
she actually went to a proper dance school and studied the theory too.
They've always explained it that way —
telling you to count the "n"s too to keep the rhythm.
1st: Natsume Abe
2nd: Maki Goto
3rd: Ai Takahashi
4th: Riho Sayashi
5th: Homare Okamura (current)
Guess that's something Idoling!!! couldn't pull off, but Hello! Project can.
This kind of thing is the most embarrassing —
gives me secondhand embarrassment chills.
their 16-beat has a swing/bounce to it.
Even if what's actually being marked is 8-beat, the idea is that being conscious of the 16 is exactly what lets you keep accurate time.
at least someone's pointing out the mistake.
The explanation's always muddled and glossed over anyway, like some pointless company tradition.
She's involved with Hello! Project, Stardust Promotion, and Kawara Lab too.
Yeah, she's got perfect pitch too.
Mai Endo says it's "Hello! Project's 16-beat dance" — but isn't it only hitting 8?
But it's only hitting 8, isn't it??
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2110354361750781952/vid/avc1/1280×720/Xobj7aZt80i1YTNu.mp4
Exactly — that's why it's not actually 16, it's really 8.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The phrase “being conscious of the 16-beat” is itself used in real music instruction — the idea being that while the underlying rhythm is built on eighth notes, accurately hitting the off-beats brings the result closer to the precision of a 16th-note division. The thread split on this point: some took the technical stance that “if the actual movement only marks 8 counts, calling it 16-beat is an exaggeration,” while others defended it with “what matters is that your mental focus is on the 16-way division in the first place.” Discussion also spread to the career and track record of dance instructor Mai Endo, but keep in mind that any evaluation of individual idols’ or groups’ skill here is just posters’ personal impressions, not verified information. In the end, the thread never reached a final consensus on how closely the terminology long used within Hello! Project actually lines up with formal music theory.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Mai Endo says it’s “Hello! Project’s 16-beat dance” — but isn’t it only hitting 8?.”
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