Drum & bass
Drum & bass is fast electronic music at about 170–176 BPM, built on a two-step drum break and a heavy, moving bass line. It grew out of the UK jungle scene in the early 1990s.
The loop
- Bar 1Am
- Bar 2F
- Bar 3C
- Bar 4G
Four bars over Am, F, C, G. Mute a track or solo it to hear what each part does; tap any box to change it.
The recipe
The patterns this loop is made of. Point at one, or tap Show, to light up its lanes on the grid.
- Two-step break
Kick on 1 and the “and” of 3, snare on 2 and 4.
- Reese-style bass
A long detuned bass, restruck with the kick.
- Supersaw chords
Wide chords held through each bar.
- Call-and-response hook
A two-bar hook on a bell.
How it fits together
The drums are a two-step break: kick on 1 and the “and” of 3, snare on 2 and 4, with quiet ghost snares in between. It is busy and fast, yet the snare on 2 and 4 keeps it easy to follow.
Underneath, the bass moves slowly: one long, churning Reese-style note per chord, often with wide supersaw pads above.
The loop in words
- Kick: steps 1 and 11 of 16.
- Snare and clap: steps 5 and 13; quiet on 8 and 16 of 16.
- Hats: quiet on 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 of 16.
- Bass: steps 1 and 11 of 16, notes held for 6 and 10 steps.
- Chords: step 1 of 16, each held for 16 steps.
- Lead: E5 on steps 1 and 17 of 32, each held for 2 steps; D5 on steps 4, 11 and 20 of 32, notes held for 1 and 6 steps; C5 on steps 7 and 23 of 32, each held for 2 steps; A4 on step 27 of 32, each held for 6 steps.
- Chords: Am, F, C, G, one bar each, in A minor.
- Tempo: 174 BPM, no swing.
How to ask an AI music tool for it
Name the patterns instead of the genre alone. These are the words that describe drum & bass precisely; use the ones you can hear in your reference.
| Say | It means |
|---|---|
| two-step drum break | the skipping kick pattern at 174 |
| ghost snares, breakbeat feel | quiet hits that make it sound like a sampled break |
| Reese bass, rolling bassline | a detuned, churning bass |
| liquid pads, supersaw chords | wide, bright chords above |
| 170–176 BPM | the tempo |
Neighbours
House
120–128 bpmA kick on every beat, everything else in the gaps
Signature: Four-on-the-floorSame chords. Slow to 124, put the kick on every beat and move the bass into the gaps.
Trap
130–150 bpmA half-time snare, rolling hats and a sliding 808
Signature: Half-time snareHalve the snare, swap the Reese for a sliding 808 and drop to 140.
Make drum & bass yourself
The course starts with the beat under every genre and builds up from there. Unit 1 is free: sign up with Google and start the first lesson in your browser.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1; the parts of drum & bass come one chapter at a time.