Groove
Why the same pattern can feel stiff or alive. Beats that groove: swung, syncopated and alive.
4 lessons · 9 cards · project: Make it walk
Lessons
- How it worksPreview
Loud and soft
Use quiet hits to make a drum machine sound like a drummer.
Patterns: Boom bap
- How it worksPreview
Swing
Slide every second hat late and find the pocket.
Patterns: Boom bap, Swung 16th hats, Two-step break
- How it worksPreview
Syncopation
Put hits just before or after the beat.
Patterns: Boom bap, Half-time snare, Dembow, Two-step break
- How it worksPreview
Twos and threes
Turn straight into a shuffle and split eight into 3-3-2.
Patterns: Triplet hat rolls, Tresillo (3-3-2)
- ProjectPreview
Make it walk
Give one beat three feels: a walk, a strut and a rush.
Play the patterns from this unit
Boom bap
Punchy, dusty drums with swing and a laid-back backbeat
80–95 bpm rhythmSwung 16th hats
A hat on every sixteenth, every second one late
75–100 bpm rhythmHalf-time snare
Snare on beat 3 only: same tempo, feels twice as slow
130–150 bpm rhythmTriplet hat rolls
Fast hats with bursts of three
130–150 bpm rhythmDembow
The reggaeton rhythm: boom ch-boom-chick
88–100 bpm rhythmTresillo (3-3-2)
Three, three, two: an uneven split of eight
88–110 bpm rhythmTwo-step break
The kick skips a beat; snare on 2 and 4
170–176 bpm