Patterns
A pattern is a short, named musical idea, like a kick on every beat or bass in the gaps between kicks. Tracks are built by stacking a few of them. Each one here plays on a grid you can change.
Drums
Kick, snare and hat patterns: where the beat comes from.
Four-on-the-floor
A kick on every beat
115–130 bpm rhythmBackbeat
Kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4
70–140 bpm rhythmOff-beat open hat
An open hat between every kick
118–130 bpm rhythmBoom bap
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Free account rhythmBoom bap
Punchy, dusty drums with swing and a laid-back backbeat
80–95 bpm rhythmSwung 16th hats
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Free account rhythmSwung 16th hats
A hat on every sixteenth, every second one late
75–100 bpm rhythmHalf-time snare
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Free account rhythmHalf-time snare
Snare on beat 3 only: same tempo, feels twice as slow
130–150 bpm rhythmTriplet hat rolls
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Free account rhythmTriplet hat rolls
Fast hats with bursts of three
130–150 bpm rhythmDembow
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Free account rhythmDembow
The reggaeton rhythm: boom ch-boom-chick
88–100 bpm rhythmTresillo (3-3-2)
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Free account rhythmTresillo (3-3-2)
Three, three, two: an uneven split of eight
88–110 bpm rhythmTwo-step break
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Free account rhythmTwo-step break
The kick skips a beat; snare on 2 and 4
170–176 bpmBass
The low notes: how bass lines lock with the kick and follow the chords.
Off-beat bass
Bass in the gaps between kicks
118–130 bpm soundSidechain pump
Everything ducks under each kick
120–128 bpm bass808 glide
A deep bass that bends between notes
130–150 bpm bassReese-style bass
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Free account bassReese-style bass
Two detuned basses rubbing into a growl
170–176 bpm bassRoot-note eighths
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Free account bassRoot-note eighths
The chord’s root, twice per beat
100–170 bpmChords
Several notes at once: rhythms and colours for the harmony.
Melody
The part people hum: hooks and riffs.
See all 20 patterns
11 patterns are open to everyone and 9 more come with a free account. Sign up with Google to open them all, and start Unit 1 of the course.
Every pattern is open
You’re signed in, so the whole dictionary is yours. Learn the first ones in Unit 1.