Backbeat
A backbeat is a drum pattern with the snare (or a clap) on beats 2 and 4, steps 5 and 13 of 16, usually with the kick on beats 1 and 3. It is the most common drum pattern in pop, rock, funk and hip hop.
Also called back beat, snare on 2 and 4, rock beat.
Play it
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Try this
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Add a kick on step 11, the “and” of beat 3. The beat starts to roll forward like a rock groove.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 100 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
The kick marks the beats you would stamp on, and the snare answers on the beats you would clap on. That push and pull, low then high, low then high, is what most people mean when they say a song has a beat.
Almost every other drum pattern starts as a backbeat with something moved: boom bap shifts a kick, half-time moves the snare to beat 3, house fills the gaps with more kicks.
The pattern in words
- Kick: steps 1 and 9 of 16.
- Snare: steps 5 and 13 of 16.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 16 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | x·······x······· | steps 1 and 9 of 16 |
| Snare | ····x·······x··· | steps 5 and 13 of 16 |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
With eighth-note hats
A hat twice per beat keeps time between the hits.
Clap instead of snare
Same places, a clap’s softer, wider crack.
Kick on the “and” of 3
One added kick on step 11.
Where it’s used
House
120–128 bpmA kick on every beat, everything else in the gaps
Signature: Four-on-the-floor GenreLo-fi hip hop
70–90 bpmDusty, swung drums under soft jazzy chords
Signature: Boom bapAlso common in Rock, Pop, Funk and Soul.
Learn this pattern step by step
It’s in Unit 1 of the course, which is free. Sign up with Google and go straight to the lesson; it plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1.