Triplet hat rolls
Triplet hat rolls are bursts of three quick hi-hats squeezed into the space of one step, dropped into a steady hat line. They are the stutter in trap hi-hats, usually at 130–150 BPM over a half-time snare.
Also called trap hi-hat rolls, hat rolls, trap hats.
Play it
Faded lanes are a guide: they are there so the pattern has something to sit against. Tap any box to change it.
Try this
Try this · change one box
Tap the roll on step 8 to make it a single hat. Without the burst, the line just ticks.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 140 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
The hat line keeps time on the eighths. Every so often one step splits into three hits, a roll, and the line stumbles forward before settling again.
Rolls work best just before a snare or the end of the bar, where they point at what comes next. Too many and the hats turn into noise.
The pattern in words
- Hats: steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 16; rolls of three on 8 and 15 of 16.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 16 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| Hats | x·x·x·x3x·x·x·3x | steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 16; rolls of three on 8 and 15 of 16 |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
Plain eighths
The hat line without any rolls.
Sixteenths with rolls of two
A busier line with 32nd-note doubles.
A roll into the snare
Two rolls in a row, landing on beat 3.
Where it’s used
Also common in Drill and Modern hip hop.
Learn this pattern step by step
The course builds up to it from Unit 1, which is free. Sign up with Google and start with the first lesson; it plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1, then Triplet hat rolls comes in Unit 2: Groove.