Boom bap beat: drum pattern and how to play it
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Tempo
- 80–96 BPM
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 2 bars
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
Each row is one drum, each column one step. Large dots are accents, small dots normal hits, faint dots ghost notes.
About this groove
The time is kept with straight 8th notes on the hi-hat. The kick plays on 1, 2a and 3&. The snare marks the backbeat on 2 and 4. A light swing (about 56%) pushes every second 16th note slightly late.
In our catalog 5 songs use it, from 80 to 96 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 8 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 2 |
| Kick foot | 3 |
| Kick notes without a cymbal | 1 |
The tricky spot is the one kick note that fall between cymbal strokes — practice hand and foot on their own there before playing the whole groove.
How to practice it
- Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
- Lower the tempo to 55 BPM and play just the kick and snare along with the player.
- Add the hi-hat part. When the loop feels relaxed, move up to 70 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 90 BPM, then try it without the player.
- Use the Swing slider: start straight (50%) and raise it until the off-beats lean back like the original feel.
- The syncopated kick notes are the tricky part — loop just the kick and hi-hat until they lock in.
Compared with the nearest groove
Compared with “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin, rock beat with 8th notes), this groove adds kick notes on 2a and leaves out the kick on 3 — and it runs at the same tempo. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. rock beat with 8th notes →