Bossa nova groove: drum pattern and how to play it
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Practice
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Tempo
- 70–130 BPM
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Loop
- 1 bar
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-stick | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 steady 16th notes on the hi-hat. The kick plays on 1, 1a, 2, 2a, 3 and 3a and more. The cross-stick accents fall on 1, 1a, 2&, 3& and 4e. Eight ghost notes sit between the main hits — play them barely audible.
In our catalog 2 songs use it, from 70 to 130 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 16 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 5 |
| Kick foot | 8 |
Every kick lines up with a cymbal stroke; the challenge is keeping 16 even strokes per bar in the cymbal hand at 130 BPM.
How to practice it
- Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a.
- Lower the tempo to 80 BPM and play just the kick and cross-stick along with the player.
- Add the hi-hat part. When the loop feels relaxed, move up to 105 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 130 BPM, then try it without the player.
- Keep ghost notes very quiet: hit them from just above the head, so the accents stand out.
- The syncopated kick notes are the tricky part — loop just the kick and hi-hat until they lock in.
- For the cross-stick, lay the stick across the snare and click the rim with the butt end.
Compared with the nearest groove
Compared with “Magalenha” (Sérgio Mendes, samba groove), this groove adds snare accents on 2& and 4e and drops the snare on 2a and 4& — and it runs 10 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. samba groove →