Dembow (reggaeton) beat: 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
- 89–130 BPM
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 1 bar
| 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 lands on every beat — the famous “four on the floor”. The snare accents fall on 1a, 2&, 3a and 4&.
In our catalog 6 songs use it, from 89 to 130 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 8 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 4 |
| Kick foot | 4 |
Every kick lines up with a cymbal stroke, which makes this one of the easiest coordination patterns to start with.
How to practice it
- Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
- Lower the tempo to 60 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 75 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 96 BPM, then try it without the player.
Compared with the nearest groove
Compared with “Dancing Queen” (ABBA, disco beat), this groove adds snare accents on 1a, 2&, 3a and 4&, drops the snare on 2 and 4 and plays straight 8ths on the cymbal instead of quarter notes — and it runs 5 BPM slower. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. disco beat →