Drums3D

Driving rock beat: drum pattern and how to play it

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Time signature
4/4
Tempo
120–193 BPM
Difficulty
Easy
Loop
4 bars
Main groove × 3
Hi-hat
Snare
Kick
Fill × 1
Hi-hat
High tom
Floor tom
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, 1&, 3 and 3&. The snare marks the backbeat on 2 and 4. The loop is 4 bars long, and the fourth bar ends with a short fill around the toms.

In our catalog 12 songs use it, from 120 to 193 BPM.

Learn Songs on this beat run from 120 to 193 BPM; the median of all 150 songs on Drums3D is 118 BPM. Song tempos compared →

Who plays what: notes per bar

Cymbal hand8
Snare hand2
Kick foot4

Every kick lines up with a cymbal stroke, which makes this one of the easiest coordination patterns to start with.

How to practice it

  1. Press Play and listen to a few loops while counting out loud: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
  2. Lower the tempo to 95 BPM and play just the kick and snare along with the player.
  3. Add the hi-hat part. When the loop feels relaxed, move up to 125 BPM.
  4. Finally play the full groove at 158 BPM, including the fill, then try it without the player.

Compared with the nearest groove

Compared with “Don't Stop Me Now” (Queen, rock beat with 8th notes), this groove adds kick notes on 1& — and it runs 2 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. rock beat with 8th notes →

Songs that use this groove