One drop reggae 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
- 12/8
- Tempo
- 74–78 BPM
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 4 bars
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-stick | ||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||
| 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 a long–short shuffle rhythm on the hi-hat. The kick plays on 3. The cross-stick hits only on beat 3, which gives the heavy half-time feel. The loop is 4 bars long, and the fourth bar ends with a short fill on the snare.
In our catalog 3 songs use it, from 74 to 78 BPM.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 8 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 1 |
| Kick foot | 1 |
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 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a.
- Lower the tempo to 45 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 60 BPM.
- Finally play the full groove at 76 BPM, including the fill, then try it without the player.
- Think in groups of three: every beat is split into a triplet “1-&-a”.
- 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 “Sweet Home Chicago” (The Blues Brothers, shuffle), this groove leaves out the kick on 1, adds snare accents on 3 and drops the snare on 2, 2a, 4 and 4a — and it runs 34 BPM slower. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. shuffle →