Straight 7/4 groove: drum pattern and how to play it

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Time signature
7/4
Tempo
102–102 BPM
Difficulty
Easy
Loop
1 bar
Main groove
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, 3, 3&, 5 and 7. The snare accents fall on 2, 4 and 6.

In our catalog it is used at 102 BPM.

Learn Songs on this beat run from 102 to 102 BPM; the median of all 150 songs on Drums3D is 118 BPM. Song tempos compared →

Who plays what: notes per bar

Cymbal hand14
Snare hand3
Kick foot5

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 & 5 & 6 & 7 &.
  2. Lower the tempo to 60 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 80 BPM.
  4. Finally play the full groove at 102 BPM, then try it without the player.
  • This groove is in 7/4: count all 7 beats out loud until the bar length is in your body.

Songs that use this groove