Drum beat in the style of “At Last” — Etta James
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
Etta James’ 1960 ballad is a slow 12/8: every beat is split into three. Play the triplets on the hi-hat very softly and let the song breathe.
- Tempo
- 60 BPM
- Time signature
- 12/8
- Groove
- 12/8 slow blues groove
- Genre
- Soul & Motown
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 4 bars
Drum pattern
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||
| Kick |
| 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.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 12 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 2 |
| Kick foot | 2 |
Every kick lines up with a cymbal stroke, which makes this one of the easiest coordination patterns to start with.
About this groove
At about 60 BPM it has a slow tempo: one beat lasts 1,000 ms and a 12/8 bar takes 4 seconds. Use the tempo buttons to slow it down while you learn.
Practice plan
How it differs from similar beats
Compared with “Isn't She Lovely” (Stevie Wonder, shuffle), this groove drops the snare on 2a and 4a and plays triplets on the cymbal instead of a shuffle — and it runs 59 BPM slower. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Isn't She Lovely →
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “At Last” by Etta James, written for drum practice. It is not a transcription of the recording and contains no audio, lyrics or artwork. Drums3D is not affiliated with Etta James.