Drum beat in the style of “Back in Black” — AC/DC
Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
Phil Rudd’s drumming on this 1980 AC/DC classic is a lesson in restraint: the kick stays on 1 and 3, the snare cracks on 2 and 4, and the space in between is left to the guitars.
- Tempo
- 94 BPM
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Groove
- basic rock beat
- Genre
- Rock
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 4 bars
Drum pattern
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 8 |
|---|---|
| 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 94 BPM it has a medium tempo: one beat lasts 638 ms and a 4/4 bar takes 2.6 seconds. Use the tempo buttons to slow it down while you learn.
Practice plan
How it differs from similar beats
Compared with “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin, rock beat with 8th notes), this groove leaves out the kick on 3& — and it runs 4 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Whole Lotta Love →
“Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor) uses exactly the same simplified pattern, 15 BPM faster — a good next step once this one feels easy. Eye of the Tiger →
Other songs with the same basic rock beat
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “Back in Black” by AC/DC, written for drum practice. It is not a transcription of the recording and contains no audio, lyrics or artwork. Drums3D is not affiliated with AC/DC.