Drum beat in the style of “Highway to Hell” — AC/DC
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
A mid-tempo AC/DC stomp from 1979. The beat barely changes all song long — the challenge is playing it with the same weight and swagger from the first bar to the last.
- Tempo
- 116 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 116 BPM it has a medium tempo: one beat lasts 517 ms and a 4/4 bar takes 2.1 seconds. Use the tempo buttons to slow it down while you learn.
Practice plan
How it differs from similar beats
Compared with “Don't Stop Believin'” (Journey, rock beat with 8th notes), this groove leaves out the kick on 3& — and it runs 3 BPM slower. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Don't Stop Believin' →
“Smoke on the Water” (Deep Purple) uses exactly the same simplified pattern, 4 BPM slower — a good warm-up before this one. Smoke on the Water →
Other songs with the same basic rock beat
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “Highway to Hell” 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.