Drum beat in the style of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — Nirvana
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
Dave Grohl’s 1991 groove is loud and loose: an open, washy hi-hat, a syncopated kick and a snare that hits hard. The famous tom fill is the part everybody wants to learn.
- Tempo
- 117 BPM
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Groove
- grunge open hi-hat beat
- Genre
- Rock
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Loop
- 4 bars
Drum pattern
| Open hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Open 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 | 8 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 2 |
| Kick foot | 4 |
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 117 BPM it has a medium tempo: one beat lasts 513 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 adds kick notes on 2& — and it runs 2 BPM slower. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Don't Stop Believin' →
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, written for drum practice. It is not a transcription of the recording and contains no audio, lyrics or artwork. Drums3D is not affiliated with Nirvana.