Drum beat in the style of “Take the "A" Train” — Duke Ellington
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Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
Duke Ellington’s signature tune from 1941 swings briskly. Keep the ride light and let the hi-hat mark 2 and 4.
- Tempo
- 170 BPM
- Time signature
- 12/8
- Groove
- jazz swing groove
- Genre
- Jazz
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Loop
- 4 bars
Drum pattern
| Ride | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||
| Kick |
| Ride | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 6 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 0 |
| 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 170 BPM it has a fast tempo: one beat lasts 353 ms and a 12/8 bar takes 1.4 seconds. Use the tempo buttons to slow it down while you learn.
Practice plan
How it differs from similar beats
Compared with “Fool in the Rain” (Led Zeppelin, half-time shuffle), this groove leaves out the kick on 1, 2a and 4a, drops the snare on 3 and plays the swing ride pattern on the cymbal instead of a shuffle — and it runs 40 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Fool in the Rain →
“So What” (Miles Davis) uses exactly the same simplified pattern, 34 BPM slower — a good warm-up before this one. So What →
Other songs with the same jazz swing groove
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “Take the "A" Train” by Duke Ellington, written for drum practice. It is not a transcription of the recording and contains no audio, lyrics or artwork. Drums3D is not affiliated with Duke Ellington.