Skip to content

Afroswing drum pattern

Bouncy and swung, UK rap and R&B over African and Caribbean rhythm. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

102 BPM · Afro kit · 1 bar · 55% swing

The pattern, step by step

Each step is a sixteenth note, four to a beat: step 1 is beat 1, 5 is beat 2, 9 is beat 3 and 13 is beat 4. A lit square is a hit; a fainter one is played softer.

  • Hit
  • Softer hit
The afroswing drum pattern: the steps each drum plays
DrumSteps
Shaker1 (soft), 2 (soft), 3 (soft), 4 (soft), 5 (soft), 6 (soft), 7 (soft), 8 (soft), 9 (soft), 10 (soft), 11 (soft), 12 (soft), 13 (soft), 14 (soft), 15 (soft), 16 (soft)
Clap9
Snare9
Conga4, 7, 12, 15
Kick1, 7, 13
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 102 BPM. No account needed to start.

How afroswing drums go

The snare or clap on beat 3 of each bar (not 2 and 4: that is hip-hop or afrobeats), a tresillo-leaning kick, skipping rims and shakers in a three-note cross-rhythm, a little dancehall bounce.

Questions about afroswing drums

What BPM is afroswing?

Usually 95 to 110 BPM. This pattern plays at 102 BPM.

How do you make a afroswing drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 7 and 13, the snare and clap on step 9, the conga on steps 4, 7, 12 and 15 and the shaker on every step. Each step is a sixteenth note, four to a beat: step 1 is beat 1, 5 is beat 2, 9 is beat 3 and 13 is beat 4. Open it in the free editor to change any step.

Do afroswing drums swing?

Yes, about 55% swing: every second step comes a little late, so the groove bounces. The editor plays it that way, and its Steps view can change it.

More afro drum patterns

AfrobeatsAmapianoFela afrobeat3Step

Make a afroswing beat

The free editor opens with a whole afroswing beat: drums, bass and chords, each part yours to change, add to or take away.

Make a afroswing beatAll drum patterns

Keep going