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Boom bap drum pattern

Swung sixteenths (MPC swing around 55-62%), head-nodding, a little behind the beat. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

90 BPM · Breakbeat kit · 2 bars · 58% 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 boom bap drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Closed hat1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft)1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft)
Snare5, 135, 13, 16 (soft)
Kick1, 8 (soft), 111, 8 (soft), 11
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 90 BPM. No account needed to start.

How boom bap drums go

A punchy kick on 1 and the and of 3 with a pickup before it, a hard snare on 2 and 4, swung eighth or sixteenth hats; sampled break feel, no rolls.

The bass, chords and sounds are on the Boom Bap page.

Questions about boom bap drums

What BPM is boom bap?

Usually 84 to 100 BPM. This pattern plays at 90 BPM.

How do you make a boom bap drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 8 and 11, the snare on steps 5 and 13 and the closed hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15, then follow the grid for bar 2. 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 boom bap drums swing?

Yes, about 58% 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.

Make a boom bap beat

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