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Breakbeat drum pattern

Full-time backbeat; straight or lightly swung, the sampled break carries the groove. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

128 BPM · Breakbeat kit · 1 bar

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 breakbeat drum pattern: the steps each drum plays
DrumSteps
Closed hat1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15
Snare5, 13, 16 (soft)
Cross-stick10
Kick1, 7, 11
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 128 BPM. No account needed to start.

How breakbeat drums go

A broken kick (1, the and of 2, the and of 3) under a snare on 2 and 4 with ghost snares; sampled funk breaks (Funky Drummer, Amen, Think, Apache); big beat adds a four-on-the-floor kick under a loud, compressed, distorted break and long snare rolls before drops.

Questions about breakbeat drums

What BPM is breakbeat?

Usually 100 to 140 BPM. This pattern plays at 128 BPM.

How do you make a breakbeat drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 7 and 11, the snare on steps 5, 13 and 16, the cross-stick on step 10 and the closed hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. 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 breakbeat drums swing?

No: every hit lands straight on the grid. The editor’s Steps view can add swing if you want the groove to bounce.

More drum and bass drum patterns

Drum and bassJungleBreakcoreLiquid drum and bassNeurofunk

Make a breakbeat beat

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

Make a breakbeat beatAll drum patterns

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