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Drum and bass drum pattern

Fast and rolling; the drums run at full tempo while pads and bass move in half-time. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

174 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 drum and bass drum pattern: the steps each drum plays
DrumSteps
Open hat15 (soft)
Closed hat1 (soft), 3, 5 (soft), 7, 9 (soft), 11, 13 (soft), 15
Snare5, 8 (soft), 13, 16 (soft)
Kick1, 11
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 174 BPM. No account needed to start.

How drum and bass drums go

The two-step: a kick on 1 and the and of 3, the snare on 2 and 4, ghost snares and broken-beat (Amen) chops, sixteenth hats or shakers.

The bass, chords and sounds are on the Drum and Bass page.

Questions about drum and bass drums

What BPM is drum and bass?

Usually 170 to 178 BPM. This pattern plays at 174 BPM.

How do you make a drum and bass drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1 and 11, the snare on steps 5, 8, 13 and 16, the closed hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 and the open hi-hat on step 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 drum and bass 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.

Make a drum and bass beat

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