Skip to content

Grime drum pattern

Fast, raw and spacious at 140; the gaps matter as much as the hits. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

140 BPM · 808 kit · 2 bars

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 grime drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Closed hat3 (soft), 4 (soft), 6, 8 (soft), 13, 14, 16 (soft)9, 11, 12 (soft)
Clap–9
Snare9, 139
Kick1, 412, 15, 16
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 140 BPM. No account needed to start.

How grime drums go

The snare on beat 3 of each bar, kicks clustered at the edges of a 2-bar loop (start of bar 1, end of bar 2) with a gap in the middle, bursts of fast hats then silence; raw unlayered 909-style sounds, little swing.

Questions about grime drums

What BPM is grime?

Usually 138 to 142 BPM. This pattern plays at 140 BPM.

How do you make a grime drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1 and 4, the snare on steps 9 and 13 and the closed hi-hat on steps 3, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14 and 16, 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 grime 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 UK bass drum patterns

UK garageUK funkyBassline houseSpeed garage

Make a grime beat

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

Make a grime beatAll drum patterns

Keep going