Hip hop drum pattern
Head-nodding backbeat, often swung. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.
90 BPM · Breakbeat kit · 4 bars · 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
| Drum | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Open hat | – | 13 (soft) |
| Closed hat | 1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft) | 1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft) |
| Clap | 13 | 13 |
| Snare | 5, 13 | 5, 13, 16 (soft) |
| Kick | 1, 6 (soft), 10 (soft), 11 | 3, 11 |
| Drum | Bar 3 | Bar 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Open hat | – | 13 (soft) |
| Closed hat | 1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft) | 1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (soft) |
| Clap | 13 | 13 |
| Snare | 5, 13 | 5, 13, 16 (soft) |
| Kick | 3, 11 | 3, 10 (soft), 11, 15 (soft) |
They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 90 BPM. No account needed to start.
How hip hop drums go
A kick on 1 and around 3, a snare on 2 and 4, eighth or sixteenth hats.
The bass, chords and sounds are on the Hip-Hop page.
Questions about hip hop drums
What BPM is hip hop?
Usually 80 to 100 BPM. This pattern plays at 90 BPM.
How do you make a hip hop drum pattern?
Start with the kick on steps 1, 6, 10 and 11, the snare on steps 5 and 13, the clap on step 13 and the closed hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15, then follow the grid for bars 2 to 4. 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 hip hop 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 hip hop drum patterns
Make a hip hop beat
The free editor opens with a whole hip hop beat: drums, bass and chords, each part yours to change, add to or take away.
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