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Phonk drum pattern

Memphis phonk: half-time and aggressive (drift phonk is its own full-time style); a little swing on the hats, deliberately rough and loud. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

145 BPM · 808 kit · 2 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
  • Roll: quick hits inside one step
The phonk drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Open hat–15 (soft)
Closed hat1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13, 15 (roll, soft), 16 (roll)1, 3 (soft), 5, 7 (soft), 9, 11 (soft), 13
Clap99
Snare99, 16 (soft)
Kick1, 7, 141, 8, 11
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 145 BPM. No account needed to start.

How phonk drums go

A hard kick, the clap and snare on beat 3 of each bar, busy hats with rolls, sparse ghost snares.

Questions about phonk drums

What BPM is phonk?

Usually 130 to 160 BPM. This pattern plays at 145 BPM.

How do you make a phonk drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 7 and 14, the snare and clap on step 9 and the closed hi-hat on steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 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 phonk 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 phonk drum patterns

Brazilian phonkDrift phonk

Make a phonk beat

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

Make a phonk beatAll drum patterns

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