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Progressive house drum pattern

Rolling and patient, nearly straight; layers fade in and out over 8-bar blocks; a slow sidechain pump that returns to zero before each kick. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

125 BPM · 909 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
  • Roll: quick hits inside one step
The progressive house drum pattern: the steps each drum plays
DrumSteps
Closed hat2 (soft), 3, 4 (soft), 6 (soft), 7, 8 (soft), 10 (soft), 11, 12 (soft), 14 (soft), 15, 16 (soft)
Clap5 (roll), 13 (roll)
Kick1, 5, 9, 13
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 125 BPM. No account needed to start.

How progressive house drums go

Kick on every beat, clap on 2 and 4 built from two or three layers a few ms apart, a closed hat on every and, layered shakers and tambourines around it, toms used sparingly for syncopation; the signature move is hats in 6/8 over the 4/4 (Ben Böhmer "Breathing").

Questions about progressive house drums

What BPM is progressive house?

Usually 120 to 128 BPM. This pattern plays at 125 BPM.

How do you make a progressive house drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 5, 9 and 13, the clap on steps 5 and 13 and the closed hi-hat on steps 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16. 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 progressive house 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 progressive house beat

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