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Salsa drum pattern

Straight eighths, never swung; every part locks to a two-bar son clave (3-2 or 2-3), and offbeat accents carry the groove. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

180 BPM · Latin percussion · 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 salsa drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Cowbell1, 5 (soft), 9, 13 (soft)1, 5 (soft), 9, 13 (soft)
Conga slap5 (soft)5 (soft)
Clave1, 7, 135, 9
Low conga13, 1513, 15
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 180 BPM. No account needed to start.

How salsa drums go

No drum kit and no backbeat: the son clave (1, the and of 2, 4 | 2, 3), the conga tumbao (a slap on 2, open tones on 4 and its and), a cowbell on the beats with 1 and 3 louder, bongos and timbales, maracas or güiro.

Questions about salsa drums

What BPM is salsa?

Usually 160 to 220 BPM. This pattern plays at 180 BPM.

How do you make a salsa drum pattern?

Start with the low conga on steps 13 and 15, the conga slap on step 5, the clave on steps 1, 7 and 13 and the cowbell on steps 1, 5, 9 and 13, 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 salsa 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 Latin drum patterns

ReggaetonCumbiaMoombahtonDominican dembowBossa novaBachataCorridos tumbados

Make a salsa beat

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

Make a salsa beatAll drum patterns

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