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Trap-soul drum pattern

Written at 120-150 BPM, felt in half-time (60-75): smooth, straight, the snare on beat 3. 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
  • Roll: quick hits inside one step
The trap-soul drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Open hat7–
Closed hat1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 151, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 (roll, soft), 14, 15 (roll), 16
Clap99
Snare99
Kick1, 7, 135, 7
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 trap-soul drums go

Trap's half-time skeleton softened: the snare and clap (or a finger snap) on beat 3, a soft, sparse kick (1, the and of 2 and 4; two kicks into the snare in bar 2), eighth hats with an open hat on the and of 2, one gentle roll every two bars.

Questions about trap-soul drums

What BPM is trap-soul?

Usually 120 to 150 BPM. This pattern plays at 140 BPM.

How do you make a trap-soul drum pattern?

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

TrapPluggnbRagePluggDetroit / FlintCloud rapLatin trapMelodic trap

Make a trap-soul beat

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

Make a trap-soul beatAll drum patterns

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