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West coast drum pattern

Laid back and funky; a straight grid made loose by sloppy timing (kicks and tambourine a little off), not boom bap swing. Here are its drums on a step grid, at the tempo it starts at, to hear and to change.

95 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
The west coast drum pattern: the steps each drum plays, bars 1 and 2
DrumBar 1Bar 2
Open hat1, 5 (soft), 7 (soft), 9, 13 (soft)1, 3 (soft), 5 (soft), 9, 13 (soft)
Closed hat3 (soft), 11 (soft), 15 (soft)7 (soft), 11 (soft), 15 (soft)
Clap5, 135, 13
Kick1, 7, 91, 3, 7, 9
Open these drums in the editor

They open as one drum lane on a step grid, at 95 BPM. No account needed to start.

How west coast drums go

Straight drum-machine drums, not a sampled break: kick on 1 and 3 plus off-beat hits, claps on 2 and 4 with a tambourine pushed slightly early, an open hat on almost every kick and clap, closed hats low on the other eighths.

Questions about west coast drums

What BPM is west coast?

Usually 88 to 105 BPM. This pattern plays at 95 BPM.

How do you make a west coast drum pattern?

Start with the kick on steps 1, 7 and 9, the clap on steps 5 and 13, the closed hi-hat on steps 3, 11 and 15 and the open hi-hat on steps 1, 5, 7, 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 west coast 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 hip hop drum patterns

Lo-fiBoom bapHip hopTrip hopMemphis rap

Make a west coast beat

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

Make a west coast beatAll drum patterns

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