20 original patterns · notation + loop · 40–200 BPM

Drum Patterns

Twenty beginner grooves written out in standard notation, each with an editable one-bar loop you can slow right down. Rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop, house and more.

What is a drum pattern?

A drum pattern is a short, repeating arrangement of drum and cymbal hits — usually one or two bars long — that sets the groove for a piece of music. It says which surfaces are struck and exactly when in the bar each hit falls.

Every pattern below is original to this site, written to be idiomatic rather than to copy any particular record. Each one gives you the notation, a plain-language explanation of what makes that genre tick, and a sequencer you can rebuild note by note.

Basic Rock Drum Pattern
rockbeginner100 BPM4/4
House Drum Pattern
housebeginner124 BPM4/4
Techno Drum Pattern
technobeginner132 BPM4/4
Trap Drum Pattern
trapintermediate140 BPM4/4
Breakbeat Drum Pattern
breakbeatintermediate136 BPM4/4
Disco Drum Pattern
discobeginner118 BPM4/4
Lo-fi Drum Pattern
lo-fibeginner72 BPM4/4
Hip-Hop Drum Pattern
hip-hopbeginner90 BPM4/4
Boom Bap Drum Pattern
boom bapintermediate88 BPM4/4
R&B Drum Pattern
R&Bintermediate76 BPM4/4
Funk Drum Pattern
funkintermediate98 BPM4/4
Pop Drum Pattern
popbeginner110 BPM4/4
Punk Drum Pattern
punkintermediate168 BPM4/4
Metal Drum Pattern
metalintermediate170 BPM4/4
Blues Shuffle Drum Pattern
bluesintermediate92 BPM4/4
Jazz Ride Drum Pattern
jazzintermediate140 BPM4/4
Reggae Drum Pattern
reggaebeginner76 BPM4/4
Latin Drum Pattern
Latinintermediate96 BPM4/4
Waltz Drum Pattern
waltzbeginner104 BPM3/4
6/8 Drum Pattern
6/8beginner100 BPM6/8

Basic drum patterns

A basic drum pattern needs only three voices: a kick for the low pulse, a snare for the backbeat, and a cymbal hand keeping time. The basic rock pattern is the canonical example — kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, hi-hat on eighth notes — and once you can hold it steady, most of the other patterns here are one change away from it. Move the second kick late and you have the pop pattern; put a kick on every beat and you have house.

Simple drum patterns for beginners

10 of the 20 patterns here are marked beginner, meaning no syncopation you have to count carefully and no sixteenth-note cymbal hand. Work through them in this order:

Basic Rock Drum Pattern — 100 BPM, 12 notes in the bar
House Drum Pattern — 124 BPM, 14 notes in the bar
Techno Drum Pattern — 132 BPM, 9 notes in the bar
Disco Drum Pattern — 118 BPM, 14 notes in the bar
Lo-fi Drum Pattern — 72 BPM, 10 notes in the bar
Hip-Hop Drum Pattern — 90 BPM, 13 notes in the bar
Pop Drum Pattern — 110 BPM, 12 notes in the bar
Reggae Drum Pattern — 76 BPM, 10 notes in the bar

The rule for all of them is the same: slow the loop down until you can play it perfectly, then raise the tempo by five BPM at a time. Playing a groove badly fast teaches your hands the mistake.

Common drum patterns, and how they differ

Nearly every common drum pattern is a decision about three things: where the kick goes, what the cymbal hand plays, and whether there is a backbeat at all.

Backbeat patterns — snare on 2 and 4. Rock, pop, punk, metal, hip-hop, funk, R&B, breakbeat.
Four-on-the-floor patterns — kick on every beat. House, disco, techno. The pulse is stated rather than implied, which is what makes them danceable.
Half-time patterns — snare on beat 3 only, so the bar feels twice as long. Trap is the clearest example.
Displaced patterns — the backbeat moves. Reggae’s one drop empties beat 1 entirely; Latin replaces the backbeat with clave.
Triplet-feel patterns — each beat splits into three. The blues shuffle and the jazz ride pattern.

Patterns by genre

All 20 patterns, with tempo and difficulty
Genre	Pattern	Time	Tempo	Level
rock	Basic Rock Drum Pattern	4/4	100 BPM	beginner
house	House Drum Pattern	4/4	124 BPM	beginner
techno	Techno Drum Pattern	4/4	132 BPM	beginner
trap	Trap Drum Pattern	4/4	140 BPM	intermediate
breakbeat	Breakbeat Drum Pattern	4/4	136 BPM	intermediate
disco	Disco Drum Pattern	4/4	118 BPM	beginner
lo-fi	Lo-fi Drum Pattern	4/4	72 BPM	beginner
hip-hop	Hip-Hop Drum Pattern	4/4	90 BPM	beginner
boom bap	Boom Bap Drum Pattern	4/4	88 BPM	intermediate
R&B	R&B Drum Pattern	4/4	76 BPM	intermediate
funk	Funk Drum Pattern	4/4	98 BPM	intermediate
pop	Pop Drum Pattern	4/4	110 BPM	beginner
punk	Punk Drum Pattern	4/4	168 BPM	intermediate
metal	Metal Drum Pattern	4/4	170 BPM	intermediate
blues	Blues Shuffle Drum Pattern	4/4	92 BPM	intermediate
jazz	Jazz Ride Drum Pattern	4/4	140 BPM	intermediate
reggae	Reggae Drum Pattern	4/4	76 BPM	beginner
Latin	Latin Drum Pattern	4/4	96 BPM	intermediate
waltz	Waltz Drum Pattern	3/4	104 BPM	beginner
6/8	6/8 Drum Pattern	6/8	100 BPM	beginner

Counting and time signatures

Eighteen of these patterns are in 4/4, counted 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a when you need sixteenths. Two are deliberately not, because learning to feel a bar that is not four beats long is the fastest way to stop hearing everything as rock.

Three beats to the bar: Waltz Drum Pattern

1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a

Count “ONE two three” and put all the weight on the 1. Play the waltz pattern →

Two big beats of three: 6/8 Drum Pattern

1 2 3 4 5 6

Six eighth notes per bar, felt as two groups of three — count “ONE two three FOUR five six”. Play the 6/8 pattern →

Drum patterns cheat sheet (PDF)

All 20 patterns on one printable page in standard notation, with genre, tempo and time signature — generated from the same data as the notation above. Letter and A4, no email required.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common drum pattern?

The basic rock pattern, often nicknamed the money beat: bass drum on beats 1 and 3, snare on beats 2 and 4, hi-hat playing steady eighth notes throughout. It underpins an enormous amount of rock, pop, country and blues, and it is the first pattern almost every drummer learns. Every other pattern on this page is a variation on where the kick moves and what the cymbal hand plays.

What drum patterns should a beginner learn first?

Start with the basic rock pattern until you can hold it for two minutes without drifting. Then learn the pop pattern (same idea with a late kick), the hip-hop pattern (slower, with the kick moved off the beat), and a four-on-the-floor pattern like house or disco. Those four cover the two things every groove needs: a steady cymbal hand and a kick you can move independently of it.

What is a drum pattern?

A drum pattern is a short, repeating arrangement of drum and cymbal hits — usually one or two bars long — that sets the groove for a piece of music. It specifies which surfaces are struck (kick, snare, hi-hat, ride, toms) and exactly when in the bar each hit falls. Patterns loop, so a whole song is typically built from one or two patterns plus fills between sections.

Basic Rock Pattern drum notation — Basic Rock Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of rock at 100 BPM.

House Pattern drum notation — House Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of house at 124 BPM.

Techno Pattern drum notation — Techno Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of techno at 132 BPM.

Trap Pattern drum notation — Trap Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of trap at 140 BPM.

Breakbeat Pattern drum notation — Breakbeat Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of breakbeat at 136 BPM.

Disco Pattern drum notation — Disco Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of disco at 118 BPM.

Lo-fi Pattern drum notation — Lo-fi Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of lo-fi at 72 BPM.

Hip-Hop Pattern drum notation — Hip-Hop Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of hip-hop at 90 BPM.

Boom Bap Pattern drum notation — Boom Bap Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of boom bap at 88 BPM.

R&B Pattern drum notation — R&B Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of R&B at 76 BPM.

Funk Pattern drum notation — Funk Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of funk at 98 BPM.

Pop Pattern drum notation — Pop Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of pop at 110 BPM.

Punk Pattern drum notation — Punk Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of punk at 168 BPM.

Metal Pattern drum notation — Metal Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of metal at 170 BPM.

Blues Shuffle Pattern drum notation — Blues Shuffle Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of blues at 92 BPM.

Jazz Ride Pattern drum notation — Jazz Ride Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of jazz at 140 BPM.

Reggae Pattern drum notation — Reggae Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of reggae at 76 BPM.

Latin Pattern drum notation — Latin Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of Latin at 96 BPM.

Waltz Pattern drum notation — Waltz Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of waltz at 104 BPM.

6/8 Pattern drum notation — 6/8 Pattern written out in standard drum notation: one bar of 6/8 at 100 BPM.

Drum pattern data last updated 3 August 2026. Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.