Genre Beats
Every genre has a drum "fingerprint": a tempo range, a kick and snare pattern, and a set of signature sounds. Learn the fingerprints and you can sketch a believable beat in any style within minutes.
How to Read the Patterns
Each pattern below is one bar of 4/4 on a 16-step grid, as explained in Drum Programming. x is a hit and . is silence. Steps 1, 5, 9 and 13 are the four beats.
These are starting points, not laws. Real tracks add fills, variations and extra percussion. BPM ranges are typical, not strict. For a full list see Genre BPM & Keys.
A half-time feel puts the snare on beat 3 instead of 2 and 4. The beat then feels half as fast as the BPM says. Trap and dubstep are often at 140 BPM but feel like 70.
House
House began in Chicago in the early-to-mid 1980s. Its core is the four-on-the-floor kick: a kick on every beat.
- Tempo: about 118–130 BPM (124 is a common choice).
- Sounds: punchy kick, clap on 2 and 4, closed hats and an open hat on every off-beat. Classic house uses Roland TR-909 and TR-808 style drums.
House (124 BPM)
The open hat on each "&" creates the "oontz-tss" lift. Pair it with an offbeat bassline (see Basslines).
Hip-Hop / Boom Bap
Boom bap is the sound of 1990s New York hip-hop. The name copies the sound of the kick ("boom") and snare ("bap"). Producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock built beats on samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 and Akai MPC.
- Tempo: about 85–95 BPM.
- Sounds: hard, punchy kick and snare, often sampled from old funk and soul records. Swung hats, gritty texture.
Boom bap (90 BPM, swing about 60%)
The kick on step 8 (just before beat 3) and step 11 gives the classic bounce. Swing is essential here; learn why in Groove & Swing. You can hear and play with this exact beat in that lesson's demo.
Trap
Trap grew out of Southern hip-hop in Atlanta in the 2000s and became one of the dominant sounds in hip-hop and pop.
- Tempo: about 130–160 BPM in half-time (140 is common), so it feels like 65–80.
- Sounds: long, distorted 808 bass, crisp clap or snare on beat 3, and fast hi-hats with rolls (bursts of 1/32 notes or triplets).
Trap (140 BPM, half-time)
The clap lands only on beat 3. The xxx and xxxx groups in the hats are the start of rolls. In a DAW you'd go further with 1/32 notes and triplets, and change the hat pitch and velocity inside each roll.
Drum & Bass
Drum & bass (DnB) came out of the UK jungle scene in the early 1990s. Early tracks chopped up sped-up funk breakbeats such as the Amen break.
- Tempo: about 160–180 BPM (170–175 is typical).
- Sounds: fast, crisp breaks, a sharp snare, and heavy sub or Reese bass underneath.
Two-step DnB (174 BPM)
This is the two-step: kick on beat 1 and the "&" of beat 3, snare on 2 and 4. It's the skeleton under most modern DnB. Producers often layer a chopped breakbeat on top.
Reggaeton / Dembow
Reggaeton developed in Puerto Rico and Panama in the 1990s. Its beat is called dembow, named after Shabba Ranks' 1990 dancehall song "Dem Bow", whose riddim became the basis of the style.
- Tempo: about 88–100 BPM.
- Sounds: steady four-on-the-floor kick, a snare or rim in the dembow rhythm, plus shakers and timbales.
Dembow (95 BPM)
The snare hits on the "a" of beat 1 and the "&" of beat 2, then repeats. That "boom-ch-boom-chick" pattern is instantly recognizable.
Rock / Pop
The backbeat (snare on 2 and 4) is the foundation of rock and most pop.
- Tempo: very wide, about 100–130 BPM for most pop-rock.
- Sounds: acoustic or acoustic-style kit, often with room reverb. Hats or ride on 8th notes, crashes at section changes.
Rock / pop backbeat (118 BPM)
The extra kick on step 11 is optional. Try four-on-the-floor kicks for dance-pop, or 16th hats for a busier feel. You built this beat in Drum Programming.
Afrobeats
Afrobeats is the modern pop sound from Nigeria and Ghana. It's different from Afrobeat (no "s"), the 1970s style created by Fela Kuti and drummer Tony Allen.
- Tempo: about 95–115 BPM.
- Sounds: syncopated kick that avoids four-on-the-floor, rim or snare clicks, lots of percussion (shakers, congas, bells), and a light swing.
Afrobeats (106 BPM, light swing)
The groove comes from the interlocking parts. No single drum is complex, but the hats, percussion and kick fill different gaps.
More Genres to Explore
Techno
Born in Detroit in the mid-1980s. About 125–140 BPM. Four-on-the-floor kick, off-beat open hats, 16th hats, and often a hypnotic, repetitive feel with little melody. A deep, reverb-heavy "rumble" bass under the kick is common in modern techno.
Dubstep
Started in South London in the early 2000s. About 140 BPM in half-time, so the snare lands on beat 3. Sparse drums leave room for heavy sub bass and wobble basses (made with an LFO on a filter).
Lo-fi hip-hop
About 70–90 BPM. Based on boom bap, but softer and dustier: lightly swung or unquantized drums, quieter kicks, vinyl crackle, and low-passed drums and chords. Keep velocities low and varied.
UK garage
Took off in the UK in the mid-to-late 1990s. About 130–135 BPM. The 2-step style breaks up the four-on-the-floor kick, uses heavily swung 16th hats, and adds shuffling percussion and chopped vocals.
| Genre | Typical BPM | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| Lo-fi hip-hop | 70–90 | Dusty, swung, low-passed |
| Boom bap | 85–95 | Hard kick and snare, swing |
| Reggaeton | 88–100 | Dembow snare |
| Afrobeats | 95–115 | Syncopated kick, percussion |
| Rock / pop | 100–130 | Backbeat on 2 and 4 |
| House | 118–130 | Four-on-the-floor, off-beat hats |
| Techno | 125–140 | Driving kick, hypnotic loops |
| UK garage | 130–135 | Broken 2-step kick, swung hats |
| Trap | 130–160 (half-time) | 808s, hat rolls, snare on 3 |
| Dubstep | 140 (half-time) | Snare on 3, heavy sub |
| Drum & bass | 160–180 | Two-step breakbeats |
- Pick three genres from this page that you don't usually make.
- For each one, create a new 1-bar drum pattern at the genre's tempo using a stock kit [Ableton: Drum Rack; FL Studio: Channel Rack or FPC; Logic: Drum Machine Designer].
- Program the pattern exactly as written, then loop it to 4 bars.
- Change one thing in bar 4: add a fill, a roll or a drop-out.
- Swap at least one sound for a genre-appropriate sample (for example an 808 for trap, a rimshot for Afrobeats).
- Save each pattern as a template so you can start future tracks in that style quickly.
A kick on every beat is called four-on-the-.
Drum & bass is usually around BPM.
The reggaeton beat is called .
1. Which genre is built on a four-on-the-floor kick at around 124 BPM?
- Boom bap
- Trap
- House
- Drum & bass
House puts a kick on every beat, usually between about 118 and 130 BPM.
2. In a half-time trap beat at 140 BPM, where does the snare or clap usually land?
- Beats 2 and 4
- Every 16th note
- Beat 1 only
- Beat 3
The snare on beat 3 makes 140 BPM feel like 70 BPM: that's the half-time feel.
3. What is the kick pattern of a two-step drum & bass beat?
- Beat 1 and the "&" of beat 3
- Every beat
- Only on beat 4
- Every 8th note
The two-step is kick on 1 and the "&" of 3, with snares on 2 and 4.
4. Where does the name "dembow" come from?
- A drum machine model
- Shabba Ranks' 1990 song "Dem Bow"
- A Puerto Rican city
- A type of snare drum
The riddim of Shabba Ranks' dancehall track "Dem Bow" became the basis of the reggaeton beat.
5. Which tempo range best fits boom bap?
- 60–65 BPM
- 125–135 BPM
- 170–180 BPM
- 85–95 BPM
Classic 90s boom bap usually sits around 85–95 BPM with swung hats.