The train beat, the Ray Price shuffle, the two-step, rockabilly and the Bo Diddley pattern for country and roots practice. Press Play and the drums keep going until you stop them. Pick a tempo below or set your own anywhere from 50 to 220 BPM.
How a country drum beat works
The train beat is played on the snare in steady sixteenth notes, with accents on beats two and four and the kick on one and three. It pushes forward like a moving train, so your part has to keep up without rushing.
How to play along
Guitarists: alternate bass notes and chord strums ("boom-chick") with the kick and snare accents. Bassists: play root-fifth on beats one and three. At faster tempos, relax your strumming hand and use smaller movements.
The country grooves on this page
Train Beat is the chugging snare pattern with sixteenths on the snare and accents on two and four. 50s Rock and Roll is the shuffle-meets-backbeat rockabilly feel. The Bo Diddley Beat is the syncopated five-hit pattern at the heart of rockabilly and roots rock. Ray Price Shuffle is the honky-tonk 4/4 shuffle with a feathered kick under a walking bass, and Country Two-Step is the fast dancehall boom-chick.
Common practice tempos
Start with 100, 110, 120, 140 and 160 BPM. Each tempo has its own page with the right groove already selected, so you can bookmark the one you are working on.