Reggae drum beats

From the one drop to rockers and steppers: the Jamaican grooves that put the weight on beat three, or on every beat. 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 reggae drum beat works

In the one drop the drummer leaves beat one empty and puts the weight on beat three. The groove feels slow and heavy even when the hi-hat moves quickly. Leaving that space is the whole point.

How to play along

Guitarists and keys: play short chord "skanks" on the off-beats, the "and" of every beat, and mute them straight away. Bassists: leave beat one empty too, or play around it, and make the line melodic. Keep your volume down; reggae is about space.

The reggae grooves on this page

Reggae One Drop is the plain version: nothing on one, kick and cross-stick on three. Barrett-Style One Drop adds Carlton Barrett's swung hi-hat triplets from the Wailers. Flying Cymbal Reggae is the mid-70s open-hat offbeat sound of Santa Davis and the Aggrovators. Sly Dunbar-Style Rockers is the Channel One rockers beat with a busier kick. Roots Reggae Steppers puts the kick on every beat for a marching, militant roots feel. Dub Echo Pocket leaves space for echo and delay. UK Digital Steppers is the heavy sound-system steppers beat.

Common practice tempos

Start with 60, 70, 75, 80 and 90 BPM. Each tempo has its own page with the right groove already selected, so you can bookmark the one you are working on.