Back in Black Pocket drum pattern
Phil Rudd's famously plain hard-rock pocket: kick on 1 and 3, a wide 2 and 4 and eighth-note hats, played with total conviction. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 94 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Back in Black Pocket
Count it as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar straight eighth-note rock pocket).
The Back in Black Pocket pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | X--- ---- X--- ---- | X--- ---- X--- ---- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- |
Tempo and feel
Big but economical. The groove is the restraint: no extra kicks, a broad snare and even hats. The default tempo is 94 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Back in Black Pocket
Play only the eighth-note hats and 2 and 4. Add the kick on 1 and 3 without changing the hat volume. Record yourself and check nothing speeds up.
Variations to try next
Add the riff pickups with kicks on the a of 1, the and of 2 and the and of 3. Move the hats to ride. Crash on beat 1 of every fourth bar.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include AC/DC - Back in Black, AC/DC - Highway to Hell and AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill. Reference-informed two-bar study of Phil Rudd's verse groove in "Back in Black", following published drum tabs: kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, eighth-note hats. The guitars and room are omitted.