Baiao Zabumba Groove drum pattern
A one-bar baião on kit: the zabumba bass figure on 1 and the a of 1 and on 3 and the a of 3, a snare on 2 and 4, and triangle-style 16ths on the hat. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 108 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Baiao Zabumba Groove
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two 2/4 bars. The pattern is one bar of 4/4 (one-bar 16th-note baião (two bars of 2/4)).
The Baiao Zabumba Groove 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 | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Kick | X--x ---- X--x ---- |
| Snare | ---- x--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | ooxo ooxo ooxo ooxo |
Tempo and feel
Dusty and dancing. The two-note kick figure limps, then rests through beats 2 and 4 while the triangle keeps going. The default tempo is 108 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Baiao Zabumba Groove
Play the kick alone: 1 and the a of 1, then 3 and the a of 3. Add the 16ths on the hat with each and accented. Add the snare on 2 and 4 without crowding the kick figure.
Variations to try next
Move the snare to cross-stick for a softer acoustic-trio feel. Play the hat 16ths with no accents for a plainer shaker sound. Play only the kick and hat to hear the zabumba and triangle alone.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Luiz Gonzaga - Baião and Luiz Gonzaga - Asa Branca. A practice study of the northeastern Brazilian baião mapped onto the kit, written in 4/4 so one bar holds two bars of 2/4. The kick plays the zabumba's defining bass figure, a dotted eighth and a sixteenth, on 1 and the a of 1 and again on 3 and the a of 3, left to ring through beats 2 and 4. The right hand's 16ths on the closed hat stand in for the triangle, with an accent on each and for its open ring, and the snare on 2 and 4 stands in for the zabumba's high bacalhau stroke; both placements are informed kit choices. The accordion is left to the band. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.