The money beat: kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4 and shaped eighth-note hats. Earl Palmer helped make this straight-eighth backbeat standard on Little Richard's 50s New Orleans sessions, and nearly every rock drummer since has started here. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 100 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Basic Rock
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a. The pattern is one bar of 4/4 (16th-note grid).
The Basic Rock 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.
Basic Rock drum pattern (4/4, 16th-note grid)
Voice
Pattern
Kick
X--- ---- X--- ----
Snare
---- X--- ---- X---
Closed hat
x-x- x-x- x-x- x-x-
Tempo and feel
Straight and relaxed. The backbeat is broad; the hats stay below it. The default tempo is 100 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Basic Rock
Lock the kick and snare first. Add hats without raising their volume. Keep the & notes lighter than the beats.
Variations to try next
Open the hat on the & of 4. Add a kick on the & of 3. Move the hats to the ride.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include AC/DC - Highway to Hell, Joan Jett - I Love Rock 'n Roll and Tom Petty - Free Fallin'. This is a style study written for practice, not a transcription of any one recording.