How to programme your own drum patterns – a beginner’s guide for students (part 1)

How to programme common drum patterns - a beginner’s guide for students

How to programme common drum patterns - a beginner’s guide for students

Encourage students creativity: record drum patterns from scratch

When using music software to put a song together, it’s easy for students to head straight to the loop library to find a drum pattern. It’s a quick solution, but once you become familiar with the loop library of your school’s chosen software package, you start to hear those same loops everywhere. All of your student projects will begin to sound the same.

To save your own sanity (!) and to encourage student creativity and originality, teach them a few basics about how to programme their own drum patterns. Once they know a few simple tips they’ll find it much more rewarding that simply dragging a loop into a project.

Start with the basics, then get experimental

Each musical genre has it’s own drum “sound” or template. Students can start off by learning how to put together a “standard” version of a hip hop beat, or a rock beat or techno beat and then create variations by changing instruments, adding or moving sounds and so on.

Using drum pattern grids

A drum grid is a common way of visually notating a drum pattern. It makes it easy to transfer the information to the digital drum machines that can be found in music software and apps. In software and apps, drum patterns are generally programmed into a step sequencers (like the DM1 app for iPad or the HTML5 Drum Machine) or a piano roll editor (such as the one you would find in GarageBand, Mixcraft, Soundation or Soundtrap).

Here’s a digital version of an original drum machine – a step sequencer called HTML Drum Machine:

3 HTML5 Drum machine

And here’s the step sequencer app DM1:

How to record drum beats in DM1

This is what the piano roll view of the drum kit look like in GarageBand:

How to record drum beats in DM1

And the same thing in Soundtrap:

Soundtrap

How to create a drum pattern

In order to create a drum pattern in any of the above options, you simply need to work out where to place each instrument sound to get the desired result.

Drum step sequencers generally have 16 slots or “steps” which represent 16th notes (semiquavers) in a single measure of music in 4/4 time. In other words, the 4 beats of the measure fall on slot numbers 1, 5, 9 and 13.

In the drum grid example below, the snare is playing on beats 2 and 4. The equivalent step positions are 5 and 13.

Hip Hop drum pattern

A piano roll editor (like the one found in GarageBand) works in a similar way, but students may need to adjust the “snap to grid” settings to 16th notes or 8th notes, or zoom in on the timeline so that they are able to place sounds on the correct subdivision of the beat. They will also need to be familiar with the MIDI drum map so that they know which notes produce the drum sounds they need (ie. C1 = bass drum, D1 = snare).

Free download: basic drum patterns

I’ve put together drum notation grids for some common styles. In the grids I have given both the sequencer step position (so you know where to place the sound for a specific instrument) and the beat subdivision (so you know where you are in the measure!). An icon in the pattern grid indicates that the instrument plays on that beat of the measure/sequencer position.

You can download these patterns at the bottom of this post.

Lesson plan

  1. Students pick one of the following genres:
  1. Students then record the basic pattern for their chosen genre in your music software or app, using the provided drum notation grids as a guide
  1. Students create and record a minimum of 3 variations on their chosen pattern. They could do any or all of the following:
  • Change the instrument/kit sound
  • Add extra sounds into the pattern
  • Remove some of the existing sounds
  • Shift the rhythmic position of some of the sounds in the basic pattern
  • Alter the tempo

Further reading

Coming in part 2: free empty grid templates and icons

In part two of this series, I’ll share some empty grid templates (that are editable!) and instrument icons you can use with your students.

Free download: drum pattern “recipes”

To download a copy of the 6 common drum pattern “recipes”, click on the button below and a copy will be sent straight to your email inbox.

24 Comments

  1. Charlotte Drinnan July 15, 2016 at 11:37 am - Reply

    Just what I needed right now – I am just doing Rockstar Drummer with my year 7s and this will be perfect for future lessons. Please send me the download.
    Cheers
    Charlotte

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:59 am - Reply

      Hi Charlotte – you can click on the orange Download button above to receive the patterns (something went wrong with it at first and it wasn’t there but I’ve fixed it now!)

  2. Noelene July 15, 2016 at 12:15 pm - Reply

    Hi Katie – great idea fro drumming – going to include this in my Y8 lesson on rhythm!
    Thanks.
    But which ‘button’ do I have to press?
    Ciao!
    Noelene

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 7:00 am - Reply

      Hi Noelene! Something went wrong and the button disappeared (!) but I’ve fixed it now 🙂

  3. Thien Bich Hoang July 15, 2016 at 12:23 pm - Reply

    Dear Katie,
    How lovely to have you again and am also wish to say sorry to you, because I was being somewhere for a white. Now I’ve be back and thinking to spend more time for learning and making music.
    My grand children have been moving far, far away. So for the first time, I am feeling uneasy emotionally for this moments, but I do hope the times will let me to normally action soon.
    How are you going any way ?
    You so kind with me, so I would love to say Big Thanks to You.
    Wishing you all the best. TBH

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:58 am - Reply

      Thanks TBH!

  4. Kevin Snowball July 15, 2016 at 11:32 pm - Reply

    Thanks for the tip. Always looking for ways to keep students interested.

  5. Terri July 16, 2016 at 1:47 am - Reply

    I am not seeing a “button below” to download your drum patterns.

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:57 am - Reply

      Hi Terri – the button is fixed now 🙂

  6. Kevin Snowball July 16, 2016 at 2:31 am - Reply

    My drum machine lessons didn’t come to my mail. Is there a different button I need to press to get the free lessons

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:57 am - Reply

      Hi Kevin – the button is fixed now 🙂

  7. Julie July 16, 2016 at 9:03 am - Reply

    I don’t seem to see the button for the download?

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:56 am - Reply

      Hi Julie – the button is fixed now 🙂

  8. Martha Sandefer July 17, 2016 at 1:53 am - Reply

    I could not see the button to click on for the 6 pattern “recipes” – but I love this article! It is very clear, and will be helpful in explaining this kind of app to students. Thanks again for all your wonderful work!
    Martha Sandefer – member of MMC (Midnight Music Community)

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:54 am - Reply

      Hi Martha! Apologies – something went wrong with the button. I’ve fixed it now 🙂

  9. Shane Randall July 17, 2016 at 7:19 am - Reply

    Hi Katie
    I’ll try this one at school (Stage 3) but will need your drum pattern ‘recipes’ – couldn’t see your download button.
    Shane

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:55 am - Reply

      Sorry Shane! That should be fixed now 🙂 I’d love to hear how you go with the students.

  10. Kathryn McLennan July 17, 2016 at 12:49 pm - Reply

    HI Katie, Love the idea of the drum patterns, but my page does not seem to have the “button” to click at the bottom for the drum recipes?
    cheers

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 6:55 am - Reply

      Hi Kathryn – sorry! Something went wrong with the button but I’ve fixed it now I believe 🙂

  11. Felicia July 18, 2016 at 11:37 pm - Reply

    I’d love a copy of your drum patterns!
    I use your lesson plans in my classes and I really appreciate your hard work and generosity in sharing them!

    Felicia Brady-Lopez
    The Winsor School
    Boston, MA
    USA

    fbrady@winsor.edu

    • Katie July 20, 2016 at 7:01 am - Reply

      Thanks Felicity! I’ve fixed the download button now – just click on that (above) to receive your copy 🙂

  12. Helen July 24, 2016 at 9:29 pm - Reply

    Does anyone have any good ideas for listening examples to go with each of the genres?

  13. Chris January 26, 2019 at 4:08 pm - Reply

    Hi Katie,

    I teach HS Music Theory and my students really enjoyed having these drum grids to help create drum patterns for their compositions. Some even showed interest in creating their own grids. I would love to give them empty grid templates with the same format and design. Are you able to share the empty grid templates and instrument icons? Thanks!

    • Katie February 5, 2019 at 2:16 pm - Reply

      Yes! That was my plan originally but it took a back seat to some other things! Here’s a link to an empty grid you can use for now. It has space for 2 different patterns (A and B) if you need it. I’ll also do a follow-up post which includes this grid, plus the icons that you can download. Thanks for the reminder!

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