Chapter 1 of 13 · All chapters

Part 1 · Rhythm basics

  1. 01The beat and tempo
  2. 02Bars, beats and 16 steps
  3. 03Kick, snare and hi-hat

Part 2 · Your hands on the pads

  1. 04The 16-pad layout
  2. 05Which fingers play what
  3. 06Tap, don't press

Part 3 · Grooves

  1. 07The basic beat
  2. 0816th hats and finger rolls
  3. 09Syncopation
  4. 10Fills

Part 4 · Feel and style

  1. 11Accents and ghost notes
  2. 12Swing
  3. 13Beats in different styles

Learn · Part 1: Rhythm basics · Chapter 1

The beat and tempo

Every groove sits on a steady pulse: the beat. It's what you tap your foot to without thinking. Before learning any pattern, get to know the beat itself and how steady you can keep it.

What the beat is

Listen to almost any song and you'll feel an even pulse under it. That pulse is the beat. Drummers don't invent it, they show it: every drum pattern is built by placing sounds on or between these beats.

Try it now. Press Start, listen to the four count-in clicks, then tap the kick on every click. Each dot shows one of your hits: to the left of the centre line is early, to the right is late.

80 BPM

Press Start, listen to four clicks, then play along.

Tap the pad, or press Z on your keyboard. Use headphones with a cable or your speakers; Bluetooth adds a delay.

Tempo is counted in BPM

How fast the beat goes is the tempo, measured in beats per minute (BPM). At 60 BPM there's one beat every second; at 120 BPM there are two. Styles of music tend to live in their own tempo ranges:

StyleTypical tempoFeel
Hip-hop80–100 BPMLaid back, room between the notes
House118–128 BPMSteady kick on every beat
Techno125–140 BPMDriving and hypnotic
Trap130–150 BPMOften felt at half speed
Drum & bass170–175 BPMFast, broken beats

Use the − and + buttons above to try 60, 90 and 120 BPM. You'll notice slow is harder than it sounds: the gaps are longer, so it's easier to drift.

Steady beats fast

Beginners often chase speed. But a simple beat played in perfect time sounds better than a fast one that wobbles. Drum machines are perfectly steady, so every listener's ear is used to that. Good finger drummers practise with a click all the time, and so should you.

Timing has two parts, and the tester above shows both:

  • Where you land on average. Always a little early means you're rushing; always late means dragging.
  • How much your hits scatter. Tight groups of dots mean steady time. A wide spread means some hits are early and some late.

Try this

  1. 80 BPM. Play all 16 notes until the result says "right on the beat".
  2. 60 BPM. Same again. Count the clicks out loud: "1, 2, 3, 4".
  3. 120 BPM. Keep your finger relaxed and let it bounce.