beat lab / patterns
Rhythm
by culture.
Every tradition found different answers to the same question: where does the beat go? These are six. There are thousands more.
Electronic / House · 120–135 bpm
Four on the Floor
Kick on every quarter note. The heartbeat of the dancefloor. Invented in disco, kept by house, never stopped.
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kick
snare
HH
kick
snare
hihat
Hip-Hop / Golden Era · 85–95 bpm
Boom Bap
Kick, snare, kicks in the pocket. The sound of New York in the nineties. Breathe between the notes.
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kick
snare
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snare
hihat
Drum & Bass / Jungle · 160–180 bpm
Amen Break
Six seconds from a 1969 B-side that became the most sampled beat in history. Everything built on this.
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kick
snare
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kick
snare
hihat
Afro-Cuban / Latin · 100–120 bpm
Clave Son
The rhythmic spine of son, salsa, mambo. Two bars. Three-two. Everything else orbits this.
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kick
snare
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kick
snare
hihat
Atlanta Trap · 130–145 bpm
Trap Hi-Hat
Rolls, triplets, ghost notes. The hi-hat became melodic. Nobody saw it coming.
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kick
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snare
hihat
Moroccan Gnawa · 100–115 bpm
Gnawa Lila
Qraqeb and guembri. Trance by repetition. The same pattern played for hours until something shifts in you.
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kick
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hihat
Hear them for yourself.
Open the sequencer. Load a pattern. Change one thing.