Starting to see a pattern?Ĭombining quarter note, 8th note, 16th note, and triplet patterns allows for nearly endless rhythmic possibilities. As the name implies, there are 16 16th notes in each cycle of 4 beats. By splitting each beat into 4 small parts (or each 8th note into 2 parts), we achieve 16th notes. There are 8 8th notes in each cycle of 4 beats.īut sometimes, the drums play a rhythm that’s more broken up and hits in the spaces between 8th notes. You could also think of the hihat rhythm as splitting each quarter note into 2 parts, known as 8th notes. The hihats play 2 strokes in every beat the first stroke is directly on the beat, and the second stroke is in the middle of the beat.

Try clapping along with the hihats in the song, which play at twice the rate of the kick and snare. Most other rhythms are achieved by splitting quarter notes into smaller parts. There are 4 quarter notes in each cycle of 4 beats. When your claps sync up with the kick and snare, those are quarter notes, or one clap per beat. Begin by clapping along with the beat, which aligns with the bass drum and snare drum. We’ll use ACDC’s “Back in Black” to provide a groove that’s easy to follow. To begin getting the feel for some basic beat divisions, start with some simple clapping exercises. The overwhelming majority of music is built on cycles of 4 beats, known as common time. These underlying pulses, or beats, can be split into smaller parts to create different rhythms. Most music has a steady underlying pulse that gives musicians a reference point for building rhythmic patterns, as well as a way to play in time with one another. But maybe you’re reading this and you’ve never studied music before and you think, “What the heck are quarter notes and 8th notes?” So let’s back up a bit before diving into the crazy stuff.

The complexity increases a bit by getting into 16th notes and triplets. As a beginner drummer, you start off with very basic rhythms usually consisting of quarter notes and 8th notes.

16th note patterns drums