Country drum beat at 120 BPM
Press Play for a country drum beat at 120 BPM. It starts with Bo Diddley Beat, and you can switch to Train Beat. One beat lasts 500 ms.
Playing over a country drum beat at 120 BPM
120 BPM is a comfortable middle tempo for country. Use it to play whole songs or long improvisations without stopping; the fills every few bars tell you where each phrase ends.
What plays at 120 BPM
Bo Diddley Beat is written at 104 BPM, the closest of this style's grooves to 120 BPM, so it opens first and plays a little faster than written. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 500 ms, an eighth note 250 ms and a sixteenth 125 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Train Beat on the page and the tempo stays at 120 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 120 BPM?
Knowing how long a phrase lasts helps you plan a song, a solo or a recording take. The drums play a fill at the end of every four or eight bars, so these are the lengths you will hear.
| Length | Time |
|---|---|
| One bar of 4/4 | 2 seconds |
| Four-bar phrase | 8 seconds |
| Eight-bar section | 16 seconds |
| Three-minute song | about 90 bars |
How a country drum beat works
The train beat is played on the snare in steady sixteenth notes, with accents on beats two and four and the kick on one and three. It pushes forward like a moving train, so your part has to keep up without rushing.
How to play along
Guitarists: alternate bass notes and chord strums ("boom-chick") with the kick and snare accents. Bassists: play root-fifth on beats one and three. At faster tempos, relax your strumming hand and use smaller movements.