Bossa nova, son clave and 6/8 bell grooves for Latin, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban practice. Press Play and the drums keep going until you stop them. Pick a tempo below or set your own anywhere from 50 to 220 BPM.
How a Latin drum beat works
These grooves are organised around a repeating two-bar pattern, the clave, rather than around a backbeat. Once you can hear which bar is the "three" side and which is the "two" side, your part will fit much more naturally.
How to play along
Guitarists: over bossa nova, play the thumb on the bass notes with the kick and pluck chords on the syncopated cross-stick. Pianists: keep a steady left hand and let the right hand follow the clave. Count the phrase in two-bar units, not single bars.
The latin grooves on this page
Bossa Nova is the gentle Brazilian groove. Son Clave 3-2 plays the Afro-Cuban key pattern with cowbell and shaker. Bembe is a triplet bell pattern felt in four.
Common practice tempos
Start with 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130 BPM. Each tempo has its own page with the right groove already selected, so you can bookmark the one you are working on.