Reggae drum beats

The one drop: nothing on beat one, kick and cross-stick together on beat three. 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 reggae drum beat works

In the one drop the drummer leaves beat one empty and puts the weight on beat three. The groove feels slow and heavy even when the hi-hat moves quickly. Leaving that space is the whole point.

How to play along

Guitarists and keys: play short chord "skanks" on the off-beats, the "and" of every beat, and mute them straight away. Bassists: leave beat one empty too, or play around it, and make the line melodic. Keep your volume down; reggae is about space.

The reggae grooves on this page

This page plays the Reggae One Drop groove. Use the tempo control for slower roots feels or quicker lovers-rock tempos.

Common practice tempos

Start with 60, 70, 75, 80 and 90 BPM. Each tempo has its own page with the right groove already selected, so you can bookmark the one you are working on.