Amapiano drum pattern
A two-bar amapiano groove: a sparse kick, rim on 2 and 4, a busy 16th shaker with accented offbeats and the syncopated log-drum line drawn on the low tom. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 113 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Amapiano
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar 16th-note grid · log-drum line on the low tom).
The Amapiano pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | x--- ---- x--- ---- | x--- ---- ---- ---- |
| Cross-stick | ---- x--- ---- x--- | ---- x--- ---- x--- |
| Shaker | ooxo ooxo ooxo ooxo | ooxo ooxo ooxo ooxo |
| Low tom | ---x --x- --x- -x-- | ---x --x- --x- -xx- |
Tempo and feel
Slow-burning and hypnotic. The shaker never stops, the kick barely shows up and the log-drum line does the talking; lean back and let it roll. The default tempo is 113 BPM. It plays with 54% swing by default; move the Swing control toward 50% to hear it straight. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Amapiano
Play the 16th shaker alone, accenting every &. Add the rim on 2 and 4 and the kick on 1 and 3. Add the log-drum line on the low tom last; it is the hook, so play it with intent.
Variations to try next
Put the kick on all four beats for a harder, club-ready version. Leave the kick out of bar two to let the log drum breathe. Open a hi-hat on the & of 4 going into a drop.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa - Sponono, Focalistic - Ke Star and Tyla - Water. A drum-set study of amapiano, the South African house style, in the tradition of Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa's Sponono, Focalistic's Ke Star (produced by Vigro Deep) and Tyla's Water. It is a composite of the common programmed pattern, not a transcription. The defining log drum is a pitched, gliding bass sound the kit cannot make, so its syncopated line is drawn on the low tom as a stand-in. The kick is sparse, a rim marks 2 and 4, and a 16th shaker with accented offbeats carries the whole bar.