British Invasion Beat drum pattern
A two-bar British Invasion beat: bright eighth-note hats, a firm backbeat, a kick that pushes on the and of 3 and a snare pickup on the and of 4 in bar two. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 140 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the British Invasion Beat
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 beat-group backbeat).
The British Invasion Beat 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- ---- | X--- --x- X-x- ---- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X-x- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---o ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- |
Tempo and feel
Eager and bright. It sits right on the beat, and the bar-two pickup should feel like the band leaning into the chorus. The default tempo is 140 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the British Invasion Beat
Play the eighth-note hats with the backbeat. Add the kick on 1, 3 and the & of 3. Add the bar-two kick on the & of 2 and the snare pickup on the & of 4.
Variations to try next
Move the right hand to a washy ride for the chorus. Play the snare pickup as two 16ths on the & and a of 4. Stomp the kick on all four beats for a Glad All Over-style chorus.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There, The Dave Clark Five - Glad All Over and The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night. A practice study of early-60s British beat-group drumming: eighth-note hats, a plain kick with an & of 3 push, a firm backbeat and a snare pickup on the & of 4 that throws the phrase forward. The tambourine and handclaps some records doubled on the backbeat are folded into the snare; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.