Copeland-Style Reggae-Rock drum pattern
A two-bar reggae-rock groove: a one-drop bar with kick and cross-stick on 3, a half-time rock bar with the snare on 3, over a busy hat with 16th doubles and offbeat openings. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 146 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Copeland-Style Reggae-Rock
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 one-drop and half-time rock).
The Copeland-Style Reggae-Rock 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- |
| Snare | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- X--- ---- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---o ---- |
| Cross-stick | ---- ---- x--- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Closed hat | x-xo x-x- x-xo x--- | x-x- xo-- x-x- xox- |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- --x- | ---- --x- ---- ---- |
Tempo and feel
Springy and nervous. The kick stays out of the way while the hat chatters; the bar-two snare on 3 makes the rock answer. The default tempo is 146 BPM. It plays with 52% 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 Copeland-Style Reggae-Rock
Play the hat pattern alone, eighths with the 16th doubles and openings. Add bar one: kick and cross-stick together on beat 3 only. Add bar two: kick on 1, snare on 3 and the kick pickup on the & of 4.
Variations to try next
Play the one-drop bar twice before the rock bar. Swap the hat for the ride bell in the chorus. Play a straight 2-and-4 backbeat in bar two for the chorus.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Police - Walking on the Moon, The Police - Roxanne and The Police - The Bed's Too Big Without You. A practice study of the new-wave reggae-rock hybrid associated with Stewart Copeland: a one-drop bar with kick and cross-stick together on beat 3, answered by a half-time rock bar with the snare on 3, all under a busy, bright hat with 16th doubles and offbeat openings. His splash-cymbal accents are approximated by open-hat strokes; it differs from the library's Reggae One Drop by its driving hat and rock bar, and is authored for practice, not transcribed.