Cumbia drum pattern
A one-bar cumbia on kit: the kick on 1 and 3, a cross-stick on every offbeat for the llamador, and a guacharaca-style long-short-short on the closed hat. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 94 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Cumbia
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a. The pattern is one bar of 4/4 (one-bar 16th-note cumbia).
The Cumbia 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 | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Kick | X--- ---- X--- ---- |
| Cross-stick | --x- --x- --x- --x- |
| Closed hat | x-xo x-xo x-xo x-xo |
Tempo and feel
Swaying and steady. The offbeat cross-stick is the pulse people dance to; keep it even and let the kick sit underneath it. The default tempo is 94 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Cumbia
Play the kick on 1 and 3 against the cross-stick on every and. Play the hat alone: an eighth and two 16ths on every beat. Put the hands together, then add the kick.
Variations to try next
Move the offbeats from cross-stick to a timbale or snare for a brighter sound. Add a kick on the a of 2 as a pickup into beat 3. Play the guacharaca figure on a shaker and keep the hat foot on 2 and 4.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Colombian cumbia of the 1950s and 60s and Mexican cumbia sonidera. A practice study of cumbia mapped onto the kit. The kick on 1 and 3 plays the bass and the low strokes of the tambora; the left hand's cross-stick on every and stands in for the llamador, the drum that marks the offbeat; and the right hand on the closed hat plays one common guacharaca figure, the long-short-short of an eighth and two 16ths on every beat. The tambor alegre's improvised lead, the maracas and the melody are left to the band, and the hat accents are an informed choice. Mexican, Peruvian and Argentine cumbia bands vary the kit part and play anywhere from about 80 to 110 BPM. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.