D-Beat Hardcore drum pattern
A two-bar d-beat: kick on 1, the and of 2 and 3 against a snare on 2 and 4, a washing ride on every eighth and a crash-style accent at the top of the phrase. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 170 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the D-Beat Hardcore
Count it as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar eighth-note d-beat).
The D-Beat Hardcore 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- -- |
| Snare | -- X- -- X- | -- X- -- X- |
| Open hat | X- -- -- -- | -- -- -- -- |
| Ride | -x xx xx xx | xx xx xx xx |
Tempo and feel
Galloping and furious. The kick pair into beat 3 is the engine; keep it tight so the snare on 4 does not get crowded. The default tempo is 170 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the D-Beat Hardcore
Play the kick and snare alone: boom, crack, ba-boom, crack. Add the ride on every eighth without accenting it. Bring the tempo up only while the kick pair stays even.
Variations to try next
Move the right hand to the crash for the whole chorus. Play the ride on quarter notes only. Switch every fourth bar to a straight 1-and-3 kick.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing and Discharge - Protest and Survive. A practice study of the d-beat that early-80s UK hardcore took its name from: kick on 1, the & of 2 and 3 against a snare on 2 and 4, driven fast under a washing ride or crash. The crash wash is approximated by ride strokes and one open-hat hit at the top of the phrase, and the distorted wall of the records is left to the band; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.