Gospel Praise Break drum pattern
A fast two-bar praise break: kick on every beat, snare on every &, hats on the eighths, the hi-hat foot on 2 and 4 and a 16th snare run to end bar two. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 144 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Gospel Praise Break
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 · kick on the beats, snare on the &s).
The Gospel Praise Break 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--- X--- |
| Snare | --X- --X- --X- --X- | --X- --X- --X- xxXX |
| Closed hat | x-x- x-x- x-x- x-x- | x-x- x-x- x-x- ---- |
| Pedal hat | ---- x--- ---- x--- | ---- x--- ---- x--- |
Tempo and feel
Fast, joyful and relentless: boom-chick, boom-chick with no let-up. Keep the &s even and loud; the run at the end should lift, not rush. The default tempo is 144 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Gospel Praise Break
Play kick on the beats and snare on the &s slowly until it feels like a gallop. Add the hats on the eighths and the hi-hat foot on 2 and 4. Add the bar-two 16th run hand to hand, then bring the tempo up a few BPM at a time.
Variations to try next
Double the snare &s with a cowbell or tambourine player. Play 16ths on the hats for an even busier break. End every bar with the run for the last chorus.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Kirk Franklin - Revolution and Church praise breaks and shout music. A practice study of the Black church praise break, or shout, the fast dance music a service breaks into, in the tradition of Kirk Franklin's Revolution and the gospel shed drummers such as Aaron Spears, Chris Coleman and Tony Royster Jr. It is a composite, not a transcription. The kick takes every beat, the snare answers on every &, the hi-hat foot keeps 2 and 4, and bar two ends with a hand-to-hand 16th snare run into the top.