Jazz Waltz drum pattern
A two-bar jazz waltz in 3/4: a ding, ding-a, ding ride with the skip on the let of 2, the hi-hat foot on 2 and 3, a light kick on 1 and snare comping on the triplet partials. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 150 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Jazz Waltz
Count it as: 1 trip let 2 trip let 3 trip let · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 3/4 (two-bar 3/4 eighth-note-triplet waltz ride).
The Jazz Waltz 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 | o-- --- --- | o-- --- --- |
| Snare | --- --x --- | --o --- --x |
| Pedal hat | --- x-- x-- | --- x-- x-- |
| Ride | x-- x-o x-- | x-- x-o x-- |
Tempo and feel
Lilting and circular. Feel one big beat a bar under the three ride notes, so the waltz floats rather than going oom-pah-pah. The default tempo is 150 BPM. It plays with 67% 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 Jazz Waltz
Play the ride alone: 1, 2 and its let, then 3. Add the hi-hat foot on 2 and 3 and the light kick on 1. Add the snare comping, keeping it below the ride.
Variations to try next
Close the hi-hat on 2 only. Play the hi-hat foot on beat 1 of every other bar for a one-in-a-bar feel. Move the skip note to the let of 3 so the ride leads into the next bar.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Jazz waltzes of the late 1950s and 1960s. A practice study of the jazz waltz in 3/4 on the triplet grid. The ride plays the common waltz pattern: beat 1, beat 2 with a skip note on its let, and beat 3, so the cymbal sounds ding, ding-a, ding. The hi-hat foot on 2 and 3 is an informed choice; many players close it on 2 only, or on beat 1 of every other bar for a looser one-in-a-bar feel. A light kick marks beat 1, and the snare comping (the let of 2 in bar one, the let of 1 and the let of 3 in bar two) is one composite example on the triplet partials. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.