Krautrock Motorik drum pattern
A two-bar motorik beat: a steady eighth-note hat, kick on 1, 3 and the and of 3, a light even backbeat and one open hat, built to repeat for minutes. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 136 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Krautrock Motorik
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 steady eighth-note motorik).
The Krautrock Motorik 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--- |
| Closed hat | x-x- x-x- x-x- x-x- | x-x- x-x- x-x- x--- |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- --x- |
Tempo and feel
Hypnotic and forward-moving, like a car on an empty motorway. Keep every stroke the same; the trance is the point. The default tempo is 136 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Krautrock Motorik
Play the eighth hats and the kick for five minutes without change. Add the backbeat at the same level as the kick, not above it. Add the bar-two open hat and keep everything else identical.
Variations to try next
Move the hat to 16ths for a lift after several minutes. Drop the & of 3 kick for a plainer pulse. Play the backbeat on the floor tom.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Neu! - Hallogallo, Can - Mother Sky and Stereolab - French Disko. A practice study of the motorik beat associated with Klaus Dinger and 70s German rock: a steady eighth-note hat, kick on 1, 3 and the & of 3, a light, even backbeat and almost no variation, so the groove works by repetition. The bar-two open hat is the only change; hold it for minutes rather than bars. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.