9/8 Aksak (2+2+2+3 / 3+3+3) drum pattern
A four-bar 9/8 phrase: three bars grouped 2+2+2+3 with kick and snare alternating on the group starts, then a 3+3+3 bar, with eighth-note hi-hats accenting every group. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 132 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the 9/8 Aksak (2+2+2+3 / 3+3+3)
Count it as: 1 2 · 1 2 · 1 2 · 1 2 3 · three bars, then 1 2 3 · 1 2 3 · 1 2 3. The pattern is a 4-bar phrase in 9/8 (four-bar 9/8 on a 16th-note grid · three bars of 2+2+2+3, one of 3+3+3).
The 9/8 Aksak (2+2+2+3 / 3+3+3) 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 | Bar 3 | Bar 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | X- -- -- -- X- -- -- -- -- | X- -- -- -- X- -- -- -- -- | X- -- -- -- X- -- -- -- -- | X- -- -- -- -- -- X- -- -- |
| Snare | -- -- X- -- -- -- X- -- -- | -- -- X- -- -- -- X- -- -- | -- -- X- -- -- -- X- -- -- | -- -- -- X- -- -- -- -- -- |
| Closed hat | x- o- x- o- x- o- x- o- o- | x- o- x- o- x- o- x- o- o- | x- o- x- o- x- o- x- o- o- | x- o- o- x- o- o- x- o- o- |
Tempo and feel
Three limping bars, then one that suddenly walks in threes. Keep the eighth-note pulse identical through the change; only the accents move. The default tempo is 132 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the 9/8 Aksak (2+2+2+3 / 3+3+3)
Clap three bars of 2+2+2+3 and one of 3+3+3 while saying the counts. Play the kick and snare alone through all four bars. Add the hi-hat and keep every eighth even across the switch to 3+3+3.
Variations to try next
Stay in 2+2+2+3 for all four bars. Play the 3+3+3 bar on the toms as a fill. Play the hi-hat on the group starts only.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Jazz and fusion themes built on the Turkish 9/8 aksak. A practice study of the 9/8 aksak phrase heard in jazz and fusion: three bars grouped 2+2+2+3, then one bar grouped 3+3+3 that sets the same nine eighths as three even beats. In the 2+2+2+3 bars the kick and snare alternate on the group starts, kick, snare, kick, snare, so the snare lands on the long group; in the 3+3+3 bar the kick plays the first and third beats and the snare the second. The hi-hat plays every eighth with an accent on each group start. The kick and snare places and the four-bar phrase are informed choices. The BPM counts quarter notes, so the eighth-note pulse runs at twice the tempo. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.