Nyabinghi Heartbeat drum pattern
A two-bar nyabinghi study on kit: the bass drum open on 1 and damped on 3, the funde heartbeat on 2 and 4 on the low tom, and repeater answers on the high tom. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 76 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Nyabinghi Heartbeat
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 nyabinghi drum trio on kit).
The Nyabinghi Heartbeat 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--- --o- |
| High tom | ---- -xx- ---- -x-- | ---o -x-x ---x -xx- |
| Low tom | --o- x--- --o- x--- | --o- x--- --o- x--- |
Tempo and feel
Meditative and steady, like a slow walking heartbeat. The funde never changes; only the repeater speaks freely. The default tempo is 76 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Nyabinghi Heartbeat
Play the bass part on the kick: open and full on 1, soft on 3. Add the funde heartbeat on the low tom: a soft stroke on the and, a firm stroke on 2 and 4. Add the repeater answers on the high tom last, quieter than the funde.
Variations to try next
Improvise new repeater phrases around 2 and 4. Leave out the bar-two extra bass stroke. Play the funde on a floor tom and the repeater on the snare with the snares off.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari - Grounation and Bob Marley and the Wailers - Rastaman Chant. A practice study of Rastafarian nyabinghi drumming mapped onto the kit: the bass drum, open on 1 and damped on 3, is played by the kick; the funde heartbeat on 2 and 4 is played on the low tom; and the repeater, which answers around 2 and 4 rather than on them, is played on the high tom. The hand-played drums, the padded bass beater and the repeater's free improvising are approximated, and the soft funde lead-in on each and is one common way of voicing the heartbeat, not the only one. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.