Reggaeton Dembow drum pattern
A two-bar reggaeton dembow: a four-on-the-floor kick, the boom-ch-boom-chick snare on the a of 1, the and of 2, the a of 3 and the and of 4, and a timbale-style fill into the top. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 94 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Reggaeton Dembow
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 dembow).
The Reggaeton Dembow 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 --X- |
| Closed hat | o-o- o-o- o-o- o-o- | o-o- o-o- o-o- o-o- |
| High tom | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- -x-x |
Tempo and feel
Insistent and swaying. The snare pairs pull against the steady kick; keep them exactly on the grid. The default tempo is 94 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Reggaeton Dembow
Play the kick on all four beats. Add the snare on the a of 1, the and of 2, the a of 3 and the and of 4. Add the soft eighth hats and the bar-two high-tom fill.
Variations to try next
Leave out the hats for a barer beat. Double the snare on the and of 4 into a 16th pair. Play the fill in both bars.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Daddy Yankee - Gasolina and Don Omar - Dile. A practice study of the dembow rhythm as reggaeton uses it: a four-on-the-floor kick under the boom-ch-boom-chick snare on the a of 1, the and of 2, the a of 3 and the and of 4, the 3+3+2 figure inherited from the Jamaican dancehall riddims behind Shabba Ranks' Dem Bow. The programmed claps, timbales and sampled hats are approximated by the snare, the high tom and a closed hat; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.