Southern Rock Drive drum pattern
A two-bar Southern rock pocket: a lazy, lightly swung eighth hat, a kick that walks with the bass, a laid-back backbeat with ghost notes and an open hat into the loop. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 98 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Southern Rock Drive
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 lightly swung 16th-note rock pocket).
The Southern Rock Drive 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- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---o ---- ---- | ---- ---o ---- ---o |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- | x-o- x-o- x-o- x--- |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- --x- |
Tempo and feel
Easy and rolling. Nothing is in a hurry; the backbeat sits back and the ghosts give it a little strut. The default tempo is 98 BPM. It plays with 53% 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 Southern Rock Drive
Play the eighth hats with a slight lilt and the laid-back backbeat. Add the kick on 1, the & of 2 and 3. Add the ghosts on the a of 2 and the bar-two open hat.
Variations to try next
Move the hand to the ride for the guitar solo. Add a second kit part on floor tom quarters, as a twin-drummer band would. Straighten the swing for a harder chorus.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama, The Allman Brothers Band - Midnight Rider and The Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See. A practice study of 70s Southern rock: a lazy, lightly swung eighth-note hat, a kick that walks with the bass and a backbeat that sits back, with ghost notes on the a of 2. Some of these bands used two drummers, and their doubled kit, percussion and long jams are folded into one player here; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.