Surf Rock Tom Beat drum pattern
A two-bar surf tom beat: hand-to-hand 16ths with the lead hand on the floor tom, accented snare on 2 and 4, quiet snare fill-ins, quarter-note kick and a high-tom lift in bar two. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 158 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Surf Rock Tom Beat
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 hand-to-hand 16th-note tom beat).
The Surf Rock Tom Beat 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--- |
| Ghost snare | -o-o -o-o -o-o -o-o | -o-o -o-o -o-o ---- |
| High tom | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- -x-x |
| Low tom | X-x- --x- X-x- --x- | X-x- --x- X-x- --x- |
Tempo and feel
Galloping and relentless. Every 16th is there, but only the floor-tom beats and the backbeat speak; the in-between strokes are a whisper. The default tempo is 158 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Surf Rock Tom Beat
Play single strokes hand to hand at half tempo, right hand on the floor tom. Move the right hand to the snare on 2 and 4 without breaking the sticking. Add the quarter-note kick, then the bar-two high-tom accents.
Variations to try next
Accent every floor-tom stroke for a solo break. Move the left hand to the high tom for the whole bar. Drop to eighth notes on the floor tom for the verse.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Surfaris - Wipe Out, The Chantays - Pipeline and Dick Dale and His Del-Tones - Misirlou. A practice study of the early-60s surf-instrumental tom beat: single strokes hand to hand, the lead hand on the floor tom that moves to the snare for 2 and 4, the other hand filling the gaps quietly on the snare. The spring-reverb guitars and the freer accent patterns of the drum solos are left out; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.