Synth-Pop Drive drum pattern
A fast two-bar synth-pop beat: kick on 1 and 3, a crisp backbeat on 2 and 4, dead-even eighth hats and a pushed kick with an open hat on the & of 4 at the end of bar two. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 170 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Synth-Pop Drive
Count it as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar eighth-note grid).
The Synth-Pop 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- -- Xx -x |
| Snare | -- X- -- X- | -- X- -- X- |
| Closed hat | xx xx xx xx | xx xx xx x- |
| Open hat | -- -- -- -- | -- -- -- -x |
Tempo and feel
Bright, fast and machine-steady. Play every hat the same and keep the backbeat crisp rather than heavy; the drive comes from never wavering. The default tempo is 170 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Synth-Pop Drive
Play the eighth hats at one even level for a full minute. Add the kick on 1 and 3 and the snare on 2 and 4. Add the bar-two push: kick on the & of 3 and & of 4, open hat on the & of 4.
Variations to try next
Play the kick on all four beats for a dance chorus. Move the hats to 16ths at half the tempo for a synthwave feel. Add a hand clap or rim with the backbeat.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include a-ha - Take On Me and The Weeknd - Blinding Lights. A practice study of the bright, fast synth-pop beat that runs from a-ha's Take On Me to its revival on The Weeknd's Blinding Lights, played on the kit. It is not a transcription of either record, and both were built largely from drum machines, so this is a drummer's reading of that machine feel: perfectly even eighth hats, kick on 1 and 3, a cracking backbeat and a pushed kick with an open hat at the end of bar two.