Thrash Skank Beat drum pattern
A two-bar thrash skank beat at 200 BPM: the kick on every beat, the snare on every and, eighth-note hi-hats over both and a crash at the top of the phrase. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 200 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Thrash Skank Beat
Count it as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar straight eighth-note skank beat).
The Thrash Skank 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 | -X -X -X -X |
| Closed hat | -x xx xx xx | xx xx xx xx |
| Open hat | X- -- -- -- | -- -- -- -- |
Tempo and feel
Fast and bouncing, like a punk polka. Kick and snare are one even stream of eighths; keep them level so neither side rushes. The default tempo is 200 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Thrash Skank Beat
Alternate kick and snare in eighth notes at 120 BPM: boom, chick, boom, chick. Add the hi-hat on every eighth without letting it get louder than the snare. Raise the tempo in small steps and stop when the kick and snare stop sounding even.
Variations to try next
Ride the crash on every beat with the kick. Play the hi-hat on quarter notes only. Switch to a two-bar D-beat for a riff change and come back.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include 1980s thrash metal and crossover fast sections. A practice study of the thrash skank beat, also called the thrash beat or polka beat: the kick on every beat and the snare on every and, so the two alternate in eighth notes, with the hi-hat on every eighth over both. The open hi-hat stands in for the crash at the top of the phrase. The eighth-note hi-hat is an informed choice; drummers also ride the crash or play the hat on quarter notes with the kick. It differs from the library's D-Beat Hardcore, which pairs the kicks around a snare on 2 and 4. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.