3/4 Drum Patterns, Part 1

Download a MIDI sequence of these patterns. This is a single sequence where one pattern follows the next in the order listed below. Press your Shift Key then click on the above to save it to your system.

This article deals with pattern based Drum sequencers. These Sequences can be adapted to any type of hardware or software sequencer that allows you to define a fixed length sequence of MIDI events. My experience in this area has almost entirely been with Roland pattern based Drum Machines (Including the TR-505, TR-606 and TR-707 models of the mid 1980's). Some Drum machines work differently than the Roland models (The Alesis SR 16 works very differently, but can still use these sequences), as do Software Sequencer programs that can be used to loop a few measures. This should not prevent you from trying these patterns.

Each of these patterns is 3 measures long and can be played back at any tempo. Typically, I use them somewhere between 60 to 150 Beats Per Minute.

How/When to use these

A song would be comprised of some or all of these 3 measure sequences strung together.

The Start Count would be used to queue the rest of the musicians that the song is about to start and define the tempo. A live drummer often does something similar to start off all the band members at the same beat and speed by rapping drum-sticks together at the start of each measure.

If playing a slower 3/4 time Ballad, use General 3/4 (first half) - Slow followed by General 3/4 (second half) - Slow. These were ment to be chained together (if your Sequencer software can loop a pattern, then loop these 6 measures).

For regular verses, Normal 3/4 Swing would be used for most of the song. Sometimes you will want a quiet interlude, and use the pattern Normal 3/4 Swing 'Quiet' for a few measures.

Often between verses, a live drummer will play a fill. In MIDI sequences you often put in a fill to cue people ithat something is about to happen. In this case, you could perform the Normal 3/4 Swing Fill as the last three measures of a verse or a bridge. Audio cues of this nature are quite useful - real drummers tend do it, so it sounds more natural, and you'll quickly find that a Sequence waits for no one - the more you build into it to help you navigate a song, the better job you tend to do with it.

When you end a song, you normally want to end it on a high note, rather than just abruptly stopping. The Finish 3/4 does this by providing a Crash Cymbal along with a Snare and Bass Drum beat. This would be the last fragment (pattern) played in the song.

Drum Machine/Sound Naming Key

• CH = Closed Hi-Hat
• OH = Open Hi-Hat
• RC = Ride Cymbal
• CC = Crash Cymbal
• HT = High Tom-Tom
• MT = Mid Tom-Tom
• LT = Low Tom-Tom
• SD = Snare Drum
• RS = Rim Shot (Snare)
• BD = Bass Drum
• AC = Accent (higher velocity on all sounds this beat)