6 Easy Boom Bap Drum Patterns
Boom bap is the head-nodding foundation of classic hip hop, and its drum patterns are among the most useful grooves any producer can learn. In under five minutes Janaé E. runs through six easy boom bap patterns, showing how small changes in kick placement, snare and hats change the whole feel of the beat. Why it is a fresh way to get producing: treat these six patterns as a vocabulary. Program each one, save them as MIDI clips and next time you sit down to make a beat you have six instant starting grooves ready to go. Swap the sounds for crunchy samples, add some swing and you are in classic territory. Speed them up, swap the drums for harder electronic hits and you might find a new lo-fi, breaks or halftime idea. Learning patterns by hand like this trains your ear for groove far better than dragging in loops.
Video: “6 EASY BOOM BAP DRUM PATTERNS” by Janaé E. on YouTube (4:51). All credit to the creator; please like and subscribe to support them.
Get the plugin: Any DAW / drum machine
Gear we’d use for this
- Akai MPK Mini MK3 – the classic budget beat-maker controller: 25 mini keys and 8 MPC-style pads.
- Novation Launchkey Mini 25 MK4 – tight Ableton/FL integration, 16 pads, scale and chord modes.
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50x – closed-back studio headphones with punchy, accurate bass for checking kicks and subs.
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