The foundation of rock drumming. Hi-hat on 8th notes, snare on beats 2 and 4, kick on 1 and 3.
The basic rock beat is a 4/4 groove with the hi-hat on all eight eighth notes, the snare on beats 2 and 4, and the kick on beats 1 and 3. It is the first groove most drummers learn, and some version of it underpins a large share of rock, pop and soul records.
Each column is one eighth note. x is a hi-hat or cymbal stroke, o is a drum.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Hi-Hat x x x x x x x x Snare . . o . . . o . Kick o . . . o . . .
Count the bar out loud as 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & and add one limb at a time.
Every numbered beat is two limbs at once — kick and hi-hat on 1 and 3, snare and hi-hat on 2 and 4. The '&' counts are hi-hat on its own. If you can play the four numbered beats cleanly, the rest is just filling in the hi-hat.
Start slow enough to place every note deliberately, lock each rung in before moving up, and only raise the tempo once the pattern is clean. Each step opens the metronome at that tempo.
These records are built on this groove's feel — straight eighth-note hi-hat with a backbeat on 2 and 4. Fills and small kick variations differ from the pattern above.
Ordered by difficulty — the first is the smallest step up.
A 4/4 drum groove with the hi-hat playing eighth notes, the snare on beats 2 and 4, and the kick on beats 1 and 3. It is the standard starting groove for beginner drummers.
Start at 60 BPM, where you have time to place every note deliberately, and only move up once the pattern is clean. 90 BPM is a comfortable target; most rock records sit between 90 and 130 BPM.
Usually the right hand, crossed over the left, which plays the snare. Left-handed players mirror this. Open-handed playing — left on hi-hat, right on snare — is also valid and avoids the crossover entirely.
Your snare hand and hi-hat hand are not landing at the same instant. That double attack is called a flam. Slow down and practise the two hands together without the kick until they sound as one.