Drill drum patterns.

10 drill patterns at 142 BPM. Play one, change any step, take it to your DAW as MIDI.

Drill is trap's colder cousin, and the difference is one snare. Where trap lands its snare on beat three and stops, drill hits three and then hits again on the last sixteenth of the bar, so the pattern lurches into the next one. Under it the 808 slides between notes and takes over rhythm the kick leaves out, and the hats roll in short bursts. The grid opens at 142.

Basic. Kick on one, snare on three and the a of four, hats in eighths: the drill lurch.

Hat
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Sliding 808s. Fewer kicks, more 808 hits, so the bass carries the rhythm the kick leaves out.

Open hat
Hat
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Hat rolls. Sixteenth hats into the snares and a clap stacked on the second snare.

Hat
Clap
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

New York drill. The snare on three only, kicks on the a of one and the and of two, hats skipping.

Hat
Rim
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Grime. Grime at 140: kick on one and the and of two, snare on three, a stab on the a of four.

Hat
Stab
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Sparse. Kick on one, the two snares, nothing else: the first eight bars.

Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Two bars, 808 answer. The 808 answers itself across two bars while the kick stays put.

Hat
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Double snare on three. The snare on three and the a of three, so the second hit stutters instead of waiting for the bar line.

Hat
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Triplet-feel hats. Hats in a skipping sixteenth pattern swung to 60 so they lurch; the 808 answers the kick on the a of one.

Hat
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Chicago drill. The 2012 shape at 145: kick on one and the and of two, snare on three, clap on the a of four, hats in sixteenths with rolls.

Hat
Clap
Snare
808
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

How a drill beat is built

The kick and the 808

The snare

Hats in eighths

Then a variation: Sliding 808s

Kick on step 1, then step 6, the a of two, and step 11, the and of three. Snare on step 9, beat three, and again on step 16, the a of four: that second snare, a sixteenth before the bar line, is the drill signature, and it is what makes the pattern feel like it falls forward. The 808 copies the kick on the basic pattern. Hats on the eighths, straight, no swing. The sliding version takes two kicks away and gives the 808 more hits than the kick, on steps 1, 6, 8, 11 and 15, so the bass carries the rhythm; in your DAW those 808 notes slide into each other. The rolls version turns the hats to sixteenths on the way into each snare and stacks a clap on the last one.

More drum patterns

The beat you want is in a song you’re playing.

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Questions.

What tempo is drill?

138 to 146 BPM; the grid opens at 142. UK drill tends to sit at 140 to 142 and the New York style a touch faster.

Where does the second snare go?

On step 16, the last sixteenth of the bar, just before the next downbeat. Some producers put it on step 15 instead, the and of four; try both and listen for the lurch.

How do I make the 808 slide?

The grid gives you the notes; the slide is a DAW setting. Export the MIDI, make the 808 track monophonic with glide or portamento on, and let each note overlap the next by a little.

More free tools

All free tools →

Drum sequencer

Program a beat on a 16-step grid.

Drum pad

16 pads on your keyboard, your own sounds too.

Metronome

A steady click, and a click track to download.