Latin drum patterns.

7 latin patterns at 100 BPM. Play one, change any step, take it to your DAW as MIDI.

Latin rhythm starts with the clave, a five-hit pattern that every other part lines up to. Son clave is the common one; rumba clave moves one hit a sixteenth later. Over it the cáscara ticks on the shell of the timbale, the kick plays a tumbao that avoids beat one, and the bell takes over in a mambo. Cumbia, merengue and bachata are their own rhythms, from Colombia and the Dominican Republic, and each has a page-worth of groove in one bar.

Son clave, 3-2. The rim on 1, the a of 1, the and of 2, then the and of 3 and 4: the key everything else fits.

Hat
Rim
Kick

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Rumba clave. The third hit moved a sixteenth late: 1, the a of 1, the a of 2, then the and of 3 and 4.

Hat
Rim
Kick

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Cáscara. The shell pattern on the ride over the son clave, kick on the and of two and four.

Ride
Rim
Kick

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Cumbia. Kick on one and three, rim on the offbeats, shaker sixteenths: the ca-ca on the and.

Shaker
Tom low
Rim
Kick

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Merengue. Fast, kick on every beat, snare in the tambora shape, hats in sixteenths.

Hat
Snare
Kick

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Bachata. Kick on one and three, rim on the and of every beat, a low tom on four.

Hat
Tom low
Rim
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

Mambo bell. The bell pattern on the ride with the son clave on the rim and the kick in tumbao.

Ride
Hat
Rim
Kick

Drop a sound on any row to play it there.

Open in the drum sequencer →

How a latin beat is built

The kick

The rim

Hats in eighths

Then a variation: Rumba clave

The son clave on the rim: steps 1, 4, 7, 11 and 13, counted 3-3-4-2-4. The kick plays the tumbao on the and of two and four, steps 7 and 15, and never on one. Hats on the eighths. The rumba clave moves the third hit from step 7 to step 8. Cáscara is the shell pattern on the ride, x-xx-x-xx-x-xx-x, over the son clave, at 105. Cumbia at 96 has the kick on one and three, the rim on every offbeat for the ca-ca, a shaker in sixteenths and a low tom on two and four. Merengue at 130 puts the kick on every beat with the snare in the tambora's shape and sixteenth hats. Bachata at 128 has the kick on one and three, the rim on every and, and a low tom on four. The mambo bell is a ride pattern over the son clave with the kick in tumbao and the hat on two and four.

More drum patterns

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Questions.

What is the clave?

A two-bar rhythm of five hits, written here in one 16-step bar at double time, that every Latin part is placed against. 3-2 means the three-hit side comes first; 2-3 reverses it. Get the clave right and the rest of the arrangement falls into place.

Why doesn't the kick play on beat one?

Because the tumbao, the bass and kick pattern of son and salsa, lands on the and of two and four and lets the downbeat go. That is what gives salsa its forward lean; put the kick on one and it marches.

Which tempo for each?

Son and salsa at 95 to 110, cáscara-led mambo at 105 to 120, cumbia at 90 to 100, bachata at 120 to 135, merengue at 125 to 150. The grid opens at 100 and each pattern carries its own.

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.