Four on the floor

Free

House

Kick on every beat, hats between the kicks, over two bars.

The pattern

Bar 1

Closed hat

Open hat

Kick

Crash

Bar 2

Closed hat

Open hat

Kick

Crash

Bright cells are accents, dim ones are ghost notes. Each row is a pad; each column is a 16th note.

What you'll play

Kick on every beat, hats between the kicks, over two bars. Kick on all four beats, closed hat on every "and" between them. Bar 1 starts with a crash. Bar 2 opens the last hat.

Tip: Fingertips, curved fingers, wrists loose. Let the kick finger bounce.

Hear it first

The classic "boom-tss". The open hat lifts you into the next phrase.

Play it clean

Every kick the same volume. Left index kick, right middle hats and crash, right ring open hat. Pass with 85% as the tempo goes 112 → 116 → 120 BPM.