Afrobeat beat maker: parts that lock, not parts that stack
Afrobeat is built out of short percussion parts that each sound incomplete on their own and lock into something that swings when they run together. No single line carries the groove - the groove is the gaps between three or four of them. This page opens with that already assembled.
Build it one part at a time
Mute every lane but the shaker and let it run. Add the conga, and listen to how it fills the spaces the shaker leaves rather than doubling it. Then the rim, then the kick. Building a groove out of parts that avoid each other is a completely different habit from stacking parts that agree, and it is the one worth practising here.
Afrobeat and afrobeats
The older Afrobeat - Fela Kuti's - is horn-led, long-form and heavily polyrhythmic. Modern afrobeats is the pop descendant: the same interlocking percussion, tighter arrangements, around 100 to 110 BPM. The drum programming works for both; the difference is mostly what goes on top and how long you let it run.
Keep the kick out of the way
The kick is not the centre here. Give it beat 1 and one syncopated hit, then let the percussion do the work. If a pattern sounds stiff, take a kick out rather than adding a shaker.
Related tools
- Drum pads online16 pads · any tempo
- Finger drumming practicepads · velocity · repeat
- Boom bap beat maker88-94 BPM · swung
- Amen break maker165 BPM · the real break
- Amapiano beat maker110-115 BPM · log drums
- Drill beat maker138-145 BPM · half-time
- Phonk beat maker130-160 BPM · cowbell
- Reggaeton beat maker90-100 BPM · dembow
- Beat maker gameplay it like a game
- Learn Afrobeat finger drummingstep by step · 7 parts · polyrhythm
- Learn boom bap finger drummingstep by step · 7 parts · swing
- Learn dembow finger drummingstep by step · 6 parts · tresillo
- Learn Dilla swing finger drummingstep by step · 7 parts · feel
- Learn the half-time shufflestep by step · 8 parts · triplets
- Learn house finger drummingstep by step · 6 parts · four on the floor
- Learn jungle finger drummingstep by step · 8 parts · scored
- Learn trap finger drummingstep by step · 7 parts · half-time
Other grooves
- Boom Bap91 BPM · HIP HOP
- Chipmunk Soul91 BPM · HIP HOP
- East Coast Hip Hop92 BPM · HIP HOP
- Trap Hi-Hat146 BPM · TRAP
- Dubstep140 BPM · BASS
- Four on the Floor124 BPM · HOUSE
- Disco120 BPM · DISCO
- Techno136 BPM · TECHNO
- Two Step134 BPM · GARAGE
- Motorik146 BPM · ROCK
- Jungle174 BPM · breakbeat
- Liquid Drum and Bass174 BPM · drum-and-bass
- Neurofunk Drum and Bass174 BPM · DRUM AND BASS
- Ragga Jungle170 BPM · breakbeat
- Amen Break174 BPM · BREAKS
- Amen Chops165 BPM · BREAKS
- Funk Break102 BPM · BREAKS
- Half-Time Shuffle92 BPM · ROCK
- Bo Diddley Beat136 BPM · ROCK
- Second Line92 BPM · FUNK
- Dembow96 BPM · DANCEHALL
- Bossa Nova136 BPM · LATIN
- Afrobeat114 BPM · AFRICAN
- One Drop Reggae74 BPM · REGGAE
Wondering about tempo? What BPM is afrobeats? - 100-115 BPM, and why.
BAP Studio is inspired by classic 16-pad sampler and drum-machine workflows. It is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Akai Professional, Roland, or any other manufacturer.
Made by Max Berggren.