Learn trap finger drumming, one part at a time
Trap is a half-time beat at a double-time tempo: the clap lands once a bar while the hats run at 140. Under the hands that means a slow, spacious left side and a fast right side, and this page teaches them separately before it asks for both.
How this page teaches
The whole groove is already in the machine - open EDIT and it is there on the grid, 2 bars of it. The LEARN panel takes it a part at a time, in 7 steps. Press LISTEN and the part you are learning plays, with the pads lighting as it goes and everything you have already learned running underneath it. Press YOUR TURN and that part goes silent: the loop keeps going, you play the part yourself, and every pass of the loop is scored - hits landed, hits missed, extra hits, and how far off the grid you were. Two clean passes in a row and the step is yours; NEXT adds the next part on top of what you can already play.
The tempo buttons (110, 125, 140, 150) are the most important control here. Learn each part slow, bring it up one notch at a time, and only play the last step at full speed once the one before it is clean at full speed. Your place is remembered, so come back tomorrow and the step you were on is waiting.
Hands
The pads are the same shape as the keyboard: Z X C V along the bottom, A S D F above, Q W E R above that, 1 2 3 4 on top. Each step names its pads and keys, and the pads it wants are ringed on the grid. Play quietly by default - every pad reads velocity, and the quiet parts are supposed to be quiet. If a hit lights the pad bright white, that was a loud one.
The steps
1. The kick
The one, the "&" of 2, the "a" of 3 - then bar two adds one on the "&" of 4. Z.
Trap kicks are sparse and syncopated: after the one, they avoid the beats. The "&" of 2 pushes, the "a" of 3 drags into the four. Count 16ths for this one.
2. The clap on 3
One clap a bar, on beat 3. V.
Half-time: the snare only lands on 3, so a bar at 140 reads like a bar at 70. It should be the loudest thing you play on this page.
3. Kick and clap together
Both hands, only the click.
Nine hits over two bars with a lot of space in them. Space is the hard part - a hit that comes early to fill it is the most common mistake in trap drumming.
4. The hats
Mostly 8ths on A, with a gap after each clap and a hit on the "e" of 4 in bar two.
The hats are the busiest part and they are still not constant: the rest after the clap is what makes the roll in the next step land. Accent the beats, keep the "&"s at half.
5. The rolls
Hat rolls on S, on the 16ths that fill toward the four - a burst of three before each bar ends.
On a real trap beat these are 32nds and triplets, and you play them by holding REPEAT at 1/32. Here they are taught on the 16th so the score can follow you: the shape - short bursts that lead into the downbeat - is what matters.
6. The 808
Two long 808 notes a bar: with the one, and with the "a" of 3. Q.
The 808 doubles two of the kicks and holds. Play it with the kick, not after it - on a controller these would be the same hand hitting two pads.
7. Everything
Five pads. No help.
The whole trap loop by hand at 140 is fast; that is why the tempo chips go down to 110. The hats are the part that will fall apart first - and the part that matters least. Keep the kick and clap perfect and let the rest catch up.
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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.