The Four/Floor groove
Kick on every beat, open hat on every offbeat, clap on 2 and 4 — the straight-ahead pulse every house and disco floor is built on.
What makes it feel this way
Four-on-the-floor puts a kick on all four quarter notes, which strips syncopation out of the bottom of the kit entirely — so the forward pull has to come from above. That job belongs to the open hi-hat sitting exactly halfway between the kicks: it rings for an eighth note and is then choked off by a closed hat on the next beat, which is what turns a cymbal wash into the clipped tss-tsss bounce. The machine kick keeps its analogue snap, but the weight underneath it is a struck acoustic bass drum tuned to 46 Hz, and the backbeat is a real snare — shell modes and wire rattle — sitting half a velocity under the electronic clap so 2 and 4 keep a transient on small speakers. Swing is zero on purpose, so listen instead for the offbeat sub-bass and minor-seventh stab landing with the open hat, the shaker running unbroken through every section, the modal conga and tom answering in the gaps the kick can never fill, and the vinyl bed that keeps the stripped section breathing after the weight is taken away.
It is loaded and playing
This page loads the groove as a full four-part arrangement — a main groove, a variation, a stripped-back section and a fill — chained together, on a kit built only for this rhythm. Press Space to hear it, open EDIT to see every hit on the step grid, and change anything you like. SHARE copies a link that rebuilds your version.
Other grooves
- Boom Bap91 BPM · HIP HOP
- Chipmunk Soul91 BPM · HIP HOP
- East Coast92 BPM · HIP HOP
- Trap Hats146 BPM · TRAP
- Disco120 BPM · DISCO
- Techno Stomp136 BPM · TECHNO
- Two Step134 BPM · GARAGE
- Motorik146 BPM · ROCK
- Jungle174 BPM · breakbeat
- Liquid Dnb174 BPM · drum-and-bass
- Neurofunk174 BPM · DRUM AND BASS
- Ragga Jungle170 BPM · breakbeat
- Amen Break174 BPM · BREAKS
- Funk Break102 BPM · BREAKS
- Half Shuffle92 BPM · ROCK
- Bo Diddley136 BPM · ROCK
- Second Line92 BPM · FUNK
- Dembow96 BPM · LATIN
- Bossa Nova136 BPM · LATIN
- Afrobeat114 BPM · AFRICAN
- One Drop74 BPM · REGGAE
DRUMMY 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.