EBM drum pattern
124 BPM · 50% swing · 16 steps · MM-RYTM
Electronic Body Music (DAF, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb) is square and martial: a hard kick, a big gated snare and no swing at all.
The pattern
EBM drum pattern at 124 BPM, 16 steps. Each number is the velocity of the step, 9 the loudest and 3 a ghost note; an empty cell is a rest.
| Voice | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick (BD) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Snare (SD) | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| Closed hat (CH) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| Clap (CP) | 6 | 6 |
The sounds in MM-RYTM: kick Carassi, snare Psy 26, hats 909, clap 909.
Why it works
Kick on every beat, hard and saturated, a big snare on 2 and 4 with a gated clap under it, and closed hats on every eighth note at one flat velocity (7). No swing (50%) and no ghost notes: the strictness is the style. The drive is pushed and the long tail of the snare is cut by its decay.
Two variations
- Add a closed hat on every sixteenth for the chorus, still at one velocity.
- Leave the clap alone on step 13 for one bar out of four: a short break before the next phrase.
Program it on any drum machine
- Set the tempo to 124 BPM and the swing to 50% (50% is straight).
- Program one voice at a time from the grid, starting with the kick, then the snare and clap, then the hats.
- Use the numbers as velocities: on a machine with only accents, accent the 8s and 9s and leave the 3s and 4s as soft notes.
- Or skip all that: open the beat below in MM-RYTM, every step, sound and effect is already set.
Play it, download it
General MIDI drum notes: kick 36, snare 38, clap 39, closed hat 42, open hat 46, low tom 45, high tom 50, cymbal 49. One bar, swing included.
Change it, then press SHARE in the header of MM-STUDIO: you get a link to your own version.
From Maudite Machine
- Maudite Machine tracks and releases
- MM-RYTM, the free online drum machine
- MM-STUDIO: drum machine, synth and DJ decks