Beatbay guide
Afrobeats drum pattern
An afrobeats groove has a bouncy kick, claps on beats 2 and 4, a busy shaker, and percussion that plays a three-three-two clave pattern across the bar, at about 100 to 115 BPM.
The pattern
The kick plays the one and comes back just before beats 2 and 4, so it bounces. The clap marks 2 and 4. The clave plays a 3-3-2 pattern; congas and bongos answer it.
| Drum | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low drum | X | · | · | · | · | · | x | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | x | · |
| Hand clap | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · |
| Shaker | x | · | x | x | · | x | x | · | x | · | x | x | · | x | x | · |
| Conga | · | · | x | · | · | x | · | · | · | · | x | · | · | x | · | · |
| Clave | X | · | · | X | · | · | X | · | · | · | X | · | X | · | · | · |
| Bongo | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x |
Read across: each column is a sixteenth note, numbered on the beats. X is an accent, x a hit, r a quick roll, ? a hit that plays only some of the time round.
Tempo and feel
Light and danceable, at about 100 to 115 BPM. The percussion carries it, so keep each part simple and let them interlock.
The beat above is Beatbay’s “Afrobeats” starter: 104 BPM, straight. Tap any step to change it while it plays.
Make it your own
Try Beatbay’s Latin percussion kit (Pro) for congas, bongos, claves and shaker, and with Pro add a four-chord loop on the chords track.
When you like it, “Open in Beatbay” takes your version into the app, where you can save it, add patterns and share it as a link, a video or a WAV.
Questions
What BPM is afrobeats?
Usually 100 to 115 BPM.
Is afrobeats the same as afrobeat?
No. Afrobeat (singular) is the older style with long jams and horns; afrobeats is the newer pop and dance music that took its name.