Beatbay guide
New jack swing drum pattern
New jack swing is late-1980s R&B on drum machines with a hard swing: sixteenth-note hi-hats swung to about 60 to 65%, a kick that skips across the bar, a sharp snare on 2 and 4, and bright stabs such as orchestra hits, at about 100 to 110 BPM.
The pattern
The kick plays the one, then skips: a sixteenth before beat 2, again before beat 2’s “and”, then on 3 and around it. The snare is short and snappy on 2 and 4. The hi-hat plays every sixteenth, and the swing pushes every second one late, which is the whole style.
| Drum | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punchy kick | X | · | · | x | · | · | x | · | · | · | X | · | · | x | · | · | X | · | · | x | · | · | x | · | · | · | X | · | · | x | · | · |
| Snap snare | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · |
| Hat | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Orchestra hit | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Uh! | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 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
Set the swing between 60 and 66% on sixteenths: below that it sounds straight, above it a shuffle. A snare with very little room and a punchy kick keep it tight. Brass or orchestra stabs on the one, and an “Uh!” on the off-beat, are the decoration.
The beat above is Beatbay’s “New jack swing” starter: 106 BPM, swing 66%. Tap any step to change it while it plays.
Make it your own
The starter uses Beatbay’s Freestyle kit (Pro), with its orchestra hit on the tom row and an “Uh!” on the rim row. Try nudging a hi-hat or two late, and the Synth brass chords in sevenths.
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
Why is it called swing?
Because every second sixteenth note is played late, as in swing jazz, which gives the drums a bounce.