Beatbay guide
Synthwave drum pattern
A synthwave beat is a 1980s drum-machine groove: a kick on 1 and 3 with a push before beat 4, a big gated snare on 2 and 4 that booms and then stops dead, steady eighth-note hi-hats, and under it a bass jumping between a note and its octave in eighths, at about 85 to 110 BPM.
The pattern
The kick plays on the one and on beat 3, with an extra hit just after it that pushes the bar forward. The snare is on 2 and 4 and does most of the work: it is huge but short. Hats tick in eighths, an open hat breathes at the end of each bar, and a roll of synth toms closes the second bar.
| Drum | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big kick | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | x | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | x | · | · | · | · | · |
| Gated snare | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | · |
| Hat | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · | x | · |
| Open hat | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · |
| Synth tom | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · | 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
The gated snare is the sound of the decade: a snare in a big bright room, with a noise gate that shuts the room off after about a quarter of a second, so it sounds enormous but leaves space. Beatbay makes it in code in the Neon kit. Keep the tempo between 85 and 110 BPM and the swing off: synthwave is straight and steady, like a car on a night motorway.
The beat above is Beatbay’s “Synthwave” starter: 100 BPM, straight. Tap any step to change it while it plays.
Make it your own
The starter’s bass is an FM bass, its chords an arpeggio playing each chord’s notes one sixteenth at a time, with a choir singing “aah” and a little tape in the mix; Pro lets you change all three. Free, try the Neon kit’s “Hey!” on the off-beat of beat 4.
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 is a gated snare?
A snare recorded with a lot of room reverb that a noise gate cuts off sharply, so the hit is big but short. It defines many 1980s records.
What BPM is synthwave?
Usually 85 to 110 BPM, with a straight feel and no swing.