The pattern
66 BPM · 12/8 · 12 step
| Instrument | Beat 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Beat 2 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Beat 3 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Beat 4 | Step 11 | Step 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest |
| Snare | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest |
| Closed hi-hat | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
How to play it and where it comes from
The 1950s ballad in 12/8 (doo-wop: The Platters' "Only You", Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", "Earth Angel"): 4 pulses per bar divided into triplets. Piano and hi-hat/ride play all the triplets (the typical piano "tri-pli-ti"), kick on 1 and 3 of the pulses, snare (or cross-stick) on 2 and 4. The BPM (66) refers to the dotted quarter. Vocal chorus with vocalizations ("doo-wop," "sha-la") over the I–vi–IV–V progression. Variants: snare only on 4, triplets on the ride, crash on the final chorus.