The pattern
126 BPM · 4/4 · 16 step
| Instrument | Beat 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Beat 2 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Beat 3 | Step 10 | Step 11 | Step 12 | Beat 4 | Step 14 | Step 15 | Step 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest |
| Clap | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| High tom | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest |
| Low tom | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest |
| Shaker | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit |
How to play it and where it comes from
Didactic pattern: traditional gqom avoids four on the floor and uses a broken, syncopated kick (here 1, 1a, 2&, 3&) with low and high toms answering, dry clap on 2 and 4, shaker/hi-hat in sixteenths. The sound is minimal, raw, repetitive, with lots of sub and dark reverbs; the 'sweep' (filtered noise, like a broom), Zulu chants, whistles and howls round it out. The sgubhu substyle returns to the kick on the quarter notes; 3-step groups the hits in threes. The BPM given (≈120–130) is the most common in the reference tracks but is not confirmed by the sources consulted.