The pattern
120 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 | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Snare | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Clap | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Closed hi-hat | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit |
| Open hi-hat | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest |
| Low tom | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | hit |
How to play it and where it comes from
Italo disco (Italy, 1980–1988: Gazebo, Ryan Paris, Righeira, Baltimora, Den Harrow, Sabrina; producers such as Pierluigi Giombini, Celso Valli, La Bionda) at around 115–128, typically 120. Straight drum-machine four on the floor (LinnDrum, Oberheim DMX, TR-808, Simmons for the toms): kick on the quarter notes, snare+clap on 2 and 4, closed hi-hats in sixteenths with the open hat on the offbeat of every beat. The real groove comes from the eighth-note sequenced bass (often in alternating octaves). Simmons electronic tom fills on the last beat every 4–8 bars. Variants: synthetic handclaps on every quarter note in the choruses, snare with gated reverb, crash on the first beat of each section.