DrumFaster

Classic groove · Ndugu Chancler · Michael Jackson, 1982

Billie Jean

117 BPM · one bar · sixteenths, four steps to the beat

Crash step 1Crash step 2Crash step 3Crash step 4Crash step 5Crash step 6Crash step 7Crash step 8Crash step 9Crash step 10Crash step 11Crash step 12Crash step 13Crash step 14Crash step 15Crash step 16Ride step 1Ride step 2Ride step 3Ride step 4Ride step 5Ride step 6Ride step 7Ride step 8Ride step 9Ride step 10Ride step 11Ride step 12Ride step 13Ride step 14Ride step 15Ride step 16Open hat step 1Open hat step 2Open hat step 3Open hat step 4Open hat step 5Open hat step 6Open hat step 7Open hat step 8Open hat step 9Open hat step 10Open hat step 11Open hat step 12Open hat step 13Open hat step 14Open hat step 15Open hat step 16Hi-hat step 1Hi-hat step 2Hi-hat step 3Hi-hat step 4Hi-hat step 5Hi-hat step 6Hi-hat step 7Hi-hat step 8Hi-hat step 9Hi-hat step 10Hi-hat step 11Hi-hat step 12Hi-hat step 13Hi-hat step 14Hi-hat step 15Hi-hat step 16Hi tom step 1Hi tom step 2Hi tom step 3Hi tom step 4Hi tom step 5Hi tom step 6Hi tom step 7Hi tom step 8Hi tom step 9Hi tom step 10Hi tom step 11Hi tom step 12Hi tom step 13Hi tom step 14Hi tom step 15Hi tom step 16Low tom step 1Low tom step 2Low tom step 3Low tom step 4Low tom step 5Low tom step 6Low tom step 7Low tom step 8Low tom step 9Low tom step 10Low tom step 11Low tom step 12Low tom step 13Low tom step 14Low tom step 15Low tom step 16Snare step 1Snare step 2Snare step 3Snare step 4Snare step 5Snare step 6Snare step 7Snare step 8Snare step 9Snare step 10Snare step 11Snare step 12Snare step 13Snare step 14Snare step 15Snare step 16Kick step 1Kick step 2Kick step 3Kick step 4Kick step 5Kick step 6Kick step 7Kick step 8Kick step 9Kick step 10Kick step 11Kick step 12Kick step 13Kick step 14Kick step 15Kick step 16

16 steps · a brighter cell is an accent · the darker columns mark the beats (4 steps each). Rows used: Hi-hat, Snare, Kick.

▶ Open in the Groove Lab

What the drums do

The money beat, played so evenly it became a drum-machine reference. Kick on one and three, snare on two and four, eighths on a tight hi-hat. Nothing else, for four and a half minutes.

How to use it

  1. Open it in the lab and press play. Listen for the beats the note points at before you look at the grid.
  2. Tap ½ speed and play along on a pad or the kit until the placement is yours, then let it back up to 117.
  3. Change one thing. Move a kick, drop a ghost note, add an open hat. The groove is a starting point, and the lab saves what you make of it.