Basic Trap
Snare on beat 3 only — the halftime backbeat. Steady eighth hats with a roll into the next bar.
1234
Hi-hat
Clap
Kick
Free tool · no account needed
Trap Drum Patterns
Trap patterns built the way producers actually build them: written at 140, felt at 70, with hi-hats doing most of the work.
2 patterns 130–150 BPM Free MIDI
Drum kit
Real recorded kits, not synthesised. Loads on first play.
Rolling Hats
The hat carries the pattern: steady sixteenths broken by bursts. Sparse 808 placement leaves room for the bass to move.
1234
Open hat
Hi-hat
Clap
Kick
Made with Drumloop AI — describe a beat and hear it in seconds.
Generate drum loops with Drumloop AIHow to play these trap patterns
- Press play to hear the pattern, and follow the moving column on the grid to see where each hit lands.
- Slow the tempo down until you can play along comfortably, then raise it a few BPM at a time.
- Filled cells are full-volume hits and dim cells are ghost notes — play them much quieter, they matter more than they look.
- Download the MIDI to open the pattern in your DAW, or generate an original variation with AI.
How trap drum programming works
Trap is the clearest example of halftime in modern production. The project runs at 130–150 BPM, but the snare lands on beat 3 rather than on 2 and 4, so the backbeat arrives half as often and the track feels like 70. Meanwhile the hi-hats run at the full tempo and subdivide further into 32nd and even 64th-note rolls. Two speeds, one grid.
The hi-hat is the lead rhythmic instrument, which is unusual. In rock and funk the hat keeps time while the kick and snare carry the groove; in trap the kick and snare mark structure while the hat improvises. Rolls, triplet bursts and sudden gaps in the hat pattern are where the interest lives, and a trap beat with a mechanically even hat sounds unfinished.
The kick is the third element, and in trap it is usually the 808 — a long, tuned sine that functions as bassline and kick simultaneously. That means kick placement is a melodic decision as much as a rhythmic one. The patterns below are written at 140 BPM in sixteenths; set the player to 70 BPM to hear the halftime feel isolated. The free trap loop library has produced examples.
Trap tempo and feel
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Typical tempo range | 130–150 BPM |
| Centre of gravity | 140 BPM |
| Character | Written at 140 but felt at 70 — the halftime illusion. |
| Practise with | 140 BPM metronome |
| Loops at this tempo | 140 BPM drum loops |
Frequently asked questions
Is trap 140 BPM or 70 BPM?
The project tempo is usually 140, which is what the hi-hats follow. The snare or clap lands on beat 3 instead of beats 2 and 4, so the backbeat arrives half as often and the groove feels like 70 BPM. Producers work at 140; listeners feel 70. Both numbers are correct depending on what you are measuring.
How do I program trap hi-hats?
Start with steady eighths or sixteenths, then break them. Add a burst of 32nd or triplet notes once or twice a bar, vary the velocity so the pattern breathes, and leave occasional gaps. A perfectly even hi-hat is the most common thing that makes an amateur trap beat sound unfinished.
What is an 808?
A long, tuned sine-wave kick taken from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Because it sustains and has a definite pitch, it works as kick drum and bassline at once, which is why trap kick placement is as much a melodic decision as a rhythmic one.
Where can I get trap drum loops?
The free trap drum loop library has royalty-free recorded loops you can use straight away. Drumloop AI will also generate an original trap loop at any tempo from a text description.
More free music tools
Need an original trap groove?
Describe the beat you want and Drumloop AI generates it — original, royalty-free trap drums at any tempo.