How to Play a Disco Beat on Drums

After it rose to fame in the mid 1970s, disco became one of the country's most recognizable styles of pop music. Its driving beats, soaring melodies and funky instrumentation all made it the perfect soundtrack for the drug-fueled dance parties of the time. To build your own disco track, you'll need to start with the drumbeat.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start with the 4/4 or "common time" time signature. Though there were exceptions to the rule, most disco songs featured this metrical structure.

2. Play the bass drum on every beat. Traditional pop/rock rhythms feature the bass drum on only the downbeats (counts 1 and 3), but disco also uses it on the upbeats (counts 2 and 4).

3. Add a hi-hat pattern onto your bass drum foundation. Playing continuous eighth-notes, open the hi-hat on every upbeat and close it on every down beat.

4. Add snare drum hits on beats 2 and 4. This is the classic pop/rock snare pattern, but it takes on new life when backed by the bass and hi-hat disco rhythms.

5. Use drum fills and cymbal splashes sparingly. The true stars of disco music are the melody and the syncopated background instruments, so keep the beat steady and avoid ostentatious riffs.

6. Listen to classic disco tracks and pay attention to the drum beats' structure. If you hear a specific fill or pattern you like, don't hesitate to throw it into your performance.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the beat as mechanical and as even as you can.