Drums › Grooves › Jungle / Amen Break
The Jungle / Amen Break drum groove
The pattern, step by step
One cell per sixteenth note, sixteen cells to the bar — exactly what the hub's drum machine plays. Downbeats are shown in bold.
Amen Break
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · |
| Snare | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | ● |
| Clap | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · |
| Hi-hat | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · |
| Open hi-hat | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
- Kick · 3 hits · steps 1, 9, 13 · beats 1, 3, 4
- Snare · 3 hits · steps 5, 13, 16 · beats 2, 4
- Clap · 1 hit · steps 13 · beats 4
- Hi-hat · 8 hits · steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 · beats 1, 2, 3, 4 · eighth notes
- Open hi-hat · 1 hit · steps 9 · beats 3
Jungle
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | ● | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · |
| Snare | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · |
| Hi-hat | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · |
| Open hi-hat | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
- Kick · 4 hits · steps 1, 5, 9, 13 · beats 1, 2, 3, 4 · quarter notes
- Snare · 2 hits · steps 7, 15
- Hi-hat · 8 hits · steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 · beats 1, 2, 3, 4 · eighth notes
- Open hi-hat · 2 hits · steps 2, 8
Where to start
Play it slowly first, at 90. The figure is not complicated: it is its displacement — the snare arriving one sixteenth early — that makes it inimitable.
What the hands and feet actually do
Jungle means slicing that break and gluing the pieces back in a different order. It is no longer really played drumming: it is editing, and you can hear it.
The trap
Gregory Coleman, who played that break, died homeless without ever receiving a penny in royalties. If you use it, at least know where it came from.
Listen to this
To hear the Jungle / Amen Break groove in its element:
Amen, Brother (The Winstons) · Original Nuttah (Shy FX) · Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A)
Drummers of this groove
Gregory Coleman
Played the Amen Break, six seconds that became the foundation of jungle, drum & bass and part of hip-hop.
The break sits on a 1969 B-side nobody noticed. Twenty years later it is sampled in tens of thousands of tracks. Coleman never received a penny and died homeless in Atlanta. It is the sharpest reminder that the history of recorded music is also a history of badly shared rights.
Amen, Brother (The Winstons)Neighbouring grooves
Play it right now
The Drum Hub's drum machine loads this pattern, plays it at any tempo and lets you edit it cell by cell.
Open the Drum Hub →Frequently asked questions
How do you play a Jungle / Amen Break groove on drums?
Play it slowly first, at 90. The figure is not complicated: it is its displacement — the snare arriving one sixteenth early — that makes it inimitable.
What tempo is Jungle / Amen Break played at?
The usual range runs from 130 to 175 BPM. The hub's 2 pattern(s) are set to 136 BPM, 160 BPM, and the tempo stays free inside the drum machine.
Is Jungle / Amen Break straight or shuffled?
Straight: the eighth notes are even, with no delay on the offbeats. That is what the hub's pattern plays.
Which drummer should you listen to for Jungle / Amen Break?
The Winstons, “Amen, Brother”. In the hub, Gregory Coleman is attached to this groove.