Ingredients
- A BPM between 97 and 126
- Four to the floor kick drum (with 16th note grace notes before some of the beats)
- Rock solid back beat snare on the two and the four
- Syncopated swung 16th note hi-hat pattern, hitting hardest on the off beats (with ad hoc variations to keep it interesting)
- baseline locked in with the four to the floor kick
Method
Combine the ingredients with care ensuring enough variation in the details of the percussion patterns to keep the ear interested.
Use snare fills and restrained tom rolls to mark transitions between song sections.
Pair with a largely diatonic (in the key) chord progression or even a single chord in the verses.
Spice up the harmony while simplifying the rhythmic pattern in the pre-chorus or chorus to create a meaningful change.
Top with simple, open voweled lyrics that are easy for you audience to sing along to and a hooky, repetitive melody.
Serve at parties.