octapadFREE OCTAPAD BEATS & RHYTHMS
Octapad rhythms.
Play your part.
Six original practice loops with a working octapad below: kaharwa and dadra from South Asian music, cumbia from Latin America, and three drum-kit grooves. Choose a rhythm to set its kit and tempo, press Play loop, then change the steps or play along. No download or account needed.
MAKE IT A LOOP
Make an octapad beat.
Tap steps to build a loop. Highlighted steps mark the main beats of the cycle; kaharwa and cumbia use 16 steps, dadra uses 12. Space starts or stops playback.
PATTERNS ARE SAVED ONLY IN THIS BROWSER.
01 / KAHARWA · 8 MATRAS
Kaharwa.
The bhajan beat.
An eight-matra taal heard in bhajans, film songs and folk music across South Asia. Its theka is Dha Ge Na Ti | Na Ka Dhi Na. Each matra takes two steps here, so one loop is one full cycle, played at 90 BPM on the World percussion kit.
Read the 16-step pattern
Bass drum for the bass strokes Dha, Ge, Ka and Dhi: steps 1, 3, 11 and 13. Hand drum for Dha, Na, Ti, Na, Dhi and Na: steps 1, 5, 7, 9, 13 and 15. Shaker: every odd-numbered step, one per matra. The fifth matra has no bass stroke; that is the khali.
Your practice task
Count the eight matras aloud and clap on step 1, the sam. Switch off the bass drum steps and play them yourself on pad A while the hand drum keeps the theka. When it feels even, try 110 BPM.
SYNTHESIZED SOUNDS. FOR A FULL INDIAN TABLA KIT, SEE TAAL FOR ANDROID.
02 / DADRA · 6 MATRAS
Dadra.
Six beats, two halves.
A six-matra taal in two groups of three, common in light classical, folk and devotional songs. Its theka is Dha Dhin Na | Dha Tin Na. This loop is 12 steps long, two per matra, at 90 BPM.
Read the 12-step pattern
Bass drum for Dha, Dhin and Dha: steps 1, 3 and 7. Hand drum: every odd-numbered step, one stroke per matra. Shaker: the same six steps. The highlighted steps 1 and 7 mark the sam and the khali.
Your practice task
Say “Dha Dhin Na, Dha Tin Na” with the loop until the two halves feel different. Then play the bass strokes yourself on pad A and keep the second half light.
03 / CUMBIA · 4/4
Cumbia.
Bombo y llamador.
The pulse of cumbia from Colombia to Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico: a bass drum on beats 1 and 3, a drum answering on every offbeat, and a scraper running underneath. Loaded at 95 BPM on the World percussion kit.
Read the 16-step pattern
Bass drum as the bombo: steps 1 and 9. Low conga as the llamador: steps 3, 7, 11 and 15, the “and” of every beat. Shaker as the güira or guacharaca: all sixteen steps.
Your practice task
Add the bell on steps 5 and 13 for a campana on beats 2 and 4. Then switch off the low conga steps and play the offbeats yourself on pad J; that offbeat is what makes cumbia move.
04 / BEGINNER BEAT
Kick. Snare.
Keep it steady.
A four-beat loop with the kick on beats 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and closed hi-hats every half beat. The Studio drums kit makes each part easy to hear.
Read the 16-step pattern
Each beat has four steps. Kick: steps 1 and 9. Snare: 5 and 13. Closed hat: every odd-numbered step.
Your practice task
Turn off the two kick steps in the sequencer and play those hits yourself while the snare and hats continue. Keep a steady pulse for four bars.
Read the complete beginner octapad lesson →05 / FOUR ON THE FLOOR
A kick on
every beat.
A steady electronic groove using the 808 kit at 120 BPM. A kick marks all four beats while the open hat lands halfway between them.
Read the pattern
Kick and closed hat: steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. Snare and clap: 5 and 13. Open hat: 3, 7, 11 and 15.
Your practice task
Lower the tempo to 90 BPM and follow the open-hat flashes. Practice playing the spaces between the kicks. Raise the tempo only when that feels even.
06 / BROKEN BEAT
Leave space.
Add surprise.
A Lo-fi room groove at 95 BPM with kick hits away from some numbered beats. Short gaps in the hats leave space for the accents.
Read the pattern
Kick: steps 1, 7 and 11. Snare: 5 and 13. Closed hat: 1, 3, 7, 9, 11 and 15. High tom: 12. Open hat: 16.
Your practice task
Listen for a complete bar before joining in. Keep the snare steady, then try a small amount of swing and hear how it shifts alternating steps.
Turn your octapad beat into a song.
The browser loops use synthesized sounds and repeat one cycle. TAAL for Android adds a full Indian tabla kit, sample import for your own dholak or cumbia sounds, patterns up to 32 steps and song arrangement. Web patterns do not transfer automatically.
Explore TAAL for Android →