The Rhythmic Alphabet

Every playable one-beat pattern — binary letters A–O over four sixteenth-note slots, ternary letters Q–W over three triplet slots. Pick a letter to hear it as a drum groove.

Binary · 16ths · A–O

• Pattern A x · · ·

  one sixteenth-note hit on '1'

• Pattern B · x · ·

  one sixteenth-note hit on 'e'

• Pattern C · · x ·

  one sixteenth-note hit on '&'

• Pattern D · · · x

  one sixteenth-note hit on 'a'

• Pattern E x x · ·

  two sixteenth-note hits, on '1' and 'e'

• Pattern F · x x ·

  two sixteenth-note hits, on 'e' and '&'

• Pattern G · · x x

  two sixteenth-note hits, on '&' and 'a'

• Pattern H x · · x

  two sixteenth-note hits, on '1' and 'a'

• Pattern I x · x ·

  two sixteenth-note hits, on '1' and '&'

• Pattern J · x · x

  two sixteenth-note hits, on 'e' and 'a'

• Pattern K x x x ·

  three sixteenth-note hits, on '1', 'e' and '&'

• Pattern L · x x x

  three sixteenth-note hits, on 'e', '&' and 'a'

• Pattern M x · x x

  three sixteenth-note hits, on '1', '&' and 'a'

• Pattern N x x · x

  three sixteenth-note hits, on '1', 'e' and 'a'

• Pattern O x x x x

  four sixteenth-note hits, on '1', 'e', '&' and 'a'

Ternary · triplets · Q–W

• Pattern Q x · ·

  one triplet hit on '1'

• Pattern R · x ·

  one triplet hit on '&'

• Pattern S · · x

  one triplet hit on 'a'

• Pattern T x x ·

  two triplet hits, on '1' and '&'

• Pattern U · x x

  two triplet hits, on '&' and 'a'

• Pattern V x · x

  two triplet hits, on '1' and 'a'

• Pattern W x x x

  three triplet hits, on '1', '&' and 'a'

Open Groove — the drum-pattern trainer these letters come from.