Last week you locked in boom bap's snare authority, kick stability, and straight-eighth discipline. You understand the foundation. Now it's time to meet the evolution.
Week 8 is trap—the sound that redefined hip-hop production from Atlanta outward. Where boom bap is weight and pocket, trap is tension and energy. Where boom bap keeps it minimal, trap layers complexity through hi-hat rolls that sit on top of a deceptively simple groove underneath.
Both matter. Boom bap taught you where to hit. Trap teaches you how to move between hits.
What's Inside This Guide
🎯 Week 8 Warm-Up: Trap Preparation Drills
Trap demands two things your warm-up needs to address: hi-hat speed control and half-time snare placement. These drills build both before you touch the full patterns.
Warm-Up 1: 16th Note Hi-Hat Endurance
The foundation of every trap groove is a steady wall of 16th-note hi-hats. Before you roll, you need to sustain.
What you're doing: Play closed hi-hats as continuous 16th notes for two minutes at 40/60 BPM. Every single subdivision. No gaps.
Which finger does what:
- PAD3 (Hi-hat closed): Right hand index finger, strict alternating motion
What to focus on:
- Every hit is exactly the same volume — no ghost hits, no accents yet
- Count "1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-4-e-and-a" out loud — these are 16th note subdivisions
- Keep your wrist loose. Tension is a speed ceiling and a stamina killer
- Don't speed up as you get comfortable — that's the trap (pun intended)
Practice for 2 minutes. If your wrist tenses up before the 2-minute mark, you've found the weak point. That's exactly what you need to strengthen.
💡 Real Talk: Boom bap used 8th-note hats. Trap uses 16ths as a baseline and then adds rolls on top. You're doubling your hat density before you even start rolling. Build the endurance first.
Warm-Up 2: Half-Time Snare Lock
Trap's defining groove characteristic is the half-time feel. In boom bap, your snare lands on beats 2 and 4. In trap, the main snare typically lands only on beat 3—which makes the whole groove feel slower and heavier than the tempo suggests.
What you're doing: Play play the hihats and add snare only on beat 3 (step 9 in the 16-step grid). Count all four beats out loud while doing it.
Which finger does what:
- PAD3 (Hi-hat closed): Right hand index finger, strict alternating motion
- PAD2 (Snare): Left hand index finger — one hit per bar, exactly on beat 3
What to focus on:
- The snare should feel delayed — like it's coming later than expected
- That "late" feeling IS the half-time groove. Don't fight it, lean into it
- Count all four beats out loud: "1, 2, 3 (hit), 4" — make the snare interrupt your count
- One strong hit, not two. Resist muscle memory from boom bap's backbeat
Practice for 2 minutes. When beat 3's snare starts to feel natural — not late, just right — you've internalized the half-time feel.
💡 Common Problem: Your hands want to hit on 2 & 4 from last week. This is good muscle memory, but you need to override it for trap. The half-time snare is what gives trap its slow, heavy energy at fast tempos.
Warm-Up 3: Triplet Hi-Hat Burst (The Roll Foundation)
Trap's most recognizable signature is the hi-hat roll — rapid-fire triplet bursts that cut through the groove. This drill isolates the motor skill before you put it in a pattern.
What you're doing: Play three quick hi-hat hits in a row (a triplet burst), then rest for one beat, then repeat. Think: "da-da-da... rest... da-da-da... rest..."
Which finger does what:
- PAD3 (Hi-hat): Right index for the first hit, then alternating middle/index for the next two
What to focus on:
- All three hits in the burst should be even — no acceleration, no deceleration
- The burst should feel tight: three quick hits that land as one rhythmic unit
- Rest completely between bursts — the silence matters as much as the notes
- Start slow. Speed comes from accuracy, not force
Practice for 3 minutes. When you can play clean bursts without the hits blurring together, you have the motor control for trap's hi-hat rolls.
💡 Real Talk: Hi-hat rolls are where beginners panic and rush. The roll isn't about speed — it's about control at speed. Slow it down until each hit is clean, then gradually push the tempo up. Never chase speed at the cost of clarity.
🎯 What Is Trap?
Trap music emerged from Atlanta in the early 2000s, pioneered by producers like Shawty Redd, Zaytoven, and later codified into a global sound by Metro Boomin, Lex Luger, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Southside. The name comes from the "trap house" — a place where drugs are sold — and the music carries that energy: tension, urgency, and weight.
Rhythmically, trap is built on a fundamental paradox: fast tempo, slow feel.
A trap beat typically runs at 130–160 BPM. But the half-time snare placement (beat 3 only, instead of beats 2 & 4) makes the groove feel like it's moving at half that speed. You're running at 140 BPM but it feels like 70. That contrast — the rushing hi-hat rolls against the heavy, patient snare — is what creates trap's signature tension.
The four pillars of trap rhythm:
- 808 kick: Deep, sustained, often with pitch — the low-end foundation that can sustain like a bass note rather than just punching like a traditional kick drum
- Half-time snare: Landing primarily on beat 3, creating a groove that feels twice as slow as the tempo suggests
- 16th-note hi-hat base: Continuous 16th notes forming the rhythmic bed that holds the groove together
- Hi-hat rolls: Rapid triplet or 32nd-note bursts that add texture, momentum, and the genre's most recognizable fingerprint
Where boom bap says "stay in the pocket," trap says "build the tension." Both approaches are valid. Both require discipline. They just create different emotional effects.
📚 Study These First (Listen Before You Play)
Before practicing the patterns below, spend 10 minutes with these tracks. Don't analyze — just listen. Let the groove land in your body before your hands try to replicate it.
What to listen for:
- Where does the snare land? Notice how infrequently it hits compared to boom bap
- How long are the hi-hat rolls? Some are 3 hits, some are 6, some are 12 — they vary
- How does the 808 behave? It doesn't just punch — it sustains, slides, and carries melody
- How much silence exists between elements? Trap uses space as aggressively as sound
Reference Tracks:
- "Bad and Boujee" by Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert (prod. Metro Boomin, ~130 BPM) — The textbook hi-hat roll pattern. Count the rolls and notice they're never the same length twice. That variation is the art.
- "Antidote" by Travis Scott (prod. Southside & London On Da Track, ~140 BPM) — Cleaner, more minimal trap. Easier to hear the half-time snare and 808 placement clearly against the hi-hat texture.
- "Jumpman" by Drake & Future (prod. Metro Boomin & Southside, ~150 BPM) — Notice how the kick is mostly absent in sections. The 808 carries the low end entirely. This is what "808-driven" means.
Listen twice: once for feel, once for drum placement. Then come back and play.
🥁 Pattern 1: Basic Trap Groove (Beginner)
Strip trap down to its skeleton. No rolls yet — just the core groove that everything else sits on top of.
What you're learning:
- 16th-note hi-hats as a continuous backdrop
- Half-time snare locked on beat 3
- 808 kick on beats 1 and the "and" of 2 (creating forward lean)
- How much a sparse pattern can groove at the right tempo
Tempo: Start at 75 BPM. This is slower than real trap, but at 75 BPM with 16th-note hats, your hands are moving at the equivalent of 150 BPM worth of subdivision. Get the muscle memory first.
Why This Matters
The half-time feel in practice: Play this and count the beats. The snare on beat 3 feels like it arrives "late" relative to boom bap. That delay IS the groove. You're training your body to sit in a different rhythmic pocket — one that's patient where boom bap is assertive.
Kick placement logic: Beat 1 establishes the downbeat. The kick on the "and" of 2 (step 6 in the grid) creates the forward lean — that subtle push into beat 3 that makes the snare feel inevitable when it arrives. This is the hook that makes people bob their heads.
Hat endurance: 16 continuous 16th notes per bar. Your right hand is doing the work of boom bap's entire pattern on its own. That's the new baseline.
Practice Strategy
- Start with just hats and snare — no kick. Get the snare locked on beat 3 with 16th hats running underneath
- Add kick only after 2 minutes with hats alone
- Loop the full pattern for 3 minutes at 75 BPM
- Push to 90 BPM when it feels solid — this is where it starts sounding like actual trap
💡 Key Insight: This pattern sounds simple on paper. It IS simple on paper. But playing 16th-note hats continuously while placing a snare accurately on beat 3 and managing a kick pattern is a genuine coordination challenge. Respect the simplicity. Don't rush to Pattern 2.
🥁 Pattern 2: Hi-Hat Integration (Intermediate)
Now we add the signature element: the hi-hat. This is what separates trap from everything else rhythmically.
What changes:
- Hi-hat rolls (rapid 16th triplet bursts) added before beats 2 and 4
- Open hi-hat accent on beat 4 for variation and breath
- Kick adds a hit on the "and" of 3 for groove momentum
- The rolls create rhythmic turbulence that makes the snare hit harder by contrast
Tempo: 90 BPM. Start here, work toward 120 BPM once you're clean.
What This Adds
The roll's function: The three-hit roll before beat 4 (steps 13-15 in the grid) creates what producers call "rhythmic tension release." You're building energy rapidly, then landing on the open hi-hat on beat 4 as a release point — like a small exhale before the whole cycle resets. Listen for this in "Bad and Boujee" specifically.
Open hi-hat as punctuation: That single open hat on beat 4 creates a longer, sustained sound that contrasts with the tight closed hats throughout the bar. It signals the end of the bar, makes transitions feel natural, and gives the groove texture without adding complexity. Metro Boomin uses this constantly.
The new kick hit: Adding the kick on the "and" of 3 (step 11) gives the groove an extra push heading toward beat 4. Combined with the roll, the groove now has a clear arc: kick settles, snare anchors, roll builds, open hat releases, repeat.
Practice Strategy
- Isolate the roll first: Practice just steps 13-15 (the three-hit burst before the open hat) as a standalone exercise for 2 minutes
- Add the open hat: Roll then open hat. Get that two-element transition clean
- Add the full hat pattern: Now play continuous 16th notes leading into the roll, then the open hat. This is the trickiest transition
- Add kick and snare last once the hat pattern is fluid
💡 The Hard Part: The transition from continuous 16th notes INTO the roll and then the open hat is where most beginners stumble. Your hand wants to either slow down before the roll (anticipating it) or rush through it. The roll should emerge from the 16ths naturally — same hand speed, just more density. Practice the transition in isolation until it's invisible.
🎯 Advanced Challenge: Full Trap Build
If you've got Pattern 2 clean at 90 BPM, here's the full production-level pattern — the kind of thing you'd actually hear on a Metro Boomin beat. This integrates ghost snare notes before beat 3 to create texture, and a second roll burst mid-bar for density.
Only attempt this if you can play Pattern 2 for 2 continuous minutes at 90 BPM without losing the snare placement or the roll transition.
What this does: The kick on the "and" of 4 (step 15) sets up the next bar's beat 1 — it's a pickup kick, pulling you forward into the loop. This is the rhythmic equivalent of turning a corner. It makes the pattern feel circular rather than square.
At 100 BPM this pattern starts approaching real production tempo. Push toward 120 BPM over the course of the week if you're there.
🧠 Boom Bap vs. Trap: What Actually Changed
1. Snare Placement Changed Everything
Boom bap: snare on beats 2 AND 4 (four-on-the-floor feel, driving, assertive). Trap: snare primarily on beat 3 (half-time feel, patient, heavy). This single change is responsible for most of the emotional difference between the two genres. Same 16th-note grid. Completely different body response.
2. The 808 Is Not A Kick Drum
In boom bap, the kick drum punches: short attack, quick decay, clear rhythmic placement. In trap, the 808 bass sustains — it can hold for an entire bar, slide between pitches, and carry melodic information. When you hear a trap beat with what sounds like a bassline, that's usually a pitched 808 doing melodic work. It's a percussion instrument playing melodic roles simultaneously.
3. Hi-Hat Density vs. Hi-Hat Discipline
Boom bap trains you to play fewer notes with more authority. Trap trains you to play more notes with more control. Neither is harder than the other — they challenge different muscles. Boom bap is about confidence in restraint. Trap is about precision at speed.
4. Tension as a Tool
Boom bap resolves. The groove cycles cleanly, snare hits are predictable, the listener feels settled. Trap doesn't fully resolve — the hi-hat rolls create constant micro-tension, the half-time snare delays satisfaction, and the groove feels like it's always leaning forward. That forward lean is the genre's energy engine.
📈 7-Day Practice Plan
Day 1: Warm-Up Drills Only
- Tempo: 65–70 BPM
- Focus: All three warm-ups. Specifically the triplet burst drill — 3 full minutes on this alone
- Goal: Clean triplet bursts. If they blur, slow down further
Day 2: Pattern 1 Introduction
- Tempo: 75 BPM
- Focus: Half-time snare placement, 16th-hat endurance
- Goal: Loop Pattern 1 for 3 minutes without losing the snare on beat 3
Day 3: Pattern 1 Speed Build
- Tempo: 75 BPM → 90 BPM (increase by 5 BPM when each feels clean)
- Focus: Maintaining hat density at increasing tempo
- Goal: Pattern 1 at 90 BPM, no metronome needed by end of session
Day 4: Pattern 2 Isolated Elements
- Tempo: 75 BPM
- Focus: Roll-to-open-hat transition in isolation before adding it to the full pattern
- Goal: The roll feels like a natural continuation of the 16ths, not an interruption
Day 5: Pattern 2 Full Integration
- Tempo: 80–90 BPM
- Focus: Full Pattern 2 with all elements
- Goal: 3 clean minutes at 90 BPM. Count the roll hits out loud if needed
Day 6: Boom Bap vs. Trap Alternation
- Tempo: 85–90 BPM (works for both)
- Practice: 4 bars of Pattern 1 from last week's boom bap. 4 bars of this week's Trap Pattern 1. Switch every 4 bars
- Goal: Clean mental and physical switching between the two rhythmic philosophies
Day 7: Tempo Push
- Tempo: 100–120 BPM
- Practice: Trap Pattern 2 at real production tempos
- Goal: Identify your current speed ceiling. Note it. This is what you build from next week
💡 Common Mistakes & Quick Fixes
Mistake #1: Snare Drifting Back to Beat 2 & 4
Problem: Boom bap muscle memory is strong. Your hands want the familiar backbeat.
Fix: Before playing any pattern, do Warm-Up 2 (half-time snare isolation) every single session this week. Reprogram the hand before you run the full pattern. 2 minutes of isolation before every practice session is worth 20 minutes of frustrated full-pattern reps.
Mistake #2: Rushing the Hi-Hat Rolls
Problem: The roll accelerates, turning a tight 3-hit burst into a blur or landing early.
Fix: Record yourself and play it back. Rushing in rolls is almost impossible to hear in real-time but obvious on playback. Alternatively, practice the roll into a click at half tempo — if your roll still fits the grid at slow speed, you have the control you need.
Mistake #3: Hi-Hat Volume Inconsistency
Problem: The 16th-note hats vary in volume, creating an uneven backdrop that undermines the groove.
Fix: Practice the 16th-note hat warm-up for 4 minutes at the start of every session. Specifically with eyes closed. Volume inconsistency usually comes from visual distraction — looking at the pad changes how you hit it. Eyes closed forces tactile consistency.
Mistake #4: Treating the 808 Like a Kick
Problem: Playing the kick pad too short — a sharp tap instead of a committed hit.
Fix: Think of the kick as a bass note, not a percussive punch. Commit to it. In a real trap production, the 808 would ring and sustain. Your pad hit should carry that same intention, even if the sample doesn't sustain the same way.
Mistake #5: Stopping Instead of Pivoting at the Open Hat
Problem: The transition from closed 16ths to the roll and then the open hat causes a break — a tiny pause that kills the groove.
Fix: Slow the pattern down to 60 BPM and loop just beats 3 and 4 (the second half of the bar). Specifically the roll-to-open-hat joint. Loop it 50 times. The fix for breaks in transitions is micro-isolation, not full-pattern repetition.
🔄 What You've Built This Week
By the end of Week 8, you should have:
- ✅ Half-time snare control — Beat 3 placement is natural, not effortful
- ✅ 16th-note hat endurance — You can sustain the hat pattern without rushing or fatiguing
- ✅ Basic hi-hat roll — The triplet burst lands cleanly before the open hat
- ✅ 808 kick intention — You're hitting with weight, not tapping
- ✅ Genre literacy — You can hear the difference between boom bap and trap rhythmically, and explain why they feel different
- ✅ Flexibility — You can switch between boom bap and trap grooves, which means you're building a real rhythmic vocabulary, not just pattern memorization
Two genres down. Two completely different rhythmic philosophies in your hands. That's not nothing — that's the beginning of fluency.
🎯 Next Week Preview
Week 9 moves into funk and R&B grooves — the rhythmic foundation underneath both boom bap and trap, and the most technically demanding style you'll encounter so far. You'll learn:
- 16th-note syncopation as a primary tool (not just for fills)
- Ghost note layering that creates the "greasy" feel of classic funk
- How to play behind the beat intentionally without dragging
- The rhythmic DNA that producers from James Brown's era through Dilla built on
But don't rush there. Trap's hi-hat rolls need another week of reinforcement before you pile new patterns on top. Master the rolls. Push the tempo. Then come back for funk.
🎁 Free Practice Resources
You're building real rhythmic vocabulary now. The patterns are getting more complex, but the tools stay the same: your controller, a metronome, and intentional repetition.
If you want structured materials to complement Weeks 1–6's fundamentals alongside this week's patterns, the free course below includes interactive tools, notation sheets, and project files that apply directly to everything you've learned so far:
- Browser-based rhythm trainer (no installation, works on any device)
- Notation sheets (PDF format, printable)
- TuxGuitar tablature for all patterns
- Project files for Maschine and Ableton
- MIDI patterns you can load directly into your DAW
Not required. Just useful if structured materials help you consolidate what you're building.
Boom bap was the foundation. Trap is the test of your control at speed. Keep the snare patient, keep the rolls clean, keep the 808 heavy.
— ToneSharp
