What are drum breaks?
Drum breaks originated as drum solos within funk and soul tracks – a moment for drummers to shine with their rhythmic prowess and show off new and unique drum patterns. Later, these solos caught the ear of hip-hop producers who began sampling these breakbeat loops while programming drums, laying a foundation for MCs to rap over. This practice not only created new music, but also helped craft the sound and rhythmic vibe of the entire drum and bass genre, weaving its way into various other styles of electronic music along the way.
Drum breaks transitioned from mere solos to become a fundamental element of modern music, demonstrating their versatility and enduring appeal across the musical spectrum.
10 best drum breaks of all time
Now that you know what drum breaks are and where they came from, let’s take a look at how to recreate ten of the most famous drum breaks. For these demonstrations, we will be using several of the drum kits found in the Rudiments Kontakt instrument.
Rudiments is perfect for crafting breakbeats because it’s full of modern sounding hip hop drum kits and patterns, but it still has plenty of that retro grit we’ve all come to love.
Also, I’ve included links to MIDI files for each drum break so you can easily download them for free and use them with the Rudiments drum kits in your own productions. I hope they help to spark new inspiration in your beat making sessions!