Pop / Rock Drum MIDI Pattern — Free Download

A genre-authentic pop / rock groove — 4 drum voices programmed on a 16-step grid at 118 BPM. This page presets the drum generator to Pop / Rock; choose a length and tempo, then download the pattern as General MIDI.

How it works

Each genre comes with a curated groove — kick, snare or clap, hats, and percussion — programmed on a 16-step grid at the genre's natural tempo. The pattern is written using the General MIDI drum map on channel 10, so it triggers the right sounds in any GM-compatible drum plugin, sampler, or hardware module. Swung genres like hip-hop and lo-fi include their characteristic shuffle, and the humanize option adds subtle velocity variation so the groove breathes. Press play preview to hear two bars of the pattern before downloading. This page arrives preset to Pop / Rock, whose groove defaults to 118 BPM — the tempo pocket the genre lives in — though the slider lets you drag it anywhere from 60 to 200.

Using the MIDI in your DAW

• Drag the file onto a drum instrument track — the GM mapping places kick at C1 and snare at D1.
• Swap individual hits or double the pattern to build fills and variations.
• Layer two genres (say house kicks under funk hats) for hybrid grooves.

Set your project tempo to 118 BPM before dragging the file in and the pop / rock pattern will land at its intended feel — then nudge the tempo to taste once the rest of the track is sketched.

These are starting points — for evolving, arrangement-aware pop / rock drum programming across a whole track, open the MIDI Maker studio and generate a full song.

Drum MIDI patterns for other genres

• House drum MIDI
• Techno drum MIDI
• Boom Bap Hip-Hop drum MIDI
• Trap drum MIDI
• Drum & Bass drum MIDI
• Funk drum MIDI
• Reggaeton drum MIDI
• Lo-fi drum MIDI
• Afrobeat drum MIDI

Or head back to the drum MIDI generator to tweak the length, tempo, and feel yourself.

Keep building: scales, chords and more

• Scale to MIDI tool
• Chord progression to MIDI tool
• Audio to MIDI converter

Frequently asked questions

What tempo is a pop / rock drum pattern?

Pop / Rock typically sits around 118 BPM — that's this pattern's default — and the tool lets you set anywhere from 60 to 200 BPM before downloading.

What drum sounds does the MIDI file trigger?

The pattern is written on MIDI channel 10 using the General MIDI drum map (kick at C1/36, snare at D1/38, closed hat at 42), so it triggers the right sounds in any GM-compatible drum plugin, sampler, or hardware module.

Is this pop / rock drum MIDI free to use?

Yes — the download is free, requires no sign-up, and the generated groove is royalty-free for personal and commercial tracks.