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Dembow

Boom, ch-boom, chick: a kick on every beat plus a snare on the tresillo spots, looped bar after bar. Build the reggaeton groove layer by layer on a 16-step grid, hear why it sways, vary it, and put a minor four-chord loop and a bass on top.

In this lesson you'll

  • Program the dembow on a 16-step grid: kick on 1, 5, 9, 13 (four on the floor), snare on 4, 7, 12, 15, hi-hats on the eighth notes.
  • Hear why it sways: each half bar is the tresillo (3 + 3 + 2) against an even kick, at a relaxed 90–100 BPM.
  • Vary the beat and put a minor loop (Am – F – C – G) and a bass on the tresillo spots on top.

Music in this lesson

  • Dem BowShabba Ranks · 1990
  • GasolinaDaddy Yankee · 2004
  • DespacitoLuis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee · 2017

Remember

Dembow is four even kicks plus snares on steps 4, 7, 12 and 15 of a 16-step bar.

Each half bar is a tresillo, so even meets uneven and the groove sways instead of marching.

It took its name from Dem Bow, a Jamaican dancehall track by Shabba Ranks; producers in Puerto Rico and Panama built reggaeton on it, and it went worldwide.