How To Produce Drill Beats! (step by step, with examples)

HERE’S A STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL FOR PRODUCING INDUSTRY-QUALITY DRILL BEATS!

What is a drill beat? A drill beat is a genre of instrumental that usually has dark melodies, bouncy hi hats and snares, and chaotic 808 sequences.

The term “drill music” has evolved and shaped itself for years. Originating in the southside of Chicago in 2011, drill music was full of violent themes and disses. As years went on, the term drill related more heavily to the UK style with off-set, triplet hi-hat patterns and 808 slides. Today, when someone says “drill beat,” this is often what they are referring to. Today we’re going to be breaking down the steps of making a UK/New York drill beat.

Updated October 2026 by Luke Alderson: added tempo, arrangement and mixing sections, plus an FAQ.

Drill BPM and Swing:

Before you make a sound, set your tempo. Most drill beats sit between 130 and 150 BPM. UK drill usually lands around 140 to 145 BPM, and slower, darker drill can go down to about 120 BPM.

Drill is not as rigid as EDM. It has a natural bounce, with hi hats and percs sitting slightly off the grid. If your drums feel robotic, nudge a few notes off the grid or use a groove template to humanize them.

🔥 Pro tip: use your DAW's randomise tool. In FL Studio, select the notes in the piano roll and press ALT + R, turn on the bipolar setting, and add small random changes to velocity and pan.

HOW TO MAKE A DRILL MELODY:

Because of the violent connotation of drill music, the melodies of the beats are often eerie and dark. This is done with minor chords. To create a minor chord progression, use notes in a minor natural scale. Most drill beats sit between 130 and 150 BPM.

Tip: In FL Studio, find the minor natural scale by using the stamp tool at the top of the piano roll

Click this drop-down and select “Minor Natural” then click in the piano roll which key you want to use.

Drill beat Sound Selection:

The most common instruments used for drill melodies are pianos, strings, bells, and vocal samples. To create a high-quality drill melody, I recommend layering all or most of these instruments. I like to use the piano and strings for chords, and the bell for a top melody.

how to make a drill Chord Progression:

Drill chords are simple. Use minor chords and create tension. Do this by duplicating a minor chord and lowering the middle note by 1 half step. When repeated, this creates a dark vibe perfect for drill beats.

Use a descending bassline to bring out the dark energy in your chord progression. While the bass notes go down, it will create much more eerie energy in your melody. For instant inspiration, try our free trap melody loops.

Drill Top Melody:

Drill melodies are often repetitive and simple. For the best results, create an arpeggio of your chords. Switch up the root note of your arpeggio to match the chord progression. See the picture below for an example.

Effects:

A common effect utilized in drill beats is reversing the sample. To reverse your sample while maintaining the same melody, you need to flip the melody in the piano roll. To do this in FL Studio, press alt + y and select “flip horizontally.” This will completely flip your melody so that when it is reversed, it will have the same top line.

Once you have reversed your piano roll, right-click the pattern and select “Quick render as audio clip.” This will provide you with the waveform of your sample. Drag this file into the playlist and double-click it to open the sampler, then select “reverse.”

Line up your sample with the grid and slice the reverb tail from the beginning. Now you have your reversed sample! Be creative with your reversing. Try it with top melodies, chords, vocals, instruments, drums, and whatever you can think of! Experimentation is important.

More Drill Melody Tips:

✅ Go-to keys: D minor, A minor and G minor give that dark drill feel
✅ Keep it simple: one or two notes repeating with small variations is often enough
✅ Orchestral sounds: strings, pianos, choir vocals and brass all work well in drill
✅ Half-time effects: as well as reversing, a subtle half-time effect makes a melody sound bigger and more atmospheric

Here is a simple drill piano melody in a minor key:

Want dark, mysterious drill melodies ready to use? Download free drill melodies here.

Once you layer your melodies, it’s time to add some drums.

How to create a drill drum beat:

Drill PERCUSSION:

Drill drums are very unique. While the style of drill is very particular, there is plenty of room for experimentation. This is just the basics of the genre, but please feel free to add or subtract any elements you choose.

Drill Hi-Hats:

Hi-hats are the most recognizable part of a drill beat, so this part is important. Instead of using the typical “Fill each 2 steps” pattern, drill beats use a bouncier and more unique pattern that looks like this:

This is the basic foundation of the hi-hat pattern, but there is plenty more you can do to make your own patterns unique. Experiment with velocity, pitch, rolls, and bounce notes. Here’s what a drill hi-hat pattern could look like:

Drill Snares:

Drill beats usually use some sort of snare instead of a typical trap clap. The snare is used to bounce off of the hi-hat and create a bouncy rhythm. Drill snares are placed almost exactly like generic trap snares, but there is one substantial difference.

For your second or last snare in the pattern, let it hit on the 4th beat of the measure. Another way to think of this is simply to move it right by 1 beat. This creates a unique percussive bounce between the hi-hat and snare.

Drill Open Hat:

Open hi-hats are a great way to layer sounds in your beat. I recommend layering your open hats with the kicks and 808s you want to emphasize. For this example, since we have not yet laid down our kick or 808, just add one open hat to the beginning of each pattern.

Drill Percs:

Use small perc sounds to fill pockets in the beat. It is also very important to make sure you are not overusing perc sounds. I recommend one or two perc sounds to fill in gaps and make your drums sound more full.

Drill 808 AND KICK:

To finish off our drill beat, we need a hard 808 and kick pattern to fill out the lower frequencies. Start with your 808 pattern and layer the kick on top.

Drill 808s:

Use a long 808 without a kick at the beginning. The sanctuary 808 is an iconic 808 in almost every pack that can be used for drill beats. You can also find hundreds of 808s right here on wavgrind.com. Open Sample Packs or Drum Kits at the top of this site and download our free Factory Sample Pack, which has 448 drum samples and 30 royalty-free melodies. Need heavier low end? Grab our free 808 drum kits and drop them straight into your project.

Once you have selected your long 808, open the envelope tab at the top of the channel rack sampler and turn down the ATT, DEC, SUS, and REL knobs. Turn the HOLD knob all the way up.

This will make sure the 808 cuts off when the note ends and does not drag out.

Make the first 3 bars of your 808 pattern very simple. Use the root notes of the chords and don’t make any crazy patterns yet.

How to create a drill 808 slide:

On the 4th bar, we’re going to use some 808 slides. Here is how to make effective slides that sound good:

Start with a note on the root note. Let this note last as long as you want your slide. If you want your slide to go from C to G, add a G note above the C where you want the slide to begin. If you want a slow slide, leave the G note long. If you want a shorter slide, shorten the G note to the length of the slide that you want. Here is an example of setting up a short slide from C to G.

Now double-click the G note using the pencil tool and select the rounded triangle on the left side of the note properties box.

This will cause the note to slide from the C up to the G when played back.

Be creative with your slides! You can slide from note to note using the same bass note or you can create new bass notes by adding more nonsliding notes. There are infinite possibilities when it comes to 808 slides. The most important thing is to make sure you stay in the key of the beat.

Drill KICK Sequence:

Use a hard kick to emphasize the important 808 notes. Layer your kick on the first beat of the song to emphasize the drop, then choose which notes you think sound best when layered.

Tip: Avoid layering a kick with an 808 slide. It sounds good sometimes but can create a muddy mess.

Drill Drum Tips:

Once your 808 and kick are in, use these tips to make the drums bounce and hit harder.

Hi Hats: The Triplet Bounce

Instead of simple trap rolls, drill hats use stuttered triplets. Try offbeat hats and changes in velocity to add bounce, and place open hats on the "ands" (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) for extra movement.

Snares: Layer Them

Layer two or three snares to get a thicker sound, and keep the placement from the snare section above.

Kicks: Tight and Punchy

Keep kicks short and punchy, and don't overuse them. Layering a low kick with a short mid-range click makes the attack stand out in the mix.

808s: Glides and Slides

Use long, held 808 notes with sharp slides to create movement, and adjust the attack and decay so the 808 doesn't muddy the mix.

Here is how the drums sound all together:

Drill Beat Arrangement:

A common beginner mistake is looping one 8-bar pattern for the whole beat. To keep a drill beat exciting:

✅ Start with the melody only, or a filtered version of it
✅ Drop the 808s in for the chorus for maximum impact
✅ Use mute automation: drop the hi hats or snares out for half a bar
✅ Layer new instruments in the second half to build tension

A common structure looks like this:

Intro (8 bars): just the melody, maybe with a low-pass filter
Verse (16 bars): full drums, but keep it bouncy
Chorus (16 bars): bring in the full 808s and harder drums
Verse 2 (16 bars): add a counter-melody or new percussion
Outro (8 bars): fade out or strip the beat back down

How to Mix Drill Beats:

Drill beats should sound clean and aggressive. Send every layer to its own mixer track. Mute everything, then bring the layers back in one at a time, setting levels and adding effects as you go.

✅ 808 and kick: use light sidechain compression so the 808 ducks when the kick hits
✅ Hi hats and percs: high-pass them to remove low end they don't need
✅ Reverb: add subtle reverb to snares, hats and melodies for space, but don't overdo it
✅ Stereo: keep melodies wide and drums mono for a solid mix
✅ Melodies: a gentle high-pass filter makes more room for the 808 and low end
✅ 808s: a little distortion helps them cut through

Finish with a compressor, maximiser or soft clipper on the master to push the final mix.

🔥 Pro tip: if your 808s aren't cutting through, boost around 60 to 80Hz and add a little distortion.

Drill Beat FAQ:

What BPM are drill beats?

Most drill beats are between 130 and 150 BPM. UK drill usually sits around 140 to 145 BPM.

What scale should I use for drill melodies?

Use a minor scale. D minor, A minor and G minor are the most common keys for drill, because they give the dark, eerie feel the genre is known for. Stick to the natural minor scale: the tip in the melody section shows how to find it with FL Studio's stamp tool.

Where does the snare go in a drill beat?

In half time, the main snare lands on beat 3 of the bar. Most drill patterns then push one snare a beat later in the second bar, which gives the bounce described in the snare section above.

How do you make 808 slides in FL Studio?

Overlap two notes: the note you start on and the note you want to slide to. Open the second note's properties and turn on slide. The full steps, with screenshots, are in the 808 slide section above.

What's the difference between UK drill and NY drill?

They share the same core: dark, sparse melodies, sliding 808s and bouncy, triplet-heavy hats around 140 BPM. Today's NY (Brooklyn) drill grew out of UK drill. UK producer 808Melo made many of Pop Smoke's early beats. Wikipedia's drill music page covers the history from Chicago onwards.

Where can I get free drill samples?

Grab our free drill sample packs or browse our drum kits. For even more, get our free sample packs here.

CONCLUSION:

Drill beats are specific, but can be expanded upon and experimented with greatly. By following the steps in this tutorial, you will get a basic understanding of drill beats and with that knowledge, you will be able to elevate your production and make this genre your own.

To summarize, here’s how to make drill beats:

1. Create a dark melody with minor chords and reverse effects
2. Add bouncy hi-hats ¾ beats apart from one another
3. Put a punchy snare on beat 3 of the first bar, and one beat later (beat 4) in the second bar
4. Use a long 808 to create a simple but unique slidey pattern
5. Layer a hard kick to emphasize 808s
6. Arrange it in 8 and 16 bar sections, and change something every 8 bars
7. Mix the 808 and kick first, then build everything else around them

Thanks for reading and happy producing!

---

Written by Jake Tompkins
Jake is a producer on the WavGrind team. Find him on Instagram at @jaketompkinsvevo.

Updated by Luke Alderson (Legacy Beats), who founded WavGrind in 2020.