Amapiano and afrobeats on your phone, built on the log drum

The sound that makes amapiano instantly recognizable is the log drum: a deep, tuned hit that bounces between the beats. In PadLoop it's in the Afro & Amapiano kit: load the Afro Jam bank, tap Amapiano 1 and the drums start at 112 BPM (beats per minute); tap Log drum and the groove is there. For afrobeats, the same kit has the syncopated kick: one download, two styles.

Hear what comes out of PadLoopRecorded inside the app with PadLoop's sounds, exactly as they come out: no mixing on a computer. Tap a title to switch beat.

AfrobeatsAfro houseAmapiano

We're talking about today's afrobeats (West Africa) here, not the 1970s afrobeat with horns.

Download the kit, tap three pads

In MORE → Plugins tap Download next to Afro & Amapiano: 30 sounds in 2 banks, about 6 MB, part of the full version and free to try during the 7-day trial. In the PAD tab tap ⊞ (the menu of banks and Ready beats) and pick Afro Jam: it's a bank, a page of 16 pads. PadLoop asks whether to set the project to 112 BPM: say yes.

Now tap Amapiano 1, then Log drum, then Piano 1. For voices there's Chant 1. Each pad loops on its own until you tap it again: take one out and you have a breakdown, put it back and the groove returns. For afrobeats, start from Afro drums instead of Amapiano 1.

The log drum answers the kick

In amapiano the log drum does the bass's job, but it sounds like percussion: a short, round hit with a note inside. The secret is the conversation. The kick lands on the beats, the log drum replies in the gaps. Two or three hits per bar are plenty.

Because it's tuned, it shines on the Keyboard (the piano button): pick Log drum and the sound spreads across all the pads, low at the bottom, high at the top. With the Minor or Min. pentatonic scale nothing clashes. Want it deeper? Log drum lo goes lower still. The Keyboard is explained in detail on the page about how to play in key on the Keyboard.

Build it layer by layer

With the kit downloaded, the groove comes together like this:

1. In the PAD tab tap ⊞ and load the Afro & Amapiano bank, the one with single hits.
2. Set the BPM to 112 in the top bar and, at the top of the LOOP tab, choose 2 bars (two groups of four counts).
3. On track 1 (each number at the top is a layer of your song) press REC and play Kick deep on every beat.
4. Press REC again, turn on ⟳ (repeats the hit in time) at 1/16 and hold Shaker for the whole loop.
5. On track 2 turn on the Keyboard, pick Log drum and play a few short notes between the beats.
6. On track 3 add Piano 1 or Marimba, then save the track with Export in the LOOP tab, as MP3 or WAV.

Want afrobeats instead of amapiano? In step 3 use Kick and put it on the tresillo, as the next section explains.

Where the shaker and tresillo go

In afrobeats the kick doesn't hit every beat: it follows the tresillo, a 3+3+2 split that makes the loop limp in just the right way. Open the SEQ tab (the grid of squares), 1/16 view, bring in Kick with Add pad and switch on squares 1, 7 and 13 of each bar.

The shaker drives both styles. In SEQ, long-press a lit square and lower its strength: strong on the beats, soft in between. A shaker with accents moves; a flat one just ticks.

A touch of swing: in MORE, set swing between 52% and 56%. Swing makes every other hit land a hair late: the shakers stop sounding robotic and the groove settles in.

Rimshot and Conga go on top, in more layers. A layer doesn't work? ↶ removes only the last one.

Watch the video on its own page →

Transcript

1. 0:00 Make an afro beat from scratch
2. 0:02 Pick track 1 and tap REC: a one-bar count-in starts
3. 0:05 Track 1: bouncing kick and clap
4. 0:10 The loop starts again by itself: listen before adding more
5. 0:14 REC again on track 1: bongo and rim
6. 0:19 Track 2: djembe and tambourine
7. 0:24 Track 3: the piano
8. 0:30 All the layers, in time. Now arrange it.
9. 0:34 LOOP tab: mute the drums in time for a break
10. 0:39 …then the bass: the tension builds
11. 0:44 Drop: everything comes back in
12. 0:48 Hold an effect while it plays: filter down, then echo
13. 0:57 Note repeat on the hi-hat: rolls in time
14. 1:02 The performance recording is ready to share or export

No plugin in this one: everything you hear sits in bank D, which PadLoop fills on first launch with kick, clap, bongo, djembe, tambourine and piano. Bank D and the kit both belong to the full version, and you can use both freely during the 7-day trial. Bongos, djembe and cajon are also in the Percussion plugin kit, along with congas and a bank of loops at 120 BPM.

Transcript

1. 0:00 A world percussion groove with the Percussion kit
2. 0:01 Tap ⊞: the plugins add their kits to the list
3. 0:07 ► next to Percussion: hear a taste
4. 0:11 Tap the name and load it onto a free bank: F
5. 0:16 Congas, bongos, djembe, shaker, claves and timbales: play the groove with your fingers
6. 0:25 Record it as a loop and play a melody on top

Pianos, whistles and chants

The harmony goes on track 3. Piano 1 and Piano 2 for soft amapiano chords, Guitar for that clean afrobeats color, Marimba and Marimba lo for short, bright riffs. For breaks there's the Oh! shout and the two Whistles: one whistle before the kick comes back and the floor lights up.

The Afro Jam bank also has three chant loops (Chant 1, 2 and 3) and two synth pads (Pad 1 and 2): played over a recorded loop, they give you a sense of the finished song straight away.

Afrobeats or amapiano: how to tell them apart by ear

Afrobeats comes from West Africa and runs around 100 to 115 BPM. The kick skips a few beats, a rimshot or clap marks time, congas and clean guitars fill in, and chants answer the lead vocal. Just below that tempo, at 88 to 100 BPM, sits the dembow: see how to make a reggaeton beat.

Amapiano comes from South Africa and sits around 110 to 115 BPM. The kick is soft and steady, shakers run in sixteenths, the pianos are airy and the bass is the log drum.

The kit's loops are at 112 BPM, a tempo that suits both. They follow the project tempo without changing pitch, but they sound best near 112. To jam over a loop right away, use Afro Jam. The Ready beats also include two complete afro grooves, with a track per instrument: Afrobeats (104 BPM: piano and marimba, drums, bass, flute) and Afro house (120 BPM: marimba and cello, percussion loops, bass, kick and congas). They use plugin sounds: Afrobeats needs four plugins (Grand Piano, Afro & Amapiano, Marimba & vibraphone, Winds), Afro house three (Strings, Percussion, Marimba & vibraphone). If one is missing, the app tells you which one to download.

Good to know

• To keep a jam made with Afro Jam loops, start Record performance before you begin. It records up to 30 minutes live, effects included. Looper recordings and exports take in the hits you record; Loop pads, which run on their own, are heard live only.

Afrobeats and amapiano questions

What BPM is amapiano?

Usually around 110 to 115 BPM. The loops in PadLoop's Afro & Amapiano kit are at 112 BPM.

What BPM is afrobeats?

Generally around 100 to 115 BPM. With the same kit you can stay at 112 or go a little slower: the loops follow the project tempo without changing pitch.

What is the amapiano log drum?

It's a tuned, percussive sound that plays the bass role in amapiano, with short hits that bounce between the beats. The kit has it as a one-shot (Log drum and the lower Log drum lo) and as a loop in the Afro Jam bank.

How do you make an amapiano beat?

A soft kick on every beat, busy shakers, then a log drum line with a few hits off the beat and airy piano chords on top. In PadLoop each part goes on its own track, at around 112 BPM.

What's the difference between afrobeats and amapiano?

Afrobeats comes from West Africa: syncopated kick, rimshot, congas and guitars. Amapiano comes from South Africa: a steadier kick, busy shakers, soft pianos and the log drum instead of a bass.

Afrobeat or afrobeats: are they the same?

No. Afrobeat is the 1970s genre with horns and long band jams; afrobeats is today's West African pop. This page and the kit are about afrobeats.

Do I have to pay for the Afro & Amapiano kit?

It's part of the full version: one purchase, no subscription, keeps the log drum, shakers and 112 BPM loops on your pads. During the 7-day trial you can download it and play it right away. In the free version, banks A and B still have a kick, rim and shaker for a first groove.

Last updated: 21 October 2026