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Haddaway - Drum Sheet Music
Haddaway is a Trinidad-born Eurodance artist who rose to international fame in the early 1990s with the anthemic hit "What Is Love," a track that dominated dance floors across Europe, North America, and Australia. Based in Germany, his music sits at the intersection of house and Eurodance, defining a high-energy electronic pop sound that became synonymous with the era. His infectious productions remain iconic examples of 90s dance music culture.
The drum programming on Haddaway's tracks is a defining element of the Eurodance sound, built around driving, machine-precise beats that keep dance floors moving with relentless energy. The rhythmic foundation blends punchy kick patterns with snappy snare hits and layered electronic percussion, creating grooves that are both straightforward and highly effective for drummers looking to explore electronic and dance-oriented playing.
Drumming Style & Techniques
- Four-on-the-floor kick drum patterns typical of house and Eurodance production
- Tight, quantized snare hits on beats 2 and 4 driving the dance rhythm
- Layered electronic hi-hat patterns including steady eighth-note and sixteenth-note subdivisions
- Syncopated percussion fills and rhythmic accents characteristic of early 90s dance tracks
- High-tempo BPM grooves requiring stamina and consistency in performance
The Album (1993)
Haddaway's debut album The Album, released in 1993, served as the foundation for one of the most recognizable dance records of the early 1990s Eurodance era. Anchored by the global smash hit "What Is Love," the record blended house-influenced production with pop songwriting to achieve massive commercial success across Europe and beyond. Its impact on 1990s dance culture remains enduring, with its tracks still widely recognized decades after release.
The drumming and drum programming on The Album is rooted in the driving, quantized rhythms characteristic of early 1990s Eurodance production, featuring punchy kick-snare patterns designed to keep dancefloors moving. The machine-driven grooves are built around tight, repetitive frameworks that offer drummers a solid entry point into programming-era dance music transcription and performance.
Drumming Highlights
- Straight four-on-the-floor kick drum pattern prominent throughout, particularly on "What Is Love," providing relentless dance-floor drive
- Snare hits locked to beats two and four with minimal variation, emphasizing the mechanical precision typical of Eurodance production
- Frequent use of closed hi-hat eighth-note patterns maintaining consistent rhythmic subdivision across tracks
- Syncopated percussion accents and Latin-influenced rhythm elements layered over the core drum machine groove
- Dynamic use of drum fills and cymbal crashes to mark song transitions and chorus entries
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Recommended Lessons
- 6/8 Grooves
- 6/8 A A A B Exercises With Sixteenth Note Fills
- 6/8 Right Hand Concept: Delayed Crotchet As Double 16ths
- Two Bar 7/8 Grooves With A '1 +a' Right Hand
- 16th Note '334' Syncopated Fills In 5/8
- Three Quarter Bar Sextuplet Fills As Straight Rolls
- Sixteenth Note Build Ups In 6/8
- Crashes In An 'And 4 And' Pattern
- Basic Paradiddle Diddle Groove Using Eighth Note Triplets
- One Bar 8th Note 2 3 3 Multi Rhythmed Constant Double Kick Groove