Explainer
The Amen Break: History, BPM and How Jungle Producers Chopped It
Updated 2 min read
The Amen break is a four-bar drum solo from Amen, Brother, the 1969 B-side by The Winstons, played by Gregory C. Coleman. Hip hop producers looped it in the late 80s; at the start of the 90s, UK producers sped it up, sliced it into single hits and rearranged it at 160 to 170 BPM, and jungle and drum and bass were built on the result.
Why the Amen break works
- Ghost notes everywhere: soft snare hits between the backbeats give every slice movement, so rearranged slices still groove.
- A syncopated kick: the kick skips around the beat instead of sitting on it, which reads as forward motion when sped up.
- Crash and ride wash: the cymbals glue the slices together, and the late crash in the fourth bar gives producers a natural ending.
- A small, live room: the recording's room and its tape and vinyl grit are part of the sound people still chase.
How jungle producers chopped it
Early 90s producers loaded the break into an Akai or E-mu sampler, cut it into slices at each hit, and replayed the slices from a sequencer in a new order. The classic moves are still the vocabulary of the genre: resequencing (playing the second bar's kick pattern in the first), snare rolls at 1/32 or 1/64, reversed snares swelling into a backbeat, pitch drops on a slice, and chops that cut a hit short. Raising the sampler's pitch to reach 170 BPM also lowered the sample's bit depth and bandwidth, which is part of the gritty sound.
Amen break BPM, then and now
Original record (1969)
- BPM
- ~136–138
- How it was used
- A drum solo between verses
Hip hop (late 80s)
- BPM
- ~95–110
- How it was used
- Looped and slowed under raps
Jungle (1992–95)
- BPM
- 160–170
- How it was used
- Sped up, sliced and resequenced
Drum and bass
- BPM
- 170–175
- How it was used
- Tighter edits, heavier processing
Breakcore
- BPM
- 170–200+
- How it was used
- Extreme edits and 1/64 rolls
Getting the sound without the sample
You don't need the original recording to make jungle: what matters is a busy funk break with ghost notes, a small room, some grit and the edits. Breaks plays eight original breaks from a modelled drummer and chops them with one Edit knob, and the free jungle break generator runs it in your browser. For a chopped-sample feel on your own drums, Dust adds sampler and vinyl grit.
FAQ
What is the Amen break?
A four-bar drum solo, about six seconds long, from the 1969 B-side Amen, Brother by The Winstons, played by drummer Gregory C. Coleman. Sampled in hip hop and then chopped at high speed in jungle and drum and bass, it is one of the most sampled recordings ever made.
What BPM is the Amen break?
The original plays at roughly 136 to 138 BPM. Jungle producers sped it up to around 160 to 170 BPM, and drum and bass to 170 to 175, usually by raising the sampler's pitch, which also made it brighter and punchier.
Who played the Amen break?
Gregory C. Coleman, the drummer of The Winstons. The band's leader Richard L. Spencer held the copyright; neither received royalties from the thousands of tracks that sampled it.
Can I use the Amen break in my music?
The recording and the composition are owned, so using the original sample in a commercial release is legally risky without clearance, even though it is everywhere. Re-played or synthesised breaks in the same style avoid the problem. Breaks plays original breaks from a modelled drummer, so there is nothing to clear.
What is the Think break?
The drum break from Lyn Collins' 1972 song Think (About It), with its famous yeah-woo vocal. Like the Amen, it was looped in hip hop and house and chopped in jungle and drum and bass.