How to make amapiano in your browser

By Tongkit Leong · August 14, 2026 · 8 min read

Amapiano is built from a deep, pitched log drum bassline, a laid-back shaker-driven groove, and airy jazz piano stabs around 112 to 115 BPM, and you can program all three from scratch in the Tracks browser studio with no software to install and no account to create.

The anatomy of an amapiano track

Amapiano grew out of South African house music, and it swapped house's driving four-on-the-floor energy for a slower, more spacious groove built around a handful of recurring parts:

• The log drum — a pitched, percussive bass sound (originally sampled from a wooden log drum synth patch) that slides between notes and functions as both the bassline and a lead rhythmic voice.
• A laid-back shaker groove — rolling shakers and hi-hats carry most of the forward motion, while the kick and snare stay sparse and understated.
• Jazzy piano stabs — short, syncopated piano chords or melodic runs that give the genre its airy, slightly melancholic character.
• Deep sub bass — a smooth sub layer under the log drum that fills out the low end without competing with it.
• The drop-out breakdown — a signature arrangement move where the drums cut out entirely and the log drum and piano carry a section alone.

Tracks has what you need for this built in — the drum machine for the shaker groove, a subtractive synth for the log drum and sub bass, SoundFont playback for a real piano tone, and the mixer for keeping the low end defined.

Step 1: Set your tempo

Open the Tracks studio and set the BPM in the transport bar. Amapiano sits in a fairly narrow, recognizable range:

• Slower, more soulful amapiano: 110–112 BPM. Leans into the genre's jazz and deep-house roots.
• Mainstream amapiano: 112–115 BPM. The most common range in current commercial releases.
• Faster, club-leaning amapiano: 115–118 BPM. Pushes closer to the tempo of gqom or Afro house.

113 BPM is a safe, common starting point if you're not sure which corner of the genre you're aiming for.

Step 2: Program the shaker groove and drums

Add a track and open the drum machine. Unlike house or techno, amapiano doesn't lean on a driving four-on-the-floor kick — keep the kick and snare sparse, often just a kick on beat one and a snare or clap on beat three, leaving space around them. The shaker is where the real groove lives: program a rolling, syncopated shaker pattern across most of the sixteenth-note grid, with small gaps and accents that give it a swung, human feel. See Free online drum machine for the full mechanics of programming a pattern from scratch.

Once the shaker groove is locked in, layer a closed hat under it for extra texture, and keep the whole drum pattern sitting a little further back in the mix than you would for a house or techno track — amapiano's energy comes from the log drum and piano, not the drums.

Swing and pocket

A straight, unswung shaker pattern will read as stiff and un-amapiano. Push the swing on the shaker and hat layers so alternating hits land slightly late — see Quantize and swing explained for how to dial in that pocket without losing the groove's steadiness.

Step 3: Write a log drum bassline

Add a new instrument track and open the subtractive synth. A log drum tone starts from a sine or triangle wave with a short, punchy amplitude envelope and a touch of pitch envelope on the attack, so each note has a soft percussive "thump" before settling into its pitch. Roll the filter cutoff down slightly for warmth, and keep the sound mono and centered.

Open the piano roll and write a bassline that slides between two or three notes rather than sitting on one root — the log drum's identity comes from portamento-style pitch glides between hits, not from harmonic complexity. Keep the pattern rhythmically simple and repetitive across a bar or two so it locks in as a groove element rather than a melody.

Locking the log drum to the kick

Because the log drum carries most of the low-end energy, it needs to sit cleanly against the kick rather than clash with it. A light sidechain duck on the log drum triggered by the kick keeps both defined — see Sidechain compression explained for how to set it up, and How to lock a bassline to the kick for a full walkthrough of writing around a drum pattern.

Step 4: Add piano stabs and pads

Amapiano's top line usually comes from a jazz-influenced piano part — short, syncopated chord stabs or a simple melodic run played with a real piano tone rather than a synth patch. Load a piano SoundFont onto a new track for an authentic acoustic sound; see SoundFont instruments explained for how SF2 playback works in Tracks.

Open the piano roll and sketch a short chord loop using extended jazz voicings — minor sevenths and ninths sit especially well in the genre's melancholic character. See How to write chord progressions in the piano roll for a practical way to build a progression, and keep the pattern short and repeatable so it can loop under the log drum without competing for attention.

Step 5: Arrange around the drop-out

Amapiano's arrangements lean on a distinctive move: a section where the drums cut out entirely and the log drum and piano carry the groove alone before the full arrangement drops back in. A dependable shape looks like this:

1. Intro (8 bars): piano stabs alone or with a light shaker, easing the listener into the key and tempo.
2. Groove section (16 bars): full shaker groove, log drum, and piano together, kick and snare kept sparse.
3. Drop-out (4–8 bars): the drums and shaker cut out entirely, leaving just the log drum and piano exposed — the genre's signature breakdown.
4. Drop back in (16 bars): the full groove returns, often with an added vocal chant or ad-lib for lift.
5. Second groove section: repeat the shape with a small variation in the piano part or a new percussion layer.
6. Outro (8 bars): strip back to the piano and log drum, fading or cutting cleanly.

Block these sections out on the Tracks timeline before refining any single part — see How to arrange a song for more on building a structure from scratch.

Step 6: Mix and export

Before you export, spend a few minutes balancing levels in the Tracks mixer:

1. Balance the log drum and kick first — amapiano's low end only reads as deep and controlled if those two elements sit together without fighting for space.
2. Apply a light sidechain duck on the log drum and any sub bass from the kick so the groove stays defined through the busiest sections.
3. Keep the shaker and hat layers wide and slightly further back so the log drum and piano stay the focal point.
4. Use reverb sparingly on the piano to keep its airy character without washing out the groove — see Reverb and delay explained.

When the balance feels right at a comfortable volume, export to WAV for a clean master file or MP3 to share online — see How to export your song to MP3 or WAV for the full walkthrough. Your project stays in your browser the entire time; Tracks never uploads it anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What BPM is amapiano?

Most amapiano sits between 112 and 115 BPM. Slower, more soulful tracks run 110–112 BPM, mainstream commercial amapiano sits around 112–115 BPM, and faster club-leaning styles push toward 115–118 BPM. 113 BPM is a reliable starting point.

What exactly is a log drum in amapiano production?

The log drum is a pitched, percussive bass sound originally based on a wooden log drum synth patch. It slides between notes with a soft percussive attack and functions as both the bassline and a lead rhythmic element — it's the single most recognizable sound in the genre.

Why does amapiano feel slower than house even at a similar BPM?

Amapiano avoids house's driving four-on-the-floor kick pattern in favor of a sparse kick and snare with the groove carried by shakers instead. That sparser drum foundation, combined with the drop-out breakdown, gives the genre a more spacious, laid-back feel even at tempos close to house music.

Do I need real piano samples to get an authentic amapiano sound?

A real piano tone helps, and Tracks' built-in SoundFont playback gets you there without any downloads — loading a piano SF2 onto a track gives you an acoustic sound you can play straight from the piano roll. See SoundFont instruments explained.

Why does my log drum sound muddy under the kick?

The log drum carries most of the low-end energy in an amapiano track, so an unmanaged kick can easily clash with it. A light sidechain duck on the log drum, or an EQ cut around the kick's dominant frequency, keeps both punchy and audible. See Sidechain compression explained.