Takefuji Drums
GrooveVault › Midwest Emo MIDI
GROOVEVAULT × MIDWEST EMO

Midwest emo drum MIDI, from real playing.

Straight, unswung eighths that sit under tapped and arpeggiated guitars. Picked from the 133 grooves in GrooveVault, these are the ones that fit midwest emo — including 3/4 waltz feels and a meter that sways between 4/8 and 6/8.

$29, one-time — Windows / macOS. Free trial available. New patterns keep arriving through updates.

Buy — $29 See the grooves
THE FEEL

Straight eighths, room for the guitars.

Midwest emo drums start from one rule: stay out of the guitars' way. Straight eighths on the hi-hat, mid tempos from 80 to 120 BPM, and no more notes than the song needs. Shuffles and metal-style barrages don't fit. Every groove on this page was checked against those rules, MIDI file by MIDI file — hi-hat versus ride, kick density, crash count, and swing.

GrooveVault is a math rock / post-rock library, not a dedicated midwest emo pack. What's listed here are the grooves in it that work for midwest emo as they are.

More about GrooveVault →

THE PICKS

16 grooves from six songs.

Type a song name (for example, Adaptation) into the app's search box to list only that song's grooves.

Adaptation
90 BPM · 4/4
Groove 03, 05, 06, 07
Straight 8ths · Uplifting
Aperture
88 BPM · 4/4
Groove 01, 02
Sparse · Punctuated
Ashen
100 BPM · 4/4
Groove 03, 04
Minimal · Clean
Filament
110 BPM · 4/4
Groove 04, 05
Emotional · Groovy
Vector
120 BPM · 4/4, 3/4
Groove 01, 02 (4/4) · 05, 06 (3/4)
Ghost notes · Straight
Entanglement
120 BPM · 3/4
Groove 03, 04
Waltz · Driving
THE METER SWITCH

4/8 to 6/8, and back.

The bar-to-bar sway between 4/8 and 6/8 that suits midwest emo. Afterimage (80 BPM), Groove 01–04, captures the meter switch as it is.

Afterimage 80 BPM · 4/8 + 6/8 Groove 01, 02, 03, 04

HOW TO USE

1
Search
Type the song name — or filter by meter and BPM
2
Preview
Preview in the app and pick what fits your song
3
Pick your sampler
Pick BFD3 / AD2 / SD3 to auto-remap; other samplers get GM-compliant export
4 →
Drag & drop
Drag the MIDI onto the drum track in your DAW

FAQ

Is this a dedicated midwest emo pack?+
No. GrooveVault is a math rock / post-rock library, and this page highlights the grooves in it that fit midwest emo. Buying it unlocks all 133, including the ones not listed here.
Does the free version include the grooves on this page?+
No. The free version's 6 patterns come from a different song (Vortex, in 7/4 and 6/4). Use it to try the app and the auto-remap first.
Which drum samplers does it work with?+
BFD3, Addictive Drums 2, and Superior Drummer 3 auto-remap when you pick them in the app. For EZdrummer and other samplers, export GM-compliant MIDI, load it, and adjust a few articulations — hi-hat open/close, for instance — by hand.
Can I use it commercially?+
Yes. Any commercial use in music-making — releases, client work, sync for film and games. Edit and reshape the MIDI freely.
Search. Preview. Drag into your song.
Buy GrooveVault — $29

Your purchase includes a serial code — enter it in the trial app to unlock everything. No re-download needed.

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Try the free version first →

Guides: Superior Drummer 3 MIDI · BFD3 MIDI · Addictive Drums 2 MIDI · Free Drum MIDI