Chicago Soul Pocket drum pattern
A light two-bar Chicago soul groove: a cross-stick backbeat, eighth-note hats, a kick that answers on the and of 2 and floor-tom notes that stand in for a conga player. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 108 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Chicago Soul Pocket
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar 16th-note cross-stick soul pocket).
The Chicago Soul Pocket pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | X--- --x- x--- ---- | X--- --x- x--x ---- |
| Cross-stick | ---- x--- ---- X--- | ---- x--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- |
| Low tom | ---- ---- --x- ---x | ---- ---- ---- --xx |
Tempo and feel
Light and sweet. The cross-stick and floor tom keep it conversational, and the kick never pushes harder than the singer. The default tempo is 108 BPM. It plays with 52% swing by default; move the Swing control toward 50% to hear it straight. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Chicago Soul Pocket
Play hats and cross-stick together at a soft, even level. Add the kick, keeping the and of 2 lighter than beat 1. Add the floor-tom answers as if a conga player were sitting beside you.
Variations to try next
Swap the cross-stick for a full snare in the chorus. Play the floor-tom notes on the ride bell. Double the floor-tom answer in bar one.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Impressions - Keep On Pushing, Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up and Major Lance - The Monkey Time. A drum-set study of 60s and early-70s Chicago soul, where light kit parts sat under horns and hand percussion. The conga answers of many records are folded into floor-tom notes in the snare hand. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.