Latin Funk Boogaloo drum pattern
A two-bar boogaloo and Latin-funk groove: a cowbell on the quarter notes that adds the ands in bar two, the hi-hat foot on every and, a handclap backbeat and a kick that anticipates like a tumbao bass line. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 110 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Latin Funk Boogaloo
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 boogaloo pocket).
The Latin Funk Boogaloo 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--- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---o ---- ---o | ---- ---- ---- ---o |
| Pedal hat | --o- --o- --o- --o- | --o- --o- --o- --o- |
| Cowbell | x--- x--- x--- x--- | x--- x-x- x--- x-x- |
Tempo and feel
Bright and hand-clapping. The cowbell sets the pulse, the kick anticipates the and of 2 like the bass, and the backbeat should feel like a room full of claps. The default tempo is 110 BPM. It plays with 51% 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 Latin Funk Boogaloo
Play the cowbell quarter notes with the hi-hat foot on the ands. Add the backbeat, then the and-of-2 and beat-4 kicks. Add the bar-two cowbell ands and keep the accents on the beats.
Variations to try next
Play the cowbell ands in both bars. Move the backbeat to cross-stick. Drop the kick on beat 1 for a lighter montuno feel.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Joe Cuba Sextet - Bang Bang, Pete Rodriguez - I Like It Like That and War - Low Rider. A drum-set study of 60s boogaloo and 70s Latin funk. The cowbell hand stands in for the timbale player and the backbeat snare for the handclaps; congas and the piano montuno are left to the band. It is not a transcription.