Minneapolis Funk drum pattern
A two-bar early-80s Minneapolis groove: a quantised kick, a snapping backbeat, flat 16th hats, an open hat on the and of 4 and a short high-to-low tom pickup at the end of bar two. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 118 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Minneapolis Funk
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 quantised 16th-note machine-funk grid).
The Minneapolis Funk 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--X ---- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | xoxo xoxo xoxo xo-o | xoxo xoxo xoxo xoxo |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- --x- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Pedal hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | o--- ---- ---- ---- |
| High tom | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- --x- |
| Low tom | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---X |
Tempo and feel
Crisp, cold and danceable. Every hit is on the grid at one of two levels, and the energy comes from the syncopated kick against the rigid hats. The default tempo is 118 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Minneapolis Funk
Play the 16th hats with only two volume levels and no swing. Add kick and snare exactly on the grid. Play the bar-two tom pickup with the left hand while the hats keep going.
Variations to try next
Drop the hats to eighths. Leave out the tom pickup. Add a kick on the a of 4 in bar one.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Prince - 1999, The Time - Jungle Love and Prince - Controversy. A played-kit translation of the early-80s Minneapolis sound built on drum machines such as the Linn LM-1: quantised kick and snare at fixed levels, even 16th hats and short tom pickups. The handclaps layered on the backbeat are folded into the snare. It is a style study, not a transcription.