Second-Line Funk drum pattern
A two-bar New Orleans street-beat groove: the kick answers on the and of 2, the snare hand chatters around a strong backbeat, and a three-note snare pickup rolls bar two back to the top. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 98 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Second-Line 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 lilting 16th-note second-line pocket).
The Second-Line 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--- ---- XxxX |
| Ghost snare | -o-o ---o -o-o ---o | -o-o ---o -o-o ---- |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-o- | x-o- x-o- x-o- x--- |
Tempo and feel
Rolling and a little lopsided. The 16ths sit between straight and swung, and the snare chatter should sound like a parade drummer walking, not a drum-corps roll. The default tempo is 98 BPM. It plays with 56% 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 Second-Line Funk
Play the kick alone and sing the and-of-2 answer until it feels like a bass drummer in a parade. Add the eighth-note hats, then the ghost notes at whisper volume with Swing on. Play the bar-two pickup hand to hand and land on beat 1 without rushing.
Variations to try next
Move the hat hand to the snare rim for a street-drum sound. Drop the bar-two pickup and keep the chatter. Set Swing to 50% to hear how much of the lilt it carries.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Professor Longhair - Big Chief, The Meters - Hey Pocky A-Way and Dirty Dozen Brass Band - My Feet Can't Fail Me Now. A drum-set study of the New Orleans second-line feel, where the bass drum and snare drum of a street parade band are folded into one kit. The lilt sits between straight and swung 16ths; it is authored for practice, not transcribed from any one record.