80s Slap-Bass Funk drum pattern
A two-bar slap-bass-era funk groove: the kick shadows a thumb-and-pop bass line, the backbeat cracks, quiet 16th hats run underneath and an open hat barks with the kick on the and of 2. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 120 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the 80s Slap-Bass 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 straight 16th-note slap-funk pocket).
The 80s Slap-Bass 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--x --x- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---- -o-- ---- | ---- ---- -o-- ---o |
| Closed hat | xooo xo-o xooo xooo | xooo xooo xooo xooo |
| Open hat | ---- --x- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Pedal hat | ---- ---- o--- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
Tempo and feel
Punchy and precise. Kick and bass should feel like one instrument, and the backbeat sits right on the grid so the slap notes can pop around it. The default tempo is 120 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the 80s Slap-Bass Funk
Play the kick line alone and hum a bass line that lands with it. Add the backbeat at full strength, dead on the grid. Add the quiet 16th hats and the open-hat bark with the and-of-2 kick.
Variations to try next
Play the hats as eighths for a heavier feel. Add a snare accent on the a of 4 in bar two. Move the open hat to the and of 4.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Brothers Johnson - Stomp!, Kool & the Gang - Get Down On It and Shalamar - A Night to Remember. A drum-set study of late-70s and early-80s slap-bass funk, where the kick follows the bassist's thumb and the snare carries a big, bright crack. The gated room sound of the era is not reproduced by the kit; the kick placements trace a typical thumb-and-pop line.