Zigaboo-Style Syncopation drum pattern
A two-bar New Orleans funk study with a broken hi-hat line, a kick that dodges the backbeat and a bar-two snare that jumps from beat 4 to the a of 3. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 94 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Zigaboo-Style Syncopation
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 broken 16th-note New Orleans pocket).
The Zigaboo-Style Syncopation 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- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---X ---- |
| Ghost snare | -o-- --o- -o-- -o-- | -o-- --o- ---- -o-o |
| Closed hat | x-o- xo-- x-oo --o- | x-o- xo-- x--- x-o- |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- --x- ---- |
| Pedal hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- o--- |
Tempo and feel
Sly and conversational. The hats leave holes on purpose, and the displaced snare in bar two should feel like a sidestep, not a mistake. The default tempo is 94 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 Zigaboo-Style Syncopation
Play the broken hat line alone and count every 16th out loud. Add bar one kick and snare, keeping the ghosts under the hats. In bar two, play the a-of-3 snare and leave beat 4 empty.
Variations to try next
Put the bar-two snare back on beat 4. Fill the hat holes for a straighter pocket. Move the open hat to the and of 4 in bar one.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The Meters - Just Kissin' My Baby, The Meters - People Say and The Meters - Look-Ka Py Py. A style study of the broken-hat, displaced-backbeat syncopation associated with Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters. The bar-two displaced snare is an authored practice figure, not a transcription of any one record.