The Funky Drummer Beat (For Beginners)

PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS BEFORE POSTING COMMENTS: This is my way of playing the classic breakbeat for James Brown's "Funky Drummer" plus some variations I have come up with that I feel are useful. No, I am not Clyde Stubblefied nor have I ever met him, so of course, he probably did it slightly different than this in 1969. YES, I KNOW there are two extra ghost notes on the snare most of the time when he plays it on the record that I am not playing here. I left them out to keep things a little more simple in the learning process. If you really listen to the drum part over the course of the song, he plays many little variations, some of which are more complex, some are more simple. I have posted this because I feel that it captures the essence of the beat and shows drummers how to take that and make it a little bit their own, not just copying something rigidly note for note. ENJOY! :D

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Funky
• Drummer
• Drums
• Break
• Beat
• Breakbeat
• James
• Brown
• Clyde
• Stubblefield
• Funk
• Soul
• Hip-Hop

[PorchBass]

I think you really nail the feel. The snare sounds ace, the whole kit sounds funky as hell. I play a lot of funk, and I can hear that you have it.

Great work. Thanks.

[BarrioPatrol]

@PorchBass This is one of the nicest compliments I've ever been given, and I've been playing drums a loonngg time...cheers! Even though they say "you can't fake the funk" a lot of people do, and it takes years of soaking it up, living it and breathing it to get that certain something. I'm glad you think I have it...made my week, mate!

[hypnodelica]

Thanks for breaking it down in such detail, really liked the way you picked apart the hat accents... still would have liked to have heard you do it with the extra ghost notes on the snare... and that snare could do with tuning up a bit higher.... but other than that great job...

[BarrioPatrol]

@hypnodelica Certainly. I figure the other notes are pretty much self-explanatory if you make it through all the other stuff. Plus most people think that the easiest way to make something more funky is put more ghost notes on the snare. However, I've found that to make your groove truly deeper you have to tie together all of your limbs and really focus on how you accent the notes w/your hi-hat/ride hand, so I put the focus there. Glad you got something good from it. Thanks!

[rodrig0sur]

thank u man great help

[BarrioPatrol]

@rodrig0sur of course, anytime!

[legendofzelda25]

I'm a pretty good drummer with good technique and everything, but i struggle with foot hand coordination. I never learned it when i started out.

[Tantoise]

Awesome i think I'm the first person to watch this video then play the beat on the drums. It's simple but none the less fun!