Beatbay guide
Funk drum pattern
A funk beat has sixteenth-note hi-hats, a syncopated kick that dances around the beat, the snare hard on 2 and 4, and quiet “ghost notes” on the snare between them, at about 95 to 115 BPM.
The pattern
The hats run in sixteenths, accented on the beats. The kick plays the one and then off-beat sixteenths. Between the backbeats, soft snare hits fill the gaps; they are felt more than heard.
| Drum | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thick kick | X | · | x | · | · | · | x | · | · | · | X | · | · | x | · | · |
| Crack snare | · | · | · | · | X | · | · | ? | · | ? | · | · | X | · | · | ? |
| Dusty hat | X | x | x | x | X | x | x | x | X | x | x | x | X | x | · | x |
| Open hat | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | x | · |
Read across: each column is a sixteenth note, numbered on the beats. X is an accent, x a hit, r a quick roll, ? a hit that plays only some of the time round.
Tempo and feel
A little swing, about 52 to 55%, keeps it human. The groove is in the small, quiet notes as much as the loud ones.
The beat above is Beatbay’s “Funk” starter: 100 BPM, swing 54%. Tap any step to change it while it plays.
Make it your own
In Beatbay, put ghost notes on the snare at 50% chance so they change each time round. Nudge one kick a touch late. With Pro, a short stab chord on the off-beat finishes it.
When you like it, “Open in Beatbay” takes your version into the app, where you can save it, add patterns and share it as a link, a video or a WAV.
Questions
What are ghost notes?
Very quiet drum hits, usually on the snare, between the main beats. They fill the groove without being heard as separate notes.