A crash course in 5 essential beats every drummer needs to know

Funk to me is rhythmic grooving music that is designed to make people dance. There are many different approaches to funk. I’ve chosen these 5 beats because they are some of my favorite, but they will also serve as a good starting point to represent a sampling of some of the different approaches you will encounter when playing Funk. 

The beats we will cover in this lesson are James Brown’s Cold Sweat with Clyde Stubblefield on drums, Soul Power with Jabo Starks on drums,“Funky Drummer” with Clyde Stubblefield on drums, Herbie Hancock “Chameleon” with Harvey Mason on drums and the Meters “Cissy Strut” with Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums. 

I picked these 5 beats specifically for a reason. If you can convincingly play these five beats, you’ll be able to handle most of the funk that comes your way. These beats get referenced often and they are each quite different from each other. I’ve heard these beats referenced when figuring out what to play in a recording session or when writing new material. And, I’ve certainly heard most of these songs called out at gigs and Jam sessions.