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Disco · 4/4 · ♩ = 112

Disco Funk Pocket

Four-on-the-floor disco kick fused with syncopated funk - busy sixteenth hi-hats with open accents, a sharp backbeat snare on 2 and 4, and ghosted kick syncopations between the downbeats that lock into a deep, danceable pocket.

Disco Funk Pocket sits a four-on-the-floor kick under continuous sixteenth-note hi-hats, opening the hi-hat on the '&' of 2 and the '&' of 4. Extra kick strokes on the 'a' of 1 and the 'a' of 3 push into the following beat, adding a funk syncopation on top of the steady disco pulse.

Difficulty: AdvancedTempo: 112 BPMTime signature: 4/4

The pattern, written out

Each column is one sixteenth note. x is a hi-hat or cymbal stroke, o is a drum, and o on the hi-hat row is an open hi-hat.

          1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
Hi-Hat    x x x x x x o x x x x x x x o x
Snare     . . . . o . . . . . . . o . . .
Kick      o . . o o . . . o . . o o . . .

How to count it

Count the bar out loud as 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a and add one limb at a time.

Hi-hatContinuous sixteenth notes, closed, except the '&' of 2 and the '&' of 4 which are open.
SnareBeats 2 and 4.
KickAll four numbered beats, plus the 'a' of 1 and the 'a' of 3 — the sixteenth immediately before beats 2 and 4.

The 'a' kicks land a sixteenth before the snare backbeat, so foot and hand fire in quick succession. Practise just 'a-2' and 'a-4' as a two-note figure before playing the whole bar.

Tempo ladder

Start slow enough to place every note deliberately, lock each rung in before moving up, and only raise the tempo once the pattern is clean. Each step opens the metronome at that tempo.

60 BPM · start75 BPM85 BPM100 BPM112 BPM · target

Three mistakes to watch for

1. The 'a' kick arriving square on the beat
It collapses into the downbeat and you lose the push. Set the metronome to sixteenth notes and place that kick on the last subdivision before the beat.
2. Open hi-hats ringing through the backbeat
The hat has to close on the next sixteenth. If it sustains into beat 3 the groove turns to mush. Practise the open-close motion as its own exercise.
3. Sixteenth hi-hats losing evenness at tempo
At 112 BPM this is 448 hi-hat strokes a minute. Drop to 70 BPM and build up with the metronome's practice mode rather than jumping straight to tempo.

Songs that use this groove

  • Good TimesChic

Cited for the disco-funk feel — four-on-the-floor with syncopated sixteenth-note motion — rather than as a note-for-note transcription.

What to play next

Ordered by difficulty — the first is the smallest step up.

Basic Disco GrooveFour-on-the-floor kick on every beat with backbeat snare on 2 and 4 and offbeat hi-hats, the driving foundation of classic disco.Disco DriveThe same four-on-the-floor core stepped up with full eighth-note hi-hats and an open accent on the upbeat, adding forward momentum without crowding the groove.Samba BatucadaA propulsive samba groove driven by a surdo-style kick on the '&' of 1, beat 2, the '&' of 3 and beat 4, rapid sixteenth-note hi-hats carrying the relentless forward momentum, and snare accents that snap against the pulse for that carnival batucada energy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 'a' of a beat?

When you count sixteenth notes as '1 e & a', the 'a' is the fourth and last subdivision — the sixteenth note immediately before the next beat.

How do I stop the open hi-hat ringing too long?

Treat closing the hi-hat as a note in its own right. The foot closes on the sixteenth after the open stroke, which cuts the sound exactly where the pattern needs it to stop.

Is this groove suitable for beginners?

No. It combines sixteenth-note hi-hats, open-hat control and syncopated kick placement. Learn the basic disco groove first, then this.

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