← All lessonsModule 8 · Rhythm & Groove
Backbeat and the One
Feel why a snare on two and four makes your body move, then zoom into funk's sixteen-step grid, where everybody hits the one.
In this lesson you'll
- Feel the kick and snare push and pull.
- Count a bar in sixteen steps and find the one.
- Build your own 16-step funk groove.
Music in this lesson
- We Will Rock YouQueen · 1977
- Papa's Got a Brand New BagJames Brown · 1965
- Cold SweatJames Brown · 1967
- Funky DrummerJames Brown · 1970
Remember
The kick grounds you on one and three, the snare answers on two and four, so rock, gospel and R&B audiences clap on two and four.
Funk splits every beat in four and puts a heavy accent on beat one, where every part hits together.
Small syncopated parts (guitar chops, bass between the beats, horn stabs) lock like gears, often over one dominant ninth chord.