Funk Break
Genre: Funk / Soul, Breakbeat / Jungle · Tempo: 100 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: classic 60s-70s funk drum break feel (ghost snares, open-hat accents)
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| hat-closed | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 | 45-70 | on the grid, always plays |
| kick | 1, 3, 11, 14 | 90-118 | step 3: plays 90% of the time; step 11: plays 85% of the time; step 14: plays 80% of the time |
| snare | 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 16 | 40-127 | step 4: plays 70% of the time; step 8: plays 70% of the time; step 10: plays 60% of the time; step 12: plays 70% of the time; step 16: plays 60% of the time |
| hat-open | 6, 14 | 80 | on the grid, always plays |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: snare
- T3: hat-closed
- T4: hat-open
Settings
- Snare (T2): steps 5 and 13 at VEL 127; ghost notes on steps 4, 8, 10, 12, 16 with VEL 40-45 and PROB 60-70 (the sources place backbeats at full velocity and ghosts far below).
- Hat-closed (T3): steady 16ths (steps 1-16 except 6 and 14), VEL 70 on the beat and 45 elsewhere; AMP page DEC 12.
- Hat-open (T4): steps 6 and 14 (the "e" of 2 and 4) with AMP page DEC 45; closed and open hats sit on separate tracks here, so the open hat does not choke the closed one.
- Step 14: kick (T1) lands with the open hat, PROB 80.
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 1, FM click-into-boom)
- T2: snare (ALGO 1, FDBK noise)
- T3: hat-closed (FM noise)
- T4: hat-open (FM noise, long DEC)
Settings
- Kick: SYN page 1 ALGO 1, MIX -64, RATIO C 0.50, RATIO A 1.00; SYN page 2 Operator A LEV 55, ATK 0, DEC 10, END 0 (a fast click that falls away, leaving the low carrier); LEV (B) 0. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 55, SUS 0, REL 10.
- Snare: SYN page 1 ALGO 1, MIX -64, RATIO C 2.00, RATIO A 5.00, FDBK 95; SYN page 2 Operators A & B LEV (A) 60, LEV (B) 0 (FDBK acts on operator A in ALGO 1, so LEV (A) has to be up for the noise to be heard). AMP page ATK 0, DEC 38, SUS 0. FLTR page 1 HP FREQ 40.
- Hats: SYN page 1 ALGO 1, MIX -64, RATIO C 1.00, RATIO A 11.00, FDBK 110; SYN page 2 Operators A & B LEV (A) 90, LEV (B) 0; FLTR page 1 TYPE HP, FREQ 100. AMP page DEC 10 (closed); lock AMP page DEC to 55 on the open-hat steps. Closed and open hats use separate tracks.
- Snare ghosts (T2, steps 4, 8, 10, 12, 16): TRIG page 1 VEL 40-45, PROB 60-70.
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD ACOUSTIC)
- T10: snare (SD ACOUSTIC)
- T12: hats (HH BASIC)
Settings
- Kick (T9, BD ACOUSTIC): SYN page DEC 55, IMP 40.
- Snare (T10, SD ACOUSTIC): SYN page NLEV 60, NDEC 45. Ghosts on steps 4, 8, 10, 12, 16 at TRIG page VEL 40-45.
- Syntakt has only one Analog Cymbal voice (T12), so closed and open hat share it: use `HH BASIC` and lock SYN page DEC short for closed steps and long for open steps. Open-hat steps 6 and 14: SYN page DEC locked to 70.
Notes
An original pattern in the feel of the classic funk break: 16th-note hats with two open accents (the 'e' of 2 and 4), full-velocity snares on 2 and 4 with quiet ghost notes between, and a kick that clusters around beats 1 and 4. Not a transcription of any specific record.
Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.