Drum beat in the style of “Brick House” — Commodores
Song grooves
· Simplified drum grooves in the style of famous songs — not exact transcriptions.
The Commodores’ 1977 funk hit was sung by their drummer, Walter Orange. The groove is a tight 16th-note funk beat that sits deep in the pocket.
- Tempo
- 107 BPM
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Groove
- 16th-note funk groove
- Genre
- Funk
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Loop
- 1 bar
Drum pattern
| Open hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat | ||||||||||||||||
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Kick |
Each row is one drum, each column one step. Large dots are accents, small dots normal hits, faint dots ghost notes.
Who plays what: notes per bar
| Cymbal hand | 16 |
|---|---|
| Snare hand | 5 |
| Kick foot | 4 |
The kick always lines up with the cymbal, so the work is in the snare hand: 3 of its 5 notes are ghost notes.
About this groove
At about 107 BPM it has a medium tempo: one beat lasts 561 ms and a 4/4 bar takes 2.2 seconds. Use the tempo buttons to slow it down while you learn.
Practice plan
How it differs from similar beats
Compared with “Funky Drummer” (James Brown, funk groove with ghost notes), this groove changes only small details — and it runs 7 BPM faster. If you can already play that one, this is your next step. Funky Drummer →
“Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” (James Brown) uses exactly the same simplified pattern, 1 BPM faster — a good next step once this one feels easy. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine →
Other songs with the same 16th-note funk groove
- Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine James Brown · Funk · 108 BPM
- Walk This Way Aerosmith · Rock · 109 BPM
- Uptown Funk Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars · Funk · 115 BPM
- Smooth Criminal Michael Jackson · Pop · 118 BPM
- Give It Away Red Hot Chili Peppers · Funk · 91 BPM
- Cissy Strut The Meters · Funk · 90 BPM
Similar drum beats
This is a simplified rhythm pattern in the style of “Brick House” by Commodores, written for drum practice. It is not a transcription of the recording and contains no audio, lyrics or artwork. Drums3D is not affiliated with Commodores.