Earl Young-Style Philly Soul drum pattern
A two-bar Philly soul groove: kick on every quarter, eighth-note hats that open on each and and close with the foot on the beat, a smooth backbeat and a snare pickup into the top. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 112 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Earl Young-Style Philly Soul
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar 16th-note Philly soul open-hat pocket).
The Earl Young-Style Philly Soul pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | X--- x--- X--- x--- | X--- x--- X--- x--- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X-xX |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---o ---- ---o | ---- ---- -o-- -o-- |
| Closed hat | x--- x--- x--- x--- | x--- x--- x--- x--- |
| Open hat | --x- --x- --x- --x- | --x- --x- --x- ---- |
| Pedal hat | o--- o--- o--- o--- | o--- o--- o--- o--- |
Tempo and feel
Lush and gliding. The open hats breathe like a string section, and the kick stays even and round rather than pounding. The default tempo is 112 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Earl Young-Style Philly Soul
Play the hand open-close hat with the foot closing on each beat until the chick is exact. Add the quarter-note kick at an even, medium volume. Add the backbeat and the bar-two snare pickup.
Variations to try next
Keep the hat closed and play the ands on the ride. Drop the kick on 2 and 4 for a lighter verse. Add ghost notes on the e of 2 and 4.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include The O'Jays - Love Train, MFSB - TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes - The Love I Lost. A style study of the early-70s Philadelphia soul feel of Earl Young, the MFSB drummer who also sang bass in The Trammps: four-on-the-floor kick with eighth-note hats that open on every and and close with the foot on the beat. Strings, congas and tambourine are not on the kit. Unlike the library's Chic-Era Disco Funk it keeps eighth-note hats at a slower tempo; it is authored for practice, not transcribed.