Chameleon Drums tab video

About this riff

The Chameleon groove is a sixteenth-note funk pattern that locks tightly to the bass line rather than sitting on a plain backbeat, so the challenge is coordination and feel more than raw speed at ~100 BPM. Ghost notes on the snare and a displaced backbeat (a sixteenth before beat 2) give it that greasy pocket, and the trick is leaving out the 'and' of 2 that the bass plays so the two parts interlock instead of doubling. It's a rewarding study in space, dynamics and groove discipline for any funk drummer.

Did you know?

Drummer Harvey Mason has said the main groove was born directly from Paul Jackson's bass line: instead of laying a simple backbeat over the top, he chose to follow the bass closely so the drums and bass would interlock. Notably, he doesn't copy the bass exactly—he leaves the 'and' of beat 2 to the bass alone, which opens up the feel and leaves room for embellishments. Head Hunters, released in October 1973, went on to become the first platinum-selling album in jazz history.

Sources: [1] [2] [3]

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