The pattern
124 BPM · 4/4 · 16 step · swing 35%
| Instrument | Beat 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Beat 2 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Beat 3 | Step 10 | Step 11 | Step 12 | Beat 4 | Step 14 | Step 15 | Step 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Clap | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Rim shot | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit |
| Open hi-hat | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest |
| Shaker | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| Tambourine | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| High conga | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | rest |
| Low conga | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest |
How to play it and where it comes from
Groove of the Paradise Garage and the New Jersey scene (Zanzibar), later Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler: round kick on the quarter notes, clap and tambourine together on 2 and 4 (the tambourine gives the gospel sparkle), open hat on the offbeat, shaker in sixteenths with marked swing (35 ≈ 60–64% MPC) and wave-like velocity, hand-played congas with a high slap and a low tumba that converse with the bass. The feel is more relaxed and "human" than Chicago house: percussion recorded or sampled from Latin/disco breaks, microtiming 5–15 ms late on shaker and congas. Variants: closed hat on the offbeat instead of the open one in the verses, piano stabs on the offbeat, a break of just congas and voice before the chorus.