What exactly is "in the pocket" playing?

[byacey]

I think it has to do more with the feel than the content. I always think 1.) locking with the drummer and 2.) (depending on the music) laying back on the beat just a hair to give the song the movement it needs.

It's hard to define, you just know it when you are in it and it's a good place to be.

In the pocket is when you are so tight in sync with the drummer (and the entire rhythm section) that the drummer looks about in a nervous manner.

 

[Groove Master]

I’ve always felt the pocket comes from the band members collectively feeling the pulse more so than being regulated by the downbeats. A mutually experienced sense of time, if you will. And if bass and drums do their job, this is reinforced and supports the other players to play their best, imho. This kind of pocket is my happy place. I’ll gladly hold the groove for 30 minutes while the rest of the band does their thing, no problem.

If you want an idea of what a collectively experienced time/groove/pulse is, throw a track by The Meters in your DAW.
George & Zig are with each other through and through, but visually, the downbeat ain’t always on the one as defined by the software. At least this was the case with the software in my music school days 15yrs ago, not sure what kind of adjustments modern quantization algorithms are capable of.

+1

Very similar to what SG said ;-)

 

[bolophonic]

great definitions, keep them coming guys.

I like the average white band example and agree with that, funky and tight, room for a few fills but powerfully and in with the beat... I think I'll keep that as a prime example...

Does in the pocket playing exist in rock or is that too driven as a whole and as a bassline to be "pocketed"?

There are lots of rock and metal bands that are in the pocket. Check out this song by Kyuss. The drumming is as tight as a ducks behind, and the rest of the band layers so many different rhythms all over it.


Here is a song by a band that I play in as a percussionist. It is in the pocket. I like to think of the pocket in terms of how effectively the band is able to develop a swagger between the snare on the “two” and “four.”



Here is the ultimate tightest pocket in the history of recorded music. (This is not even debatable.) Everyone is playing with such rhythmic precision. Listen to the way the vocals slur the rhythm on the “get” during the final refrain. Perfect.