are there such things?

to make a short story long, me and some random buddies from my highschool's jazz band decided to get together and form a funk combo-ish thing. so, we decided we would probably cover some stuff, like earth, wind and fire, commodores (who i just saw live, btw, great show.), stuff like that. BUT, we also decided, since most of us have a strong grip on music theory, we could write some stuff ourselves. So I sat down, and thought about this. Is there a certain chord progression that funk favors? I've also heard that bass players playing funk like mixylodian and dorian modes. Any input in general would be welcome. Thanks.

I think just about any chord progression can be funky if you play it with the right feel...

I think just about any chord progression can be funky if you play it with the right feel...

+10

Funk is a rhythm thing and a feel thing. You could do it over any chords you want.

righto then. sounds good.

actually, just a quick update. after consulting some higher sources i.e. my teacher, I learned a few things. funk can stay on one chord the entire song, ala play that funky music. or sometimes you can use a chord progression downwards that looks like:

I7 bVI7 bVI7 V7

or, dominant root,dominant flat seventh, dominant flat sixth, dominant fifth. It actually sounds quite funky, if you hit octaves, 5ths, and of course 7ths.

Funkiest stuff I ever heard had one chord... James Brown, etc...

james brown is pretty funky. actually, on a side side note, adding to what i said earlier, i was listening to Flashlight, by P-Funk. And then it clicked, they were doing that chord progression. gasp. its like, somebody told me how to unlock the door.

Funk quite often uses 9th chords. A ton of funk songs are built around 9th chords. "Play That Funky Music" is all 9th chords from top to bottom, for example. "Sex Machine" is built around a 9th. m7 chords are used a lot in transitions, too.

One chord funk is good. If you absolutely feel like you need a second chord, you want the IV.

Everything is minor sevenths.