Help, I can't funk.

[Epidrake]

Any tips on how a 50 year old rock and roll playing white guy can learn to play funk? Rock, I can do, even some Motown, no problem but funk...
It's not just the slapping, it's the feeling. Any advice would be appreciated.

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by Epidrake

Any tips on how a 50 year old rock and roll playing white guy can learn to play funk? Rock, I can do, even some Motown, no problem but funk...
It's not just the slapping, it's the feeling. Any advice would be appreciated.

listen to James Brown, Parliament, Funkadelics, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham, Etc. Play along until your fingers bleed.

[Epidrake]

Thanks, I'll try it but I think I'm hopeless. It's not the notes, it's the feel. I wonder why rock is just so different?

[Roy Vogt]

Play along with some James Brown recordings for starters.
IME, Funk is about being on the "One"-that is, emphasizing the downbeat on every couple of measures at least. A lot of what you do in between can (and in most cases should) play around with the upbeats and syncopations.
You can be funky and not slap, BTW. Listen to The Ohio Players and Paul Jackson with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters.
(Special thanks to Nashville Bassist/Producer Jesse Boyce for teaching me about "the one" 26 years ago. Thanks, Jesse!)

[younggun]

Do you listen to a lot of funk? If not that's a good start.
I'm assuming you've been playing for a while, so technique is probably not a problem. Slapping really isn't necessary to funk, you're right its a feeling. The more you listen, evaluate what you hear, then emulate it, the better you'll get at that feeling.

[TinIndian]

I agree with these guys. Go listen to a bunch of it, Parliament, Larry Graham any thing with a good funk groove and just dig in.

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by Epidrake

Thanks, I'll try it but I think I'm hopeless. It's not the notes, it's the feel. I wonder why rock is just so different?

A lot of Rock bass is played on top of the beat (think Rush, etc.) while a lot of Funk lays back in what my friend Willie Weeks calls "the dark side of the beat". Listen to some David Hood with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Raphael Saadiq with Raphael or Pino on Bass and Duck Dunn among others. The lines are simple, but the time lays back.
In general, Rock 8th notes tend to be long and one connects to the other (think Roundabout by Yes or AC/DC) while Funk notes have more space between them, even busy lines (think Tower of Power and Francis Rocco Prestia).
Listen to a lot of Funk. Put it on your Ipod, listen to it in your car, etc. Immersion in a style helps you get there quicker. I even do short "inoculations" sometimes by listening to Country Radio on the way to a Country recording session, Jazz on the way to a Jazz gig, etc.
You don't have to play a lot of notes to be funky. It's more about where you play them (and don't play them).

[DWBass]

Funk 101 - TalkBass Forums

[Dickie]

Yes, start off by getting the 2 CD Parliament set and the James Brown foundations of Funk 2 CD sets and play along to cop the feel, don't forget the Meters as well, and then get the JB's 2CD set as a chaser. True, not everyone can do it-at least not at first, but if you really want to get it down it will come with time. Think on the one, keep it simple at first not too busy, when playing with a band you have to have a drummer that can play funk, if you play with a rock drummer that can't get the feel right it will be very hard to get the funk to groove which can be frustrating. I wouldn't even try slap until you have finger style funk down. Good luck bro!

[Epidrake]

Thanks for all the great advice guys! I will do my best. Getting a little bit behind the beat is going to be the tough part. Listening to a lot of good funk was not as helpful previously because I didn't know what I was listening for. THANKS ALL

[gscroggin]

There's a video out on You Tube with Bootsy explaining it, go find it. He plays like 3 notes, and it seems crazy simple...but IMO it really does capture it all in a nutshell. I've always found funky stuff to be about the notes you DON'T play.

[marpet]

BOOTSY'S BASIC FUNK FORMULA - YouTube

y'know

[Epidrake]

THAT was great and he was playing along with a drum machine!!!

[DWBass]

Rock School Vol 3 - Part 1 of 8 - How To Play Funk - YouTube

[bearhart74]

Start with George Porter Jr.. Not many notes but it dont get much more funky

[mantrabass]

Originally Posted by DWBass

Rock School Vol 3 - Part 1 of 8 - How To Play Funk - YouTube

+1

[Epidrake]

Rock School!! Wow, I forgot all about that show. I have it on VHS tape somewhere in my collection. Youtube is easier.

[Russell L]

Try to feel the 16th-note subdivision (four notes per beat), even if you aren't always playing on it. It's easy to get that feel on guitar because of your arm and wrist movement. It's harder to find that in your fingers and hand while playing bass. The best way, for me, has been to find a little groove I like and keep playing it like a loop over and over until I drop. At some point you will begin to loosen up and feel it. It works. Try it.

[sammyp]

Originally Posted by Epidrake

Thanks, I'll try it but I think I'm hopeless. It's not the notes, it's the feel. I wonder why rock is just so different?

it's not easy ...i remember the time i sat down to learn Strechin' out by bootsy .....it's all funky .....simple notes ....very funky feel!

it helps to play that stuff slow with a drum machine and know the rhthyms ....like specifically when 2 notes licks start on e or a rather than on the beat....

[dalkowski]

+1 to all of the above. Most of all, it's about the ONE. No one, no funk. It's all gravy from there.