What are the keys to playing funk?

jusaplaya · #1 01-29-2007, 11:11 AM

I have been playing about 2 years but I still can't create funky basslines. What are the 3 or 4 essential elements to practice to making funky basslines?...16th note runs, spacing, etc. Thanks

vindy500 · #2 01-29-2007, 11:16 AM

muting

YogSothoth · #3 01-29-2007, 11:18 AM

E minor? G major?

Just kidding.

Syncopation, dead notes, rythmic activity.

Syncopation is the deliberate displacing beat accents to off-beats (the e and & in a 16th note count). Rythmic variation like syncopated 16ths, triplets and rests are an important part of that style also.

jusaplaya · #4 01-29-2007, 11:20 AM

Can you expand on the syncopation?

zac2944 · #5 01-29-2007, 11:29 AM

What everyone is saying is true, but there is really so much more to it than that. There is no formula for funk. You can't fake the funk. It comes from years of playing.

A good place to start is you favorite funk songs. Learn to play as many as you can. Try to really get the feel of the bass line. There is more to it than just playing the right notes at the right time. Funk is in the fingers. You have to juice every note for all its funkiness. If you are new to funk then it may be difficult for you to hear exactly how a bass player on a recording is getting the funkiness.

Give it another ten years or so and you'll be well on your way.

Good luck.

markjazzbassist · #6 01-29-2007, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zac2944

What everyone is saying is true, but there is really so much more to it than that. There is no formula for funk. You can't fake the funk. It comes from years of playing.

A good place to start is you favorite funk songs. Learn to play as many as you can. Try to really get the feel of the bass line. There is more to it than just playing the right notes at the right time. Funk is in the fingers. You have to juice every note for all its funkiness. If you are new to funk then it may be difficult for you to hear exactly how a bass player on a recording is getting the funkiness.

Give it another ten years or so and you'll be well on your way.

Good luck.

+1

great advice zac. funk is in the fingers and the soul. listen to as much funky music as you can, and learn as many funky basslines as you can. the more you listen and learn, the funkier you'll get.

Jumbotron · #7 01-29-2007, 02:24 PM

George Clinton said it best: Everything is on the one.
You gotta hit that one.

FretlessArt · #8 01-29-2007, 07:06 PM

Funk is the art of "Less is More."

The funk bass is about communicating a rythmic message more than displaying your chops.

Listen to the masters of motown for inspiration

Chunk-O-Funk · #9 01-29-2007, 07:25 PM

What Zac said!

The first couple of post mentioned technique which is important, but more important is the music. You can have all the technique in the world, but if ya ain't funky, it won't sound like funk.

Just like any music genre, if you weren't born to play it you will have to learn to play it. Get your hands on as much of that style of music as you can and listen, listen, listen. Learn as many tunes/bass lines as you can.

Listen to the music for the feel. Learn the techniques to help you get there a little quicker.

RWP · #10 01-29-2007, 07:42 PM

Listen to Larry Graham, then listen again.
You will think his stuff is easy until you try to pickup on the groove he has. He can make a funky thing happen out of just a few notes. Sort'a the BB King of bass.

tzadik · #11 01-29-2007, 07:51 PM

+1 on less is more.
Okay. Make up a funk groove. Play it. Now take out 1/3 of the notes. Play again. Now put them back. Take out 1/3 of the notes (different ones). Play again. Now take out as many notes as you can and still imply the line.

Now you're getting somewhere!

steveb98 · #12 01-29-2007, 07:52 PM

Funk is all about rhythm not notes. Start by first listening to Funky tune with a simple bassline like James Brown's tune The Payback. Listen to how the bass drum and bass guitar work together. Next clap along and till you can nail the backbeat the drummer is playing on his snare. Learn to feel those snare hits on 2 and 4. When you have that now sing the bass line till it feels natural. Now strap on your bass and just play the rhythm of the bass line using one note. When that is working and I mean tight and in good time, now play both notes of the main bassline. When you have that down you have taken your first step towards getting funky.

Buy a best of James Brown CD and listen, listen, and listen some more. Clap the rhythms, learn to sing the basslines. When you have 'em down singing and clapping then pick up your bass.

tocoadog · #13 01-30-2007, 12:20 PM

I was gonna say space. Lots of space!

Bobbo 77" · #14 01-30-2007, 03:35 PM

JAMZ BROWN!!
GO BEARS'!!!! SUPER BOWL!!!

Christopher · #15 01-30-2007, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusaplaya

I have been playing about 2 years but I still can't create funky basslines. What are the 3 or 4 essential elements to practice to making funky basslines?...16th note runs, spacing, etc. Thanks

For me, the keyt is internalizing and feeling a sixteenth note pulse. Whether you're playing fingerstyle or slap, and on whatever type of bass, funk lines subdivide along sixteenth notes.

As others have mentioned, you don't necessarily have to play every sixteenth note to come up with a funky line or make it sound busy. The true "key" to doing that is in fact leaving some of them out.

Jezz8me · #16 01-30-2007, 11:22 PM

don't worry bout the technicalities maaaan feeeeeeel the groove maaaan take 'em to space with that bass let em hear the thunk of our thunk dude. (you dont need 2 try get a thunk sorta sound lol)

lowphatbass · #17 01-31-2007, 12:16 AM

Funk is a VERY broad term. There are many types of feels that can be classified as "funk" and a bunch more that are funky. Listen to the types of feels that you want to replicate, you can't get the music out of your head if it isn't inside your head first, PERIOD. Dedicate much time to listening, as if your learning another language. If you wanted to learn French the best thing is GO TO FRANCE! Saturate your ears and really get the feel in your head and heart.

YogSothoth · #18 01-31-2007, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowphatbass

If you wanted to learn French the best thing is GO TO FRANCE! Saturate your ears and really get the feel in your head and heart.

+1 to that. Listen to a lotta' funk is probably the only thing you could do to get funky. Makes me wonder, who was the first person to "get funky?" I mean, it had to come from somewhere, right?

Maybe it was aliens. An alien infusion of funkiness.

brianrost · #19 01-31-2007, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveb98

Funk is all about rhythm not notes.
Buy a best of James Brown CD and listen, listen, and listen some more. Clap the rhythms, learn to sing the basslines. When you have 'em down singing and clapping then pick up your bass.

This is the best advice here.

James Brown's innnovation that made funk possible was in treating most of the instruments in the band as if they were drums. Before James R&B music had a strong rhythmic element but melodies and lyrics were still important. James threw that all away, everything was groove.

The advice about clapping and singing before playing is great. This way it forces your brain to internalize the music rather than relying on your muscle memory. I seldom do this, but it is a fact that if you can sing a line it's a lot easier to play it.

cowsgomoo · #20 01-31-2007, 06:22 AM

OK, I could ramble on all day about 'groove' and 'feel' and 'mojo' and 'juicing notes for funkiness' all the other stuff, but that's been done enough on this thread... here's something a bit more scientific about feel

one thing about 16ths, that no-one appears to have mentioned yet, is that the amount of swing you add to the 16ths makes a huge difference to the feel of the groove...

you can have ultra strict, straight 16ths like the Rocco/Jaco streams of 16ths....i.e. 'What Is Hip?' or 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' (Norman Watt-Roy)

and then you can have extremely swung 'tripletized' 16ths where the 8th notes are divided up into pretty much equal 3rds

but in between those two extremes is a LOT of mileage where you can play around with the feel... I'd suggest getting Cubase and constructing some drum grooves where you vary the location of the 'swing' and attempt to lock in with it... as a general rule of thumb you'll find the groove will 'sit' better with straighter 16ths as you increase the tempo...

oh, and don't forget to 'juice your notes for funkiness' whilst doing the above...

(shakes fist) JUICE THEM!!!