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Gettin Funky
- Thread starter bassgod94
- Start date
Funk Studies 101 listening assignment....This is my friend Jerome Preston--a name you may not have heard but you will remember. All I can tell you now is to LISTEN and learn!!! I call this "Spankin That Stankum"
You will be tested...daily!!!
You will be tested...daily!!!
Funk Studies 101 listening assignment #2..."Pickin Funk"
This is Bobby Vega...he spanks stankum with a pick! Hey! Ike Turner!...slapping aint always the answer!!!
This is Bobby Vega...he spanks stankum with a pick! Hey! Ike Turner!...slapping aint always the answer!!!
Lotta good advice here. I'll add one different perspective. Playing funk in a band can be different from playing funky licks by yourself. The unit needs to work together as a whole.
Funk in a band usually is about one guy playing a riff and leaving holes in it and other guys filling something in the holes. Each player leaves space for someone else to fill.
In general, funk is abrupt - seldom smooth - and has accents in unexpected places.
Funk in a band usually is about one guy playing a riff and leaving holes in it and other guys filling something in the holes. Each player leaves space for someone else to fill.
In general, funk is abrupt - seldom smooth - and has accents in unexpected places.
If you don't think so, you ain't into the funk. "Evolution" can often be another word for "crap".
And to the OP: RIGHT ON!
I'm thinking you almost had to have a bad haircut to get the call for that gig.
That's a chick with big calves. I hope.
And really, to the OP, please don't start with aging white Englishmen if you want to learn funk. I mean damn.
Get the JB album "Funk Power 1970"
It has extended versions of sex machine, Talking loud and sayin nothing, Super bad, Soul power and other great ones....You'll feel like the funk reach out of your speakers and smack you in the face
It has extended versions of sex machine, Talking loud and sayin nothing, Super bad, Soul power and other great ones....You'll feel like the funk reach out of your speakers and smack you in the face
Funk Studies 101 listening assignment....This is my friend Jerome Preston--a name you may not have heard but you will remember. All I can tell you now is to LISTEN and learn!!! I call this "Spankin That Stankum"
You will be tested...daily!!!
Killin' it on a BC Rich. That's awesome. thanks for sharing and Jerome is certainly a card carrier.
Some really good posts in this thread. A solid thumbs up to the Jamerson recommendation - although his playing isn't "funk" it pushes syncopated groove hard and fast. Listening to him will help you understand HOW and WHY modern bassists (not just funk players) groove the way we do.
Another big up to the recommendation to check out contemporary groups - funk is alive, funk is well, funk is everywhere. The mid-nineties saw a revival of funk and soul jazz, a mixing of the two genres which has produced some great music. Check these records out:
John Scofield - A Go Go
Wil Blades - Sketchy
Soulive - Steady Groovin'
Lettuce - Rage!
Galactic - Coolin' Off
The RH Factor - Hard Groove
In addition, www.archive.org is a TREMENDOUS resource for any musician. Free streaming/downloadable live shows uploaded by users. Head over there and be sure to check out these groups:
Soulive
Fantastic 4
Pocket
Will Bernard and Motherbug
Beau Sasser Trio
Left Ear Trio
Sam Kininger Band
All of these artists throw down a serious dose of funk, jazz and groove. MAN.
And check these two guys out - Chris Loftlin and Louis Cato. You will not be able to handle the amount of groove thrown in your face. I'll link to a recording with Cato on bass... check out his playing under the organ solo.
Eric Krasno - Get Back:
Go forth, listen until your ears ache, play until your fingers do too, rinse and repeat.
EDIT - Man, that Maceo Parker video is killin'. Thanks for sharing!
Another big up to the recommendation to check out contemporary groups - funk is alive, funk is well, funk is everywhere. The mid-nineties saw a revival of funk and soul jazz, a mixing of the two genres which has produced some great music. Check these records out:
John Scofield - A Go Go
Wil Blades - Sketchy
Soulive - Steady Groovin'
Lettuce - Rage!
Galactic - Coolin' Off
The RH Factor - Hard Groove
In addition, www.archive.org is a TREMENDOUS resource for any musician. Free streaming/downloadable live shows uploaded by users. Head over there and be sure to check out these groups:
Soulive
Fantastic 4
Will Bernard and Motherbug
Beau Sasser Trio
Left Ear Trio
Sam Kininger Band
All of these artists throw down a serious dose of funk, jazz and groove. MAN.
And check these two guys out - Chris Loftlin and Louis Cato. You will not be able to handle the amount of groove thrown in your face. I'll link to a recording with Cato on bass... check out his playing under the organ solo.
Eric Krasno - Get Back:
Go forth, listen until your ears ache, play until your fingers do too, rinse and repeat.
EDIT - Man, that Maceo Parker video is killin'. Thanks for sharing!
I think that is the bassist for Kajagoogoo Nik Beggs he also plays Chapman stick. He may be around here somewhere!
get really familiar with your instrument, not even really suggesting you learn theory (although i highly recommend it), but get really comfortable with your bass, learn chords and how to incorporate them, practice and practice and youll start playing notes as they fit in to the whole jam, rather than one note, then the next, and thats what improvs all about.
practice your scales, exercise your fingers a lot... watch youtube, just learn on the subject, you know all the usuals.
but at the same time, look at other styles of playing, try and incorporate what you learn from those particular harmonies or rhythms and try to fit them in a funk context. you know as they say, variety is the spice of life haha.....
just a suggestion, look up the circle of fifths, try and get a grasp on key signatures, and try bringing it up to your bandmates. its really an amazing idea, and i get the feeling it can really help with improvisation.
practice your scales, exercise your fingers a lot... watch youtube, just learn on the subject, you know all the usuals.
but at the same time, look at other styles of playing, try and incorporate what you learn from those particular harmonies or rhythms and try to fit them in a funk context. you know as they say, variety is the spice of life haha.....
just a suggestion, look up the circle of fifths, try and get a grasp on key signatures, and try bringing it up to your bandmates. its really an amazing idea, and i get the feeling it can really help with improvisation.
Others will say it... but Funk does NOT mean Slap. Period. Funk means *feel*. If you slap, you *must* slap with feel to be *funky*, otherwise it's just slapping notes, or worse: SlapWanking.
