cashews Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 been playing for lot of years and am likely in a rutt. i play small local events and mostly solo. any suggestions on where/how i can learn some funk tunes? that is, online sheet music, teaching cd's, or ??? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgatron Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 not really songs per se, but I'm working my way through this right now; http://i.imgur.com/9ZHW1.jpg same author has other books on the subject, including one specifically for Rhodes/Clavinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Not sure if OP is looking to add funk into existing "small local events and mostly solo" or has started playing in a funk band. FWIW, my anecdotal (and limited) experience suggests funk has its own rhythmic zeitgeist, a historical palette of KB vocabulary, timbres and usages: - 16th note driven more so than other genres - complex syncopation - repetitive motifs - predominance of B3, rhodes, clavinet, synth bass, lead synth, synth brass But all this analysis is tertiary and useless without spending time listening to the genre. Soaking in (and then trying to imitate what you hear) James Brown, Sly, Tower of Power, P-Funk, Ohio Players, Rufus w/ Chaka, Prince, et.al. will be a more direct path than sheet music or books - especially in learning the rhythmic feel that is more important than the notes, in my opinion. I once told a funk guitar player I was trying to figure out the voicings to a tune. He replied, "You gotta loose your neck up. Once your head is moving right, the notes will come." .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Paxton Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I once told a funk guitar player I was trying to figure out the voicings to a tune. He replied, "You gotta loose your neck up. Once your head is moving right, the notes will come." That's funny, some old bandmates and I used to use the term "head and neck music" as a derogatory term for music that was trying to be funky, but failing in a particular way; it was "all head and neck, no ass." Funk should make you move both. Have those Andrew Gordon instructional books gotten any better? I checked out a couple of them in the '90s, and they were just god-awful. The snippets were mediocre at best, played not very well on a crummy-sounding synth, and hard-quantized. If you wanted to make them any less funky, it could probably be done, but it would take some work. Plus the notation had problems, IIRC. And if that pic shows the current edition of the book, and it still has a picture of a floppy disk on the cover, I wouldn't exactly call that an encouraging sign. As for learning tunes, it's hard to do better than listening carefully and figuring it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillplaying Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I worked with a funk band for a few years. Can you clarify the "I'm now playing with a band" Vs "it'll still just be me on my own" thing. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillplaying Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have no connection to Andrew Gordon but did purchase a number of his books about 15 years ago. Good titles (Gospel Licks God Would Love To Hear, Funkiest Keyboard Licks Known To Man - these are from memory). I used a few examples from his Blues books for teaching. If you're a good standard of player they're fine - they're inexpensive and you'll be able to mine them for a a couple of riffs and ideas. Not really suitable if you struggle reading dots or playing two handed stuff. The Funk chapter in Mark Harrison's Pop Keyboard book has some playable funk examples. Again I've no connection to him. The book isn't suitable for non readers (or if you're not comnfortable doing two handed stuff). Best one I've seen so far - and I think it was a suggestion from on here - Gail Johnson's Funk Keyboards book. It's one of the MI ones - quite a number of which I've purchased for possible use by the college I was teaching at - and returned. It's ok. Apologies for long post - it's for teachers (like me) doing a search on here for the Andrew Gordon or Mark Harrison stuff. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have Andrew Gordon's book on ultimate organ licks. ..... it aint. The book made me think that I should write a book. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'd suggest the immersion route also. Listen to a ton of stuff and play along. Go see some funk bands. Jam with good players if you can. It's the best education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Learn all things Funkadelic "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenhower Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Funk isn't inherently difficult, but it does have a signature feel that can get "unfunky" real quick if it's not being played true. You can read about all the funk instruction, licks and techniques on the planet, but if you haven't been listening to funk music and FEELING it, it won't matter. Funk keyboards play two important roles. First, in many instances keys replaces guitar for much of the mid range information (often guitar is chopping #9 chords on the upper neck), so rhythmic comping is squarely the keyboard's responsibility. Clavinet and Rhodes are most prominently used and the tempo and groove dictates HOW MUCH rhythm you should play. Second, Funk tends to work well when it's more "open" and breathes a little. Let the drums and bass lock it down (lots of emphasis on the "ONE"), and everyone drops in around that. Keep those comping phrases in some strict rhythm that is complimentary to what the bass and drums are doing, but don't get out of sync, or you'll kill the groove. Lastly, just listen. Listen to the greats and hear how there is some similarity to the keyboard approaches the music in general. If you shed to some Sly & the Family Stone, Brothers Johnson, early Rufus & Chaka Kahn, Ohio Players, Brick, Slave, Graham Central Station, Isley Brothers, Rick James, Cameo, Parliament/Funkadelic, Pleasure, and many others, you'll get the picture. Yamaha C7 Grand, My Hammonds: '57 B3, '54 C2, '42 BC, '40 D, '05 XK3 Pro System, Kawai MP9000, Fender Rhodes Mk I 73, Yamaha CP33, Motif ES6, Nord Electro 2, Minimoog Voyager & Model D, Korg MS10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashews Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 when i said solo, i mean solo with maybe singing; but not in a band. i played in bands but never funky. what i play is the typical wallflower music with a built in rock tempo/chords/riffs and people say it is good/nice. but would like to play something more unexpected and i like funky but could never catch on to playing it. so thanks for the advice about listening to funk to get my 'head and neck' into it btw have you listened on youtube to Johnathon Wilson on Expert Village??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Funk isn't inherently difficult, but it does have a signature feel that can get "unfunky" real quick if it's not being played true. Lastly, just listen. Listen to the greats and hear how there is some similarity to the keyboard approaches the music in general. If you shed to some Sly & the Family Stone, Brothers Johnson, early Rufus & Chaka Kahn, Ohio Players, Brick, Slave, Graham Central Station, Isley Brothers, Rick James, Cameo, Parliament/Funkadelic, Pleasure, and many others, you'll get the picture. This ^. You can't learn funk from a book. "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Leave space between the notes. Somebody has to play on the beat, and somebody has to play syncopated. If everybody is playing off the beat, it's a mess. Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Great advice above. The best to learn ANY type of music is to listen and shed with folks immersed in it. I'm a huge proponent of using books, CDs, tapes, youtube, etc., to learn music theory and related concepts. But, IMO, one doesn't become a muso until they have gotten their azz kicked in the trenches i.e. playing with better musos. To the OP, find some funky musos in your area and chop it up with them. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To B3 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I believe that´s on topic. [video:youtube] My drawbars go to eleven. Gear: Roland VR-09, Nord Electro 2 61, Korg CX-3. Hear my music: facebook.com/smokestoneband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgatron Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 re: Andrew D. Gordon, I haven't been playing keys all that long, maybe 5 years now and I'm still middling at best. but I have been playing guitar for 34 years, including a not-insignificant amount of time dedicated to learning Jimmy Nolan's style. So I don't need to "immerse" myself in funk, what I got the book for it does quite well, with the added disclaimer that different books work for different people. also, given some of the extremely godawful musical tastes some of you have I don't know if I would buy some of the books you'd recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgatron Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Best one I've seen so far - Gail Johnson's Funk Keyboards book. just bought it from Barnes & Noble. I'm sure someone will tell me why I shouldn't buy my books there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillplaying Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Good luck with the book yorgatron - hope you get something out of it. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poserp Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 For me funk organ begins and ends with The Meters. In a supporting role: [video:youtube]xNXJKMpwJeU As the lead: [video:youtube]zAvUb-xhqNs A bit more mellow: [video:youtube]QQud62EmZyo My music http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Pk12 My Soundware (Kurzweil PC3)http://pksoundware.blogspot.com/ My Kurzweil PC3 Tutorials http://www.youtube.com/user/poserp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Funk is more about the space than the notes. I've heard "funk" bands that fill up every 64th note and dynamic space, and that is just wrong. You can't get a better mentor than The Meters or Neville Bros. For something not as swampy but still funky, try Tower Of Power or Graham Central Station's "The Jam" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Also try Sly and AWB. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IPEQNYD6oI Lots of space in this one - simple interlocking parts [video:youtube] Moe --- "I keep wanting to like it's sound, but every demo seems to demonstrate that it has the earth-shaking punch and peerless sonics of the Roland Gaia. " - Tusker http://www.hotrodmotm.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgatron Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 what i play is the typical wallflower music with a built in rock tempo/chords/riffs and people say it is good/nice. but would like to play something more unexpected and i like funky but could never catch on to playing it. the book I recommended would probably be a good start for you then, I'll let you know how I like the Gail Johnson book when I get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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