Funk

What it means

Funk is an African American music style that arose in the 1960s in the USA out of soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. At its centre stands the groove: a rhythmic pattern that arises from the interplay of drums, bass, and guitar and is repeated over long stretches.

Characteristic is a strong emphasis on the first beat of the bar, often called “the one,” with at the same time dense syncopation of the other beats. Bass and guitar play short, sharply articulated figures, often in sixteenth notes, that interlock. Harmonically funk often stays for a long time on a single chord, so that the tension comes from the rhythm instead of from the harmony.

It differs from the disco style, which partly emerged from funk, through the syncopations: disco emphasizes every beat evenly, funk above all the one and the displacements in between.

In the notation

Funk is seldom notated completely. In arrangements, bass and guitar figures are written out, often in sixteenth notes, with many rests and accents. The drum part shows the basic pattern. Harmonies appear as chord symbols, often with extensions.

Musical use

Funk shaped the popular music of the 1970s and reached into hip-hop, disco, and many later styles. The techniques of funk bass and funk guitar are today part of basic training on these instruments.

James Brown is regarded as a pioneer: instead of the backbeat he stressed the first beat of every bar and drilled his band on it with the call "On the one!". Besides hip-hop and disco, funk also influenced jazz fusion.

Performance practice

Play short and precise; in funk every sixteenth note counts, and rests are just as important as notes. Emphasize the one distinctly. Watch the interplay with the drums, for the groove arises only in the ensemble. And practise with a metronome on quiet beats to sharpen the feeling for the syncopations.