How to play funk rhythm?
michae...@gmail.com
playing. Usually I'm concerned about my single note line playing. But
lately I've hooked up with a great funk band. We're just friends and I
get to jam with them. They're trying to help me, too, But I was
wondering if you guys had any tips. My wrist always feels so stiff.
Their guitarist's wrist is like a rubber band. He suggested I practice
16ths with a metronome which I've been doing. He also suggested I cock
my wrist at a greater angle to loosen my wrist. Do you have any
thoughts? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Michael
denniss...@comcast.net
guitar stuff I think there are a couple of DVD lessons there on the
Funk topic. Alot lof funk is playing in the groove or playing in the
pocket. Finding a pattern that fits well and keeping that pattern going
during the chord changes then perhaps varrying that pattern during the
bridge of a song. My fav dude for funk is George Clinton listen to his
stuff and see if you can pick out paterns the guitar palyer is doing..
keep on pickin'
Derek
Slutsky. I think that whole Beyond Basics series is pretty good. The
Don Mock Jazz Rythym Chops dvd is one of my favorites. They are under
$20.
denniss...@comcast.net
try to pick out what the guitar player is playing. Essentially playing
funk means playing in the pocket, finding a rhythmic pattern and
repeating it throughout the chord changes, and perhaps varying the
pattern for the bridge of a tune. You don't have to play really fast
16th note patterns on guitar sometimes just a two note chord i.e. the
3rd and 7th of a chord played in the right spot may create a great
groove.
You could also check out my web site www.musicyourtimeyourway.com for
some lessons on DVD I think there a a couple of them regarding playing
in the groove or pocket and funk patterns for guitar.
keep on pickin'
Nate Najar
nate
Jeff Lange
pulling out the old disco records too. Hold the pick hard and loosen up
that wrist!
--
Jeff Lange
www.JazzSelect.com
"Nate Najar" <na...@natenajar.com> wrote in message
news:1136413632.5...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
charles robinson
executing them. Tremolo exercises can help loosen the wrist up.
Charlie
<michae...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1136411057....@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
tow...@asdf2.com
>
> get to jam with them. They're trying to help me, too, But I was
> wondering if you guys had any tips. My wrist always feels so stiff.
> Their guitarist's wrist is like a rubber band. He suggested I practice
> 16ths with a metronome which I've been doing. He also suggested I cock
> my wrist at a greater angle to loosen my wrist. Do you have any
> thoughts? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Those sound like decent suggestions to help the wrist, but I would say...
Hunt down a copy of James Brown's 20 Greatest Hits and play along...
Jimmy Nolen IS Funk Guitar 101. I'll bet if you work on getting his
feel down, your wrist will take care of itself.
townes
cl...@claymoore.com
Hi Michael,
I'm usually leery of telling anyone how to hold their hands or whatever
without seeing how they're playing, but I will offer some musical
advice. First, while you may get some help from books I don't think
they're necessary. Follow some of the listening suggestions, i.e. James
Brown and study those records. I also especially like the Meters'
guitarist Leo Nocentelli. If you can't cop these parts and the feel by
listening alone watch some of the players live or on film.
Contrary to what most beginners will do, funk playing is not about
playing every 16th note in the measure. It's about creating or learning
a *part* that fits the song and what the other players are doing, and
having that part be rock solid. This was one of the great traits of the
Meters, their uncanny ability to create a tapestry of funky,
interlocking parts that were by themselves not particularly busy.
Funk guitar is about muting, between chords that are sounded, but also
muting the other strings that you might not be playing, even if you're
only playing one note at a time. It's those muffled (but picked or
strummed) strings that often add the extra 'funk' to the part. That
said don't be afraid to "overshoot" with the pick - rely on muting to
weed out the unwanted notes, more so than the pick.
Clay Moore
http://www.claymoore.com
Elektrik Hendrik
Got a Brand New Bag' for the first recorded example of 16th note funk
guitar.
Then try stuff like 'Soul Power' and others from the late 60's early
70's
Don;t forget Sly Stone, Prince (funk guitar university), and Nile
Rodgers' stuff with Chic, Sister Sledge etc and, as mentioned before,
check out some 70's disco stuff.
One current master of really authentic funk guitar is Jamiroquai's Rob
Harris.
Paul Kirk
pick helped.
Paul K.
michae...@gmail.com
tired pretty fast. Also, I typically use a small and very heavy pick.
I'd like to stick with it, but it's been recommended that I try a
really thin pick. What do you guys think? Oh, and I was also told that
muting is done with the left hand not the right. Does that sound
correct? Oh, and when I practice loosening my wrist by strumming the
air, no guitar, I seem much more agile. But when I pick up my guitar
the angle of the wrist flattens and my wrist tightens. It's
frustrating, but I'm determined to get this. I have to believe it will
benefit all my playing. Thanks!
Max Leggett
news:1136417311.5...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for the responses. Please keep them coming. BTW, my arm gets
> tired pretty fast. Also, I typically use a small and very heavy pick.
> I'd like to stick with it, but it's been recommended that I try a
> really thin pick.
Oh, yeah. My 3mm Dunlop is useless for that - I grab a Steve's Music medium,
which feels somewhere around 0.6mm. And you want a larger pick becauuse
you're doing stabs at the strings and you need a margin of error. I keep a
steady 16th note strum going and brush the strings whenever that Old Soul
Feeling grabs me.
> muting is done with the left hand not the right.
Yes, although you can do some palm muting as well. But the rhythmic muting
is left hand.
> correct? Oh, and when I practice loosening my wrist by strumming the
> air, no guitar, I seem much more agile. But when I pick up my guitar
> the angle of the wrist flattens and my wrist tightens.
Find someone who can do it and watch them.
Chickenhead
band, the cats told me that every instrument is a drum. Dunno' if that
helps, but it sure helped me a lot. Now if I'd just remember that more
often . . .
<cl...@claymoore.com> wrote in message
news:1136416096....@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Paul Kirk
michae...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for the responses. Please keep them coming. BTW, my arm gets
> tired pretty fast. Also, I typically use a small and very heavy pick.
Me too, but using the large and thin pick works for me. The reason is
that when I play funk I use much larger arm movement and grip the pick
less tightly. I cant get it to work well with the small heavy pick.
Paul K.
Max Leggett
message news:bOCdnaX5n8r...@comcast.com...
> Dig it. Back when I was just starting out gigging, which was in
blues-funk
> band, the cats told me that every instrument is a drum. Dunno' if that
> helps, but it sure helped me a lot. Now if I'd just remember that more
> often . . .
Brother, you have hit a great truth in music. Not just jazz, but music.
Every instrument is a drum. Casals said that all Bach outside of the church
stuff was dance music, and he wasn't so sure about the church stuff. We all
know about Ellington's dictum, but Sousa beat him to it when he said, "As
long as people hear jazz with their feet, it will endure." My sister [PhD
music blah blah] said on listening to BB King solo on How Blue Can You Get,
"Listen to his rhythm!" She was entranced. The prettiest notes and fanciest
harmonies are nothing without that drum. Thank you for reminding me - I
think I'll get it tatooed somewhere so I never forget.
Greger Hoel
>I typically use a small and very heavy pick.
>I'd like to stick with it, but it's been recommended that I try a
>really thin pick. What do you guys think?
Try a thin pick. I can't possibly hurt.
> Oh, and I was also told that
>muting is done with the left hand not the right. Does that sound
>correct?
Yes. Also, try not fretting your notes and barres right behind the
fret, but directly on top of it. Definitely not something to do all
the time, but occasionally it's great for getting some more thunk out.
>Oh, and when I practice loosening my wrist by strumming the
>air, no guitar, I seem much more agile. But when I pick up my guitar
>the angle of the wrist flattens and my wrist tightens.
Have you tried changing your playing posture?
--
_______________________________________________
Always cross a vampire, never moon a werewolf
To reach me, swap spammers get bent with softhome
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woland99
is much less important than keeping the groove. And that is from
a musician whose ALL notes always sound perfectly composed.
Chickenhead
difference. I can't imagine doing it with those little thick picks a lot of
jazzers use.
Also seemed to help with wearing the nail and skin off my RH thumb: After a
several long nights of funk, my RH thumb would be pretty brutalized from
where the strings hit against it -- sometimes my thumbnail would be worn off
a quarter inch or more on the inside. I don't know why, but with a thinner
pick it seemed like it didn't happen as badly. Maybe I didn't have to hold
it so close-in. Helps with string breakage too. Trouble with the real thin
ones is that I'd break them. I settled on mediums as the best compromise --
though learning to lighten up with my right had would probably be best in
the long run.
"Paul Kirk" <no...@noplace.net> wrote in message
news:pPYuf.40922$dO2....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
Mike C.
news:1136416735....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Funk starts with The Meters. Leo Nocentelli is the guy to check out. For
today's players, the Funky Meters' guitarist throughout the '90's, Brian
Stoltz is the guy to listen to, as well as a New Orleans guy named June
Yamagichi. Eric Krasno from Soulive is also a kickin' funk/jazz guy. The
guitarist for Tower Of Power, Jeff Tamelier, has a book out that defines the
history and technique of playing funk guitar.
Tom Walls
cl...@claymoore.com says...
pick than you would be inclined to use for jazz.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
Tom Walls
hepkatre...@hotmail.com says...
> My sister [PhD
> music blah blah] said on listening to BB King solo on How Blue Can You Get,
> "Listen to his rhythm!" She was entranced.
>
cl...@claymoore.com
Chickenhead wrote:
> Yes. That helped me a lot too. Mediums or thinner. Makes a huge
> difference. I can't imagine doing it with those little thick picks a lot of
> jazzers use.
Hi,
With rare exceptions I've always used the same type of pick, a standard
shape, thick one. These days I use the Dunlop 1.5 mm Tortex, and have
been for probably 10-15 years. What I've found works for me is to use
more of the point for single line soloing, and rotate it to the side
for rhythm. The side is less resistant. I also hold the pick with two
fingers and thumb when playing rhythm, to get a better grip, but I
weaned off of that for single note lines about 13 years ago. I could
see the advantages of using a different pick for different puposes, but
since I'm often the only chordal player (and main soloist) I don't
think it would be practical for me to be switching in the middle of
tunes.
Clay Moore
http://www.claymoore.com
RickH
To relieve right-hand tension, pull out your acoustic and strum/sing
campfire songs for a couple hours with full emotion. Then pick up the
electric, tension will be gone. And dont think about the tension while
playing because it will create a self-fulfilling loop in your mind.
RickH
Forgot to mention, thinner strumming pick (maybe .5 or a stock fender
thin), not your typical jazz pick.
Texas Pete
fairly easy to do, much harder to intellectualize. In fact, thinking
about it may actually be counterproductive.
Follow the music listening suggestions of other posters (nobody's
more funky than the J.B. band) and the "every instrument's a drum"
concept. Check out some P-Funk cuts with bass funkmeister Bootsy
Collins too. Info at: http://www.funky-stuff.com/bootsy/
Texas Pete
Max Leggett
news:dpj8t5$scp$3...@ruby.cit.cornell.edu...
> In article <eEZuf.3782$GR4....@newscontent-01.sprint.ca>,
> hepkatre...@hotmail.com says...
> > My sister [PhD
> > music blah blah] said on listening to BB King solo on How Blue Can You
Get,
> > "Listen to his rhythm!" She was entranced.
> >
> Now you should introduce her to Albert King.
> --
I did - she's knocked out by his phrasing. This relates to the "Where's the
soul" thread.
Winston Castro
wrote:
> Before you can get funkay you gots to get loose and *feel* it. It's
>fairly easy to do, much harder to intellectualize. In fact, thinking
>about it may actually be counterproductive.
>
That's an interesting point.
When others started saying they moved their arms/wrists more when
playing funk, I thought it sounded a bit crazy. Yet, when I really
thought back hard, to when I played funk stuff, I realized that I
often did the same. Yet I was not really conscious of it until someone
raised the issue here and made me think about it.
There is also a form of playing certain funk songs, using very tightly
controlled, and small, wrist/hand/arm movements. Depends on what the
song calls for really.
In any case, the most important thing maybe getting your mind into the
groove of the song, usually not hard to do, since in funk, the bass
and drums are very pronounced. After the mind sorts out what rhythms
are present, the hands usually follow suit.
Not to mention the ear training many mentioned here, i.e., listening
to the funk greats.
Poetsaxe
Chickenhead wrote:
> Yes. That helped me a lot too. Mediums or thinner. Makes a huge
> difference. I can't imagine doing it with those little thick picks a lot of
> jazzers use.
It CAN be done. I use the black Dunlop Jazz III. I got so used to them
that I don't like changing picks when playing different styles of
music.
The trick is to be aware of muscle/forearm/wrist control and adjust
your attack. A lot harder with thicker picks, but it can teach you a
lot about right hand control -- assuming you're right handed.
Regards.
Chickenhead
right hand and need to work on developing a lighter touch with it.
I'm not saying it can't be done with heavier picks, just that it's easier to
do the funky rhythm thing, especially on chords with more notes in them,
with a lighter pick. It's also easier to get a more even sound on that type
of playing with the light ones, especially if you're using lighter strings.
Try playing Nile Rodgers' guitar part to Good Times with a heavy pick and
then try a light one and I think you'll see what I mean.
I might consider trying heavier picks for a while just to force me to
lighten up with the RH. Eventually though, I'll probably return to the
Fender mediums that Benson prefers.
"Poetsaxe" <Poet...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1136565574.8...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
michae...@gmail.com
James Brown book and working on it with my teacher. Oh, and I switched
to a bigger, thinner pick. One other suggestion that seemed to help was
to play standing up. Gets me in the groove more and my arm feels more
relaxed. Again, I really appreciate it!
Michael