How Funk Changed Music Theory
Contents
How did Funk change music theory? In this blog post, we explore the origins of Funk and how it has influenced music theory over the years.
The Origins of Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-1960s. It is a style of African-American music that is based on a strong rhythm section, repetitive patterns, and call-and-response vocals. Funk bands typically have a horn section and use electric guitar, bass, and drums. The origins of funk can be traced back to the African-American community in the south, where the music was used to celebrate life and express joy.
James Brown and the Birth of Funk
In the early 1960s, James Brown and his band began to develop a new style of music that would come to be known as funk. This new style was heavily influenced by African American vernacular traditions, such as the call and response pattern. It also incorporated elements of soul, R&B, and even jazz. The result was a unique and infectious sound that would revolutionize popular music.
Funk songs are often built around a strong groove that is emphasized by the instruments. This groove is usually created by the drummer and bass player, with the other instruments playing off of them. The result is a hypnotic effect that can be extremely danceable. Funk songs also often incorporate horn sections and percussive elements to create a fuller sound.
James Brown was not the only innovator of funk, but he was certainly its most famous proponent. Other notable funk artists include Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, and Prince. Funk has had a significant impact on subsequent genres of music, such as hip hop and disco.
George Clinton and the Funkadelic Sound
George Clinton was an American musician and producer who was a major innovator of the funk music genre. Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. He began his musical career in the 1950s as a session musician for Motown Records. In the 1960s, he founded the psychedelic rock band Parliament-Funkadelic, which became one of the most influential musical groups of the time. Clinton’s fusion of R&B, soul, and rock music with elements of psychedelia, science fiction, and Afro-centricity created a unique and groundbreaking sound that would change the course of popular music.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Clinton’s work with Parliament-Funkadelic helped to shape the sound of mainstream pop and R&B music. His production work with artists like Bootsy Collins and Prince further solidified his reputation as a visionary producer and songwriter. Clinton’s influence can be heard in the work of contemporary artists like Kendrick Lamar, Outkast, and Snoop Dogg.
The Elements of Funk
Funk is a genre of music that was created in the 1960s. It is a style of music that combines elements of soul, R&B, and jazz. Funk is a style of music that is characterized by a groove that is created by the interaction between the bass and drums.
The Groove
The groove is the most essential element of funk. It’s what makes the music make you move. Without a solid groove, funk just wouldn’t be funk.
The groove is created by the interaction between the rhythm section (bass, drums, and percussion) and the horns (trumpet, trombone, and saxophone). The rhythm section lays down a pocket for the horns to play over. The horns then improvise around that pocket, playing off of each other and the rhythm section. This interplay between the instruments is what creates the groove.
Beyond just being a feel-good kind of music, funk is actually rooted in music theory. Funk basslines are built on a specific type of chord progression called a ii-V-I. This progression starts on the second degree of the scale (ii), then moves to the fifth (V), and finally resolves back to the first (I).
For example, in C major, the ii-V-I progression would be Dm7-G7-Cmaj7. This chord progression is found in many jazz tunes, but what makes funk basslines different is how they approach these chords.
In a funk bassline, each chord gets its own unique sculpted sound. These sounds are created by using different techniques such as slides, octave hops, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. By combining these techniques with a syncopated rhythmic feel, funk basslines are able to create a deep groove that will make you move your feet without even thinking about it!
The Pocket
The pocket is the space between the kick and the snare. In funk, the pocket is king. The music theory term for this concept is “syncopation.” Syncopation is defined as “a also placed on weak beats or evenly between the beats.” This means that in funk music, the musicians try to place accents (or hits) on the “off-beats.” This creates a push-pull effect that gives funk its signature groove.
Here’s an example of a standard funk groove:
Kick Snare
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
In this groove, the kick is hitting on beats 1 and 3, and the snare is hitting on beats 2 and 4. The space between the kick and the snare (known as “the pocket”) is what gives this groove its swing.
The Feel
The musical feel of a funk groove is distinguished by the way the rhythm section instruments interact. The interlocking nature of the bass and drums, along with the rhythm guitar or horns playing counter-melodies, creates a web of rhythm that helps to define funk music. The feel of the music is more important than the individual notes being played. This focus on groove and feel would come to be one of the most important aspects of funk.
Funk and Music Theory
Funk is a musical style that originated in the African-American community in the mid-1960s. It is a music genre that is characterized by a strong groove and a heavy emphasis on the downbeat. Funk music is often played with a backbeat, which is a syncopated rhythm that is played on the off-beat. Funk also has a lot of syncopated bass lines and horn riffs.
The 12-Bar blues
The 12-bar blues is one of the most important chord progressions in all of Western music. It’s been used countless times in countless songs, and it’s the foundation for much of rock, blues, jazz, and even country music. The12-bar blues is so important that it’s sometimes called “the Materials and Methods section of western music.”
The 12-bar blues is built on the I-IV-V chord progression. In the key of C, that would be C-F-G. The I, IV, and V chords are all major chords, which gives the 12-bar blues a happy, upbeat sound. The 12 bars are divided into three sections, each four bars long. The first section is the setup (bars 1-4), the second section is the turnaround (bars 5-8), and the third section is the ending (bars 9-12).
Thesetup typically repeats two or three times before moving on to the turnaround. The turnaround is where things get interesting harmonically. This is where you’ll find the classic ii-V-I progression that’s so common in jazz (in the key of C, that would be Dm7-G7-C). The ii-V-I progression resolves back to the I chord, which leads us into the ending.
The ending can be as simple as just holding on to the I chord for four bars, or it can be a bit more complex with some embellishment. One of the most common embellishments is to add a seventh to the I chord in bar 12 (in this case C7). This gives us a nice Dominant sound that pushes us back towards tonic (C).
So there you have it: The 12 bar blues! This simple chord progression has been responsible for some of the most beautiful and influential music in history. So next time you’re jamming out to your favorite song, see if you can identify the 12 bar blues progression!
The Funk Rhythm
In music, funk is a style of rhythmic, danceable popular music that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s. The term funk initially referred (and still refers) to a strong, sharp odor. It is derived from Latin fumigare (meaning “to smoke”) via Old French fungiere and directly from the Late Latin word fumus (meaning “smoke”), which evolved into the Old English word fugol (meaning “bird”).
Funk’s definitive musical traits include dynamic snare and bass drums, emphasized raw garlic-like chord noises, rapid syncopated palm-muted guitar riffs played with hard funk upstrokes completed by guitar fills that contain the essence of the funk sound, funky horn sections consisting of electric brass instruments playing Bridge Solos backed up by propulsive rhythms played on electric piano by James Brown bandleader Maceo Parker and practiced extensively by George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic. This combination creates a sense of “vamp” until the next section.
Funk Chords
In funk, chords are often played in a syncopated fashion, with the root of the chord being played on the “off-beat”. This creates a groove that is inherently “funkier” than if the chords were played on the beat. Additionally, funk chords often make use of “upper extensions” – meaning that they include notes beyond the 7th (often 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths). This gives funk chords a much fuller sound than other genres of music.
One of the most common chord progressions in funk is the “5-7-5” progression. This progression consists of playing a 5th chord followed by a 7th chord, and then resolving back to a 5th chord. By resolving back to the 5th chord, this progression creates a sense of tension and release that is essential to funk music.
The Legacy of Funk
Funk is a style of danceable music that arose in the mid-1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mix of soul, jazz, and R&B. Funk’s primary ingredients included a strong, catchy bass line and drumbeat, as well as a repeating phrase that was often improvised.
Funk and Hip-Hop
Funk and hip-hop are inextricably linked. James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, and Bootsy Collins were all pioneers in the funk genre, and their influence can be heard in modern hip-hop. Funk is characterized by its syncopated rhythms, eclectic instrumentation, and call-and-response vocals. Hip-hop is a genre that developed from the 1970s block party culture of the Bronx. It is characterized by its use of sampling, rhythmic spoken word vocals, and turntablism.
While both genres have African American roots, they have developed in different directions. Funk was influenced by soul, R&B, and jazz; hip-hop was influenced by disco and rock. Funk is often danceable and upbeat; hip-hop is often dark and serious. Despite their differences, funk and hip-hop share a common lineage. They are both genres that emerged from African American communities in the 1970s and have been shaped by the social and political climate of their respective eras.
Funk began to decline in popularity in the 1980s as disco became more popular. Hip-hop took over as the dominant African American musical genre in the 1990s. But funk has made a comeback in recent years with both younger and older audiences alike appreciate its unique sound. And while hip-hop may be the more popular genre today, funk still has a strong influence on both music theory and popular culture
Funk and Dance Music
While many people think of funk as a style of music that emerged in the 1970s, the reality is that funk has been around since the early 1900s. The word “funk” was first used in print in 1910, and it wasn’t until the 1930s that funk began to be associated with a specific type of music. Funk is a genre of music that is characterized by its groove, which is created by the interaction between the rhythm section and the lead instruments.
Funk is often seen as a precursor to disco and other forms of dance music, but it also had a significant impact on the development of jazz and rock music. Funk influenced the way that composers approached arranging and improvising, and it also led to the development of new musical genres like hip-hop and rap. In many ways, funk was responsible for changing the course of popular music in the 20th century.
Conclusion
In conclusion, funk changed music theory by creating a new genre of music that was more syncopated and had a groovier feel than previous genres. This new style of music was then adopted by other genres, such as rock and pop, which helped to further evolvemusic theory.
