Funk
Musicians blending elements of Soul, Jazz, and Rhythm and Blues in the early to mid-1960s developed a danceable music genre soon to be named Funk. Funk de-emphasized melody and harmony lines while bringing a strong rhythmic groove supplied by the bass and drums to the foreground of the musical composition. Funk songs are often based on a repeating musical figure of rhythm known as a vamp on a single chord or rhythmic pattern. An early example of a drum vamp is James Brown’s Funky Drummer.
Funk music is an African-American inspired rhythm consisting of complex inter-locking sections of groove consisting of electric guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. Many funk bands further employed horn sections to provide short bursts of notes or staccato elements to drive listening appeal. Funk fueled a developing disco-era (1970s) Pop (1980s), and additionally spawned several sub-genres of music including hip-hop and afro-beat (1990s).
Patterns played by a Funk drummer range anywhere from simple Rock grooves to more intricate patterns matching the vamp of other instruments played by the band. Additionally the ‘feel’ of Funk varies from a relaxed ‘laid back’ feel behind the beat to an intense driving feel on top of or slightly ahead of the beat.
The Meters were an American Funk band from New Orleans whose musical style like James Brown was a major influence on later musicians. The early James Brown sound with tight melodic groove and highly syncopated rhythms produced musical classics such as Cissy Strut. The first eight bars demonstrate a style of Funk called New Orleans Funk.
The genre of Funk music provided several additional sub-genres of Funk music in addition to New Orleans Funk. Displaced Funk, Linear Funk, Ghost Note Funk, and Funk Rock being primary examples of sub-genres of Funk music and each unique rhythm can be combined into create grooves characteristic of Funk. One of the most accomplished drummers to achieve this is David Garibaldi (Tower of Power). A great example from Tower of Power is Soul Vaccination.
