First Steps In Funk

From Soul to Funk
Popular music trends were changing quickly 1960’s America. The days of rhythm’n’blues, jazz and rock’n’roll were already old-fashioned. Soul music was producing a fresh message of harmony for the younger black and white generation, with a blend of gospel-style vocals, blues rhythms, country guitar licks and catchy horn riffs. A classic example of is Soul Man, made famous by Sam & Dave in 1967, a four-on-the-floor soul masterpiece. Try counting ONE-and-TWO-and-THREE-and-FOUR-and as you listen to this clip.

James Brown iOne nation under a groove
By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s , attitudes were changing again. The black community was actively opposing racial prejudice, segregation and suppression. Its mood was mirrored by black American musicians who brought a whole new rhythm to music. It combined heavy bass guitar and drum patterns to emphasise the groove, punchy horn riffs and impassioned vocals. Funk music had arrived! Its first big breakthrough was made by James Brown (an R&B singer dubbed the Godfather of Soul), who gathered a group of top musicians together to put his new ideas into action. Cold Sweat was the prototype that emerged.

The rhythm of the one
The new signature groove emphasized the downbeat, or the first beat of every measure. ONE-and-two-and-three-and-four-and, ONE-and-two-and-three-and-four-and. This groove was dominated by the bass guitar work of players like Bootsy Collins. That’s him in the big hat and funky shades at the top of the page. Here he is explaining his rhythmic formula for funk; just keep it on the one!

In Funk, the song’s lyrics took a secondary role. The groove was king. To drive this home, bass players developed a new percussive style, as demonstrated here by Larry Graham of Sly & The Family Stone. In time, chord changes would also became a thing of the past. Some funk tunes sat on the same minor chord for nearly half an hour! One particular musician, George Clinton, rose to prominence in this respect, with his bands Parliament and Funkadelic. His ‘P-Funk’ stage shows soon became world-famous.

Syncopated Guitar
Another new feature of funk music was its rhythm guitar style called chanking. This technique involved choking the fret board, while yanking the strings percussively to create a jazzy riff. We heard the technique used by guitarist Jimmy Nolen in the James Brown clip above. It’s even more evident in Brown’s later hit, Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag. The chanking technique later spread to disco, new romantic and other genres of modern music.

Horn Riffs
Finally, funk wouldn’t be funk without a healthy dose of horns. Typically, horns punctuate the vocal line with their signature riffs. But on some occasions they feature more strongly. Here’s the Average White Band with their horn section on the classic Pick Up The Pieces.

So where does the harmonica fit in to all this?
Strictly speaking, the harmonica is not really part of mainstream funk, but there are aspects of funk music we can tap into. Working on licks within a minor scale, we can fit nicely into the funk format. Especially using 3rd position blues harp, or Dorian Mode, working from 4D on the 10 hole harp.

Little Sonny Black & Blue4D    5D    6B    6D’   6D    7B    8D

This opens up some ideal jazzy, bluesy, minor note sequences. In his journey through gospel, blues and soul, Little Sonny also investigated the soul-funk style, using regular 2nd position cross harp technique from 2D. Here’s a clip of his 1971 tune Sonny’s Fever..

Blowing up a storm
The horn riffs from many funk and soul tracks can be reproduced on the harmonica. This is another way for us to get funky. In LA in 1975, Lee Oskar was busy playing harmonica with the funk band WAR. One particular number by the band became an international hit, with the main riff (the head) played in unison on harmonica and saxophone. Here’s the opening clip of Low Rider..

From the Hip to the Hop
Funk music eventually gave birth to Hip Hop and we can find the harmonica there too. Here’s G Love from Philadelphia adding some trademark top-end harp to his fabulous tune Cold Beverage.

The Minneapolis Sound
Prince iIt would be remiss not to mention just one other development of funk, the Minneapolis Sound. Minneapolis is a city in the north of the United States, where a multi-talented musician called Prince came from. Prince pioneered a whole new style of electro dance music, which borrowed from funk, but added a new feel for the 1980s.

Putting the fun into funk!
Finally, let’s go back to the bass line we started with. Funk is all about that bass, so it’s not hard to get funky on the harmonica by working at this too. Here’s Alex Paclin with some top tips on playing Uptown Funk on the harmonica, including the bass riff, the horn riff and double stops.

At Harp Academy we teach lots of funky numbers, including Uptown Funk, That’s The Way I Like It, Low Rider and I Got You (I Feel Good). Ask your Harp Academy teacher to show you how it’s done. You will find our tutorials in the KS1, KS2 and KS3 Music Libraries (try searching them at the top of the screen). We hope you’ve enjoyed our introduction to funk harmonica. Just remember what the master, James Brown, always said; ‘I don’t know, but whatever I play, it’s got to be funky!’

Key Skills

  • Soul, Funk and Hip Hop
  • Down beat
  • Rhythm of the one
  • Groove
  • Slap bass
  • Horn section
  • Chanking
  • Minor key
  • Riff and heads
  • Third Position Blues Scale / Dorian Mode

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