Funky chords

felixdcat · #1 June 17th, 2007

What chords should I use for a funky feel? I tried dominant 7ths, but they leave a bluesy feeling more. I tried to add 9ths too, nothing... Should I break out of key here and there, eh?

Any help is appreciated.

Hopalong · #2 June 17th, 2007

Hi all you string ticklers. My nephew gave me his old elect. axe for my b-day and I really want to learn chords and whatever else this 50 y.o. brain can soak in. If you have a little patience to teach an old dog new tricks, I'll try my best! Thank you, Hopalong.

felixdcat · #3 June 17th, 2007

I know funk is about rhythm. But, still, are there some chords which I can solo over to crate a funky feeling? Because, I tried 6th, 9ths... I always end up bluesy, guess because of the order I play them. So, if any of you have a tip for some funky music, please help.

allthumbs · #4 June 17th, 2007

9ths, 13ths, b7s. Treblie stuff on the top 4 strings that concentates on strong rhythm. It relies on the bass to give it the drive. The chords are almost fills for the bass line. As James Brown said" It has got to have The One- Ughhh." So you have to make the one beat pop. It is a hard genre to do well. Complex rhythms and a strong feel.

AX7221 · #5 June 17th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopalong

Hi all you string ticklers. My nephew gave me his old elect. axe for my b-day and I really want to learn chords and whatever else this 50 y.o. brain can soak in. If you have a little patience to teach an old dog new tricks, I'll try my best! Thank you, Hopalong.

This link has a nice overview. After you read each page there's a link at the bottom that brings you to the next page (also on the left side are links to other pages that aren't directly before or after). That should give a good basis to work with.

Also the way the forum works is there is the "forum home" then there are different sections. Someone will create a "thread" which will be a topic. Then everyone who posts replies in that thread will be about the topic. That's not always the case in that sometimes the thread will change direction and have a different topic, but mostly each thread is a topic. It sounds like your getting started so it would be hard to ask a specific question, but if a question is too vauge you won't get very many responses

Rockerbob · #6 June 17th, 2007

I really don't think the chords matter too much. Funk seems to be in pelvis driven rhythm.

allthumbs · #7 June 17th, 2007

James Brown used to penalize Bootsy Collins 10 bucks each time he missed The One, when Bootsy played in his band.

mattz196 · #8 June 17th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockerbob

I really don't think the chords matter too much. Funk seems to be in pelvis driven rhythm.

Do you have any video to back up this statement

Rockerbob · #9 June 17th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattz196

Do you have any video to back up this statement

No one wants to see that!

lukegilmour · #10 June 18th, 2007

i happen to have the same problem
im imbued with blues and classic rock and i cant seem to get other tones such as reggae and funk....

any ideas?

scotty_b · #11 June 19th, 2007

Funk primarily uses dominant 7th or minor harmonies. The rhythm is the essential thing - and how the guitar sits with the groove. A strong 16th note feel is the classic funk groove, but sometimes it is far simpler. Jimmy Nolan on 'I Feel Good' simply played a 9th chord after the horn riff. It was just a stab, then cut off. Nothing simpler than that. In my opinion, the bass is really the primary instrument in funk - the drums can play very simple straight rock, the guitar can play very simple grooves, yet the bass seems to be what everything hangs off.
Why not post some examples of your funk playing so we can hear what you are doing?