Funk

Funk 

Funk music emerged from soul and is a unique blend of soul, jazz, rhythm and blues. Funk originated in African-American communities in the mid 1960s. Funk de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drummer, often at slower tempos than other popular music." Funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments playing crossover grooves that created a "hypnotic" and "danceable feel." 

Funk continues with the African musical tradition of improvisation. Sheet music is not usually used, but the band goes with a typical "feeling" of what to play and when to change, even when they are in the recording studio, which could only be described as a framework of each song. "Funk vocals lines differ from other genres as it includes more punctuated, energetic, rhythmically percussive and less embellished." (Muscato, 2019) In the 1970s, funk used many of the same vocal styles that were used in African-American music in the 1960s, including blues, gospel, jazz, and doo-wop. Funk uses the similar styles of yelling, shouting, hollers, moans, humming, melodic riffs, and call and response style. Since the mid-1990s, the funk scene is producing new material influenced by the sounds of rare funk 45s. Although specializing in music for rare fun DJs, there has been some crossover into the mainstream music industry.

Top 10 Funk Songs



By: Cassie Catton


References:

Muscato, C. (2019, October 23). History of Funk Music. Retrieved January 2, 2020, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-funk-music.html.