Everybody got the funk...
im looking for some pointers on getting a good funk piano technique down. as usual there's been some great help offered here when i asked for tips on how to approach playing like stevie wonder but he's not the only funk player around...
i've looked on youtube and there's an excellent tutorial based around herbie hancock's chameleon. i've also searched ljp and it seems that there is no printed material on funk piano that is above beginner level.
looking on you tube and trying to follow various people playing at 100mph i'd say that a lot of fourths were involved, with minor pentatonics and occasional blues runs.
does anyone else have any tips on funky piano playing ? they'd be appreciated.
thanks. shaun
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by Scot Ranney on 12/06/2009, 13:00
ok i'd primarily like to work on this piece..
www.youtube.com/
i've been going through this piece and would appreciate any tips on transcribing it as well as observations on what he's doing - what scales he uses, what devices (i think he uses a few 4th intervals in his right hand) but most important (and elusive) how he gets that 'feel'. even using transcribe is not that easy - as the backing track 'muffles' the sound so its harder to pick out notes.
as well as this i've looked for funk piano playing on you tube and there is a tutorial on herbie hancock's 'chameleon' that i'm about to start working on. if you (or anyone else) has any good excercises on improving interplay between the left and right hands i'd like to know of them.
as ever - help on the first video mentioned (jd73 plays the nord electro 3) would be appreciated.
s
&feature=playlist&p=d9cc3e4ccc64a4c2&index=0
by the end of the lessons you end up with this:
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one point about right/left hand co-ordination, the underlining feel of the kind of keyboard grooves in the video you posted is a triplet feel with the lh playing two notes to one rh chord for each triplet. they don't really co-ordinate as such as they aren't playing rhythmically different things against each other and don't play together very often.
it may help to think of a funk groove as one 'line' split across the hands rather than conceiving it as a bassline under chords as you may when playing jazz.
hope this helps.
ps lol@dr whack - i think it's clearly not enough coffee! i'd like to make it clear on the good dr's behalf that regardless of whether the chord is bm, d6, d7 or d13 it does not have an a# in it! rotflmao
thanks ever so much for your contribution to this funkiest of threads - looks like i've got a lot to work on.
a bit more funkified shaun
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