2. Funk
• Funk was a very distinctive style that
used polyrhythms, syncopated bass
lines, and short vocal phrases with a
considerable amount of repetition of
those rhythm patterns and phrases.

3. Funk
• Funk vocals were often sung in a work-
song style with a conversational
delivery.
• The first examples of funk were
recorded by the Godfather of Soul
himself, James Brown.

4. Funk
• As we discussed in Chapter 7, Brown’s
soul style was deeply rooted in black
gospel music.
• His funk style, however, was
influenced by polyrhythmic music
straight from Africa.

5. Funk
• Brown’s backup musicians maintained
a constant rhythmic accompaniment
using polyrhythms among the bass,
drums, and horn section while still
having a clear accent on the
downbeat.

6. Funk
• Horns were used to punctuate the
rhythm but not to play melodic lines.
• Both the bass and guitar parts involved
either repeated riffs or rhythmic
pulsations.

7. Funk
• Chord changes were generally minimal.
• The recording that introduced this
style, “Out of Sight” (1964), was
followed by a more successful
recording in a similar style, “Papa’s
Got a Brand New Bag” (1965).

8. Funk
• Although the blues chord progression
was used in “Papa’s Got a Brand New
Bag,” other recordings in Brown’s new
“proto-funk” style maintained a single
chord for long sections of the music,
drawing attention to the rhythms
instead of the chords or melody.

9. Funk
• As an example of the types of
polyrhythms used in Brown’s
recordings, the following notation
shows how the four way polyrhythms
were used in “Papa’s Got a Brand New
Bag.”

10. Funk
• Only the rhythms are notated—not the
pitches for the horns and bass.

11. Funk
• This new style of James Brown’s had
such an appealing, hypnotic sound that
it was copied by other groups.