Music / Styles A–Z / Groove and the dance floor · 06 of 35
Funk
Funk came out of African-American communities in the mid-1960s. It trades melody for a strong groove of electric bass and drums, with a heavy accent on the first beat: the One.
- Where and when
- African-American communities, US, mid-1960s
- Tempo
- Often slower than other popular music
- Played on
- Electric bass, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, horns
What it is
Funk came out of African-American communities in the mid-1960s. It plays down melody and chord changes in favour of a strong rhythmic groove from the electric bass and drums, often at slower tempos than other pop of the time. James Brown built its signature: a heavy accent on the first beat of the bar, "the One", with swung sixteenth notes and syncopation in every part.
For the producer. The slower tempo is what made room for sixteen possible note placements in a bar. The bass often plays the hook. Guitarists play percussively, the "chank" or "chicken scratch": strings pressed lightly, then released just enough for a muted scratch. Drum fills are few, so the groove stays "in the pocket".
The records that made it
From the lesson Groove and the dance floor, where the sources are listed · links open a search
- 1967Cold SweatJames Brown · One of James Brown's defining funk records.
- Cissy Strutthe Meters
- 1975Chocolate CityParliament
- 1978One Nation Under a GrooveFunkadelic
Funk in this month’s records
New releases the press we read wrote about, tagged funk on MusicBrainz · updated with every build